Refund Policy for Financial Aid Students
Effective on October 7, 2000, changes were made to the Higher Education Act regarding the treatment of Federal Title IV funds when a student withdraws from school.
Musicians Institute is required to comply with these Federal regulations regarding Return of Title IV Funds in determining the amount of Title IV Financial Aid that must be returned on behalf of a student. The institution must also provide the student with consumer information regarding the results of a student’s withdrawal.
Musicians Institute will continue to comply with state and institutional refund policies in determining the amount of unearned tuition, as stated in your Enrollment Agreement and in the catalog.
Return of Title IV Provisions
All institutions participating in the Student Financial Aid (SFA) Programs are required to use a statutory schedule to determine the amount of SFA Program Funds a student has earned when he or she ceases attendance based on the payment period the student was in attendance. A payment period at this institution is the quarter.
Return of Title IV Procedures
The Higher Education Amendments of 1998 generally require that if a recipient of SFA Program assistance withdraws from school during a payment period in which the recipient began attendance, the school must calculate the amount of SFA Program assistance the student did not earn and those funds must be returned. Up through the 60% point in each payment period, a pro rata schedule is used to determine how much SFA Program funds the student has earned at the time of withdrawal. After the 60% point in the payment period, a student has earned 100% of the SFA Program funds.
The percentage of the payment period completed is the total number of calendar days* in the payment period for which the assistance is awarded divided into the number of calendar days* completed in that period as of the day the student withdrew.
*Scheduled breaks of at least five consecutive days are excluded from the total number of calendar days in a payment period (numerator) and the number of calendar days completed in that period (denominator). Days in which a student was on an approved leave of absence are also not included in the calendar days from the payment period or period of enrollment.
Number of days completed/Number of days in period = Percentage completed (rounding the third decimal place up if the fourth decimal place is 5 or more)
Return of Unearned SFA Program Funds
The school must return the lesser of the amount of SFA program funds that the student does not earn, or the amount of institutional cost that the student incurred for the payment period multiplied by the percentage of funds that was not earned.
If the institution must return Federal funds received by students who withdraw prior to completing the 60% of a given payment period, the student may owe the school for the portion of funds returned that the institution is otherwise entitled to based on the school’s approved and applicable refund policy.
‘Return of Title IV’ worksheets are available upon request from the Financial Aid Office.