Students who withdraw before the start of a semester or never attend class are not eligible for any federal aid and will have all aid canceled.

A student's withdrawal date is defined as the earlier of the date that the student began an official withdrawal process with Advising or the date the student otherwise provided Marist with official notification of their intent to withdraw. For students who did not officially withdraw but failed to earn a passing grade, the last documented date of attendance at an academically related activity may be used as the withdrawal date. If unable to determine the last date of attendance at an academically related activity, we may use the midpoint (50%) of the semester as the withdrawal date.

The Return of Title IV (R2T4) Refund calculation will be performed within 30 days of the withdrawal from the University. Notification of aid adjustments, and notification of any resulting balance due to Marist University, will be sent in writing to the student.

Classes that do not span the entire length of a scheduled semester are considered “modules”. Students who earn a passing grade in one or more module during the semester may be exempt from the return of Title IV calculation requirement. One of the following must apply:

• The student successfully earns a passing grade (not an “F”) in a module or a combination of modules that cumulatively contain 49% or more of the number of days in the payment period (excluding scheduled breaks of five or more consecutive days and all days between modules).
• The student successfully earns at least 6 credits in the payment period.
• The student completes all requirements for graduation for their program before completing all credits in the semester for which they were enrolled.

Withdrawals

For students who begin attendance but do not complete at least 60% of a semester, Student Financial Services recalculates eligibility for federal Title IV funds. The following types of federal aid are subject to this policy:

• Federal Grants (Pell, SEOG, TEACH)
• Federal Direct Loans (Subsidized, Unsubsidized, PLUS)

Federal Work study earnings are not included in the calculation, though remaining unused allocations are canceled once Student Financial Services is notified of a withdrawal.

The Department of Education requires schools to use their Treatment of Title IV Funds When A Student Withdraws From A Credit-Hour Program form (federal worksheet) to determine earned and unearned federal aid based on the student’s withdrawal date. Please click on the link to view the federal worksheet that will walk you through the steps of this required calculation.

Steps include the following:

STEP 1: Determining total net federal aid disbursed and that “could have been disbursed” for the semester from which the student withdrew

Please refer to Step 1 of the federal worksheet to determine the total net federal aid that disbursed or “could have been disbursed” for the semester.

Pell Grant funds are only included as aid that disbursed or “could have been disbursed” if the student began attendance in the course(s) for which the student was awarded. If the student did not yet begin attendance (in a module scheduled to begin later in the semester, for example), Pell will be recalculated based on the number of credits the student began attendance in prior to completing this section of the calculation.

For students selected for verification, all verification requirements must be complete to include aid as disbursed or “aid that could have been disbursed.” If verification requirements are not complete within 30 days of withdrawing, only aid not subject to verification may be included as “aid that could have been disbursed.” If a student subsequently completes verification requirements prior to the final verification deadline, but after the R2T4 deadline, a corrected R2T4 calculation may be performed and the student will be notified of their updated eligibility.

Direct loans must have been accepted and originated prior to withdrawal to be included as “aid that could have been disbursed.”

STEPS 2 & 3: Calculating Percentage of the Earned Federal Aid & Amount Earned

The following formulas are used to determine the percentage of federal funds earned:

STEPS 4-10: If the amount of earned aid is LESS than the amount disbursed, Marist determines the amount of federal funds that must be returned

If a student earned less aid than was disbursed, the institution would be required to return a portion of the funds. Unearned funds are returned to the appropriate federal program based on the percentage of unearned aid. This may result in a balance due to Marist. The institution must return the amount of Title IV funds for which it is responsible no later than 45 days after the date of determination of the student's withdrawal.

If federal funds must be returned, the University must return the lesser of:

1. The student's institutional charges multiplied by the percentage of unearned aid, or
2. The entire amount of unearned aid

Unearned aid is canceled/returned in the following order:

1. Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loan
2. Federal Direct Subsidized Loan
3. Federal Direct Graduate PLUS Loan
4. Federal Direct PLUS Loan
5. Federal Pell Grant
6. Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (SEOG)
7. Federal TEACH Grant

Determining Unearned Aid Due from the Student

If a student’s institutional charges multiplied by the percentage of unearned aid is LESS than the total unearned aid, the school will only be required to return a portion of unearned federal funds. However, the student may be responsible for repaying the remaining portion of unearned aid.

Unearned loans paid directly to the student must be repaid to their loan servicer under the terms and conditions of the Master Promissory Note (MPN).

Unearned grant proceeds paid directly to the student must be returned by the student to the Department of Education or by Marist. The amount of grant proceeds a student must repay is limited to the amount by which the grant overpayment exceeds half of the original grant funds. An overpayment of $50 or less does not have to be repaid. The student must make arrangements with Marist or the Department of Education to return such grant proceeds. If the student fails to make repayment arrangements within two weeks of the date of the notice of the overpayment, Student Financial Services may report the student to the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS), which will result in the loss of any further financial aid eligibility.

If the amount of earned aid is GREATER than the amount disbursed, a post-withdrawal disbursement will be offered:

If a student earned more aid than was disbursed (in Step 4 of the calculation), the institution would offer the student (or parent in the case of a PLUS loan) a post-withdrawal disbursement. The written notification will specify if Marist intends to use a portion of the post-withdrawal disbursement to pay outstanding charges due to Marist and/or if funds will be sent directly to the student. Marist may automatically use all or a portion of post-withdrawal grant funds (Pell and/or SEOG) for tuition, required fees, housing and food charges (as contracted with Marist). Authorization is required to use the funds for other school charges.

Upon email notification, students (or parents in the case of a PLUS loan) due a post-withdrawal disbursement will have two weeks from the date of the notice to accept or decline a post-withdrawal loan disbursement. Borrowers may decline some or all offered loan funds. If there is no response by the given deadline, earned loans that could have been disbursed will be canceled.

Marist’s institutional refund policy is separate from the federal policy governing federal aid eligibility. Tuition and housing refunds are based on the timing of withdrawal, as outlined in the University’s Academic Calendar: https://www.marist.edu/academics/calendars. Whether or not a student qualifies for a tuition and housing refund under Marist’s policy does not impact the federal aid calculation described above.

In general, students who officially withdraw by 5pm Friday of the first week of classes will receive a 100% tuition and housing refund. Students who withdraw by the end of the third week of classes will receive a 50% tuition and housing refund. The academic calendar for each semester will specify the exact date a student must withdraw by in order to receive a 100% or 50% refund. The calendar also specifies the date each semester after which no refund will be provided. Meal plans are prorated based on usage.

Enrollment and housing deposits are forfeited upon withdrawal.

Marist scholarships/grants are typically adjusted based on the tuition refund (if applicable) a student receives. For example, students who do not qualify for any tuition refund will remain eligible to retain their full Marist aid for the semester. Students who receive a 100% refund will have their Marist aid canceled for the semester. Students eligible for a 50% refund will have their aid reduced by 50% for the semester.

Institutional refund policies differ for students studying at locations other than the main Poughkeepsie campus (i.e. for students studying abroad).

Marist offers Tuition Refund Insurance through GradGuard to protect families in the event a student may withdraw due to an unexpected illness, injury, or mental health condition. It offers up to a 100% refund of covered education expenses, up to the policy limit, for students forced to withdraw for covered medical reasons. Further information may be found at GradGuard.com/Tuition/Marist or by calling the Tuition Refund Insurance provider at (866) 985-7598.

Official withdrawals for undergraduate students are processed by the Center for Advising & Academic Services. Undergraduate students should follow the guidance here to officially withdraw from Marist: Student Guide to Withdrawal and Leave of Absence.

Graduate students should complete a graduate withdrawal form or email their Program Director from their Marist email account to officially request a withdrawal.