Tuition Refund Policy:

When students withdraw from one or more courses, the University applies its refund policy, and this in turn may cause the student’s original tuition billing to change. Changes in billing are dependent on when the student withdraws from classes, and often result in a reduction of original charges. This reduction in tuition charged is guided by the University’s “tuition refund policy” which is outlined in the University’s Bulletin, and updated each year. Further information on the tuition refund policy also appears on the Bursar’s Office website at http://www.brooklyn.liu.edu/bursar/withdrawl_refund_policy.html.

A “withdrawal” from classes occurs when a student, who has been attending classes, states his/her intention to leave the course(s). This is different than a “program change” that may add or drop a class from the student’s registration prior to the start of classes. Withdrawal implies that the student attended class at least once during the term, and he/she is subsequently requesting permission to withdraw from the class, on a specific date in time. The Registrar’s Office is designated by the University as the official place where a student must indicate his/her intention to withdraw from the University.

Generally, reductions in charges due to withdrawal occur according to a schedule linked to the week that the student withdraws from class. A specific percentage of tuition charged is reduced, and this percentage decreases with each week spent in class. For courses held during the standard academic term, no reduction in charges is applicable after the fourth week of the term. This means that after the fourth week, the student is charged the full cost of his or her original billing, even if he/she withdraws.

Appeal Procedure
A student who wishes to appeal any withdrawal decision should be advised that the deadline for the completion of the appeal process for reduction and/or cancellation of tuition is the last day of finals (please see the Academic Calendar in the Schedule of Classes).  For an appeal to be considered complete, the Office of the Registrar must be in possession of documentation, including but not limited to, an Attendance Verification Form (from all of the student’s instructors), any documentation regarding attendance at another institution, proof of hospitalization or a medical condition that precluded you from attending classes, etc. 

Financial Aid Funding and Withdrawing from Classes:

Undergraduate students receive financial aid at the Brooklyn Campus on the assumption that they will remain in classes as full-time students, and their financial aid award notices indicate that they must register for a minimum of 12 credits per semester. This insures that students become eligible for maximum financial aid funding, and make progress towards their degree objective. Graduate students receive financial aid on the basis of a minimum registration of 6 credits each term.

When a student withdraws from a course, this triggers several reviews of the financial aid and billing accounts. As mentioned, the Registrar’s Office is the official location designated by the University as the place where a student indicates his/her intent to withdraw in writing via the Application for Withdrawal or Program Change form. The Registrar’s Office notifies the Bursar of the date of the student’s withdrawal, and this notification begins the review process.

When a financial aid recipient withdraws from one or more courses, but not all classes, the University’s own refund process is considered and this relates to the schedule noted above. However, when the student withdraws from all courses in a term, in addition to the University’s refund policy, a federal Title IV refund review must take place to determine if the student is eligible for any of the financial aid originally awarded. Specifics regarding the Title IV refund policy appear in later sections of this site under “Title IV Refunds and Post Withdrawal Disbursements.”

Long Island University’s Refund Policy – All Students:

If a student withdraws from some but not all courses, the following takes place:

• The Registrar’s Office will indicate on the student’s record the date of the student’s withdrawal, and the courses involved.
• This triggers a change in the billing for tuition and fees as described in the University Bulletin by the Bursar’s Office.
  
• Generally, the reduction in charges is based on the week that the student withdraws from class. A specific percentage of billed tuition is reduced according to how long the student remained in class. The longer the student spends in class, the less the tuition is reduced.

Financial aid recipients who withdraw from some but not all courses:

• If the final registration of the student, after withdrawal, results in less than full-time status (12
  credits), federal, state and institutional financial aid awards may be forfeited. The following chart demonstrates this:
  

*New York State TAP recipients - when the withdrawal from classes drops the student’s registration below 12 credits, the TAP award may be canceled the next term the student is in attendance. See the charts on this website or in the University Bulletin on Standards of Satisfactory Academic Progress for the Purpose of Determining Eligibility for State TAP Awards.

**Part-time Federal Pell Grants are available for registration of 3 – ll credits

***Federal Direct Student Loans require a minimum registration of 6 credits per term. Withdrawal from classes resulting in a registration of less than 6 credits requires a re-evaluation of the student’s eligibility for the loan. If the loan borrowed is for two semesters, the loss of eligibility in the first term may result in the cancellation of the loan for the second term as well.

• When the University’s refund policy is applied to a financial aid recipient’s award package (according to the above chart), and it is determined that financial aid must be returned to the federal or state governments, it is returned in the following order:
  
  • Outstanding balances of Federal Direct Student Loans (Unsubsidized and Subsidized)
  • Outstanding balances on Federal Perkins/Health Professions Student Loans
  • Outstanding balances on Federal PLUS Loans
  • Federal Pell Grants
  • Federal SEOG Grants
  • Federal SDS Awards
  • Other Title IV Programs
  • Other State private or institutional aid
  • The student
    

“Program Changes” from all courses PRIOR to the start of the semester:

Prior to the start of each term, a student is allowed to “drop” or “add” courses to his/her program during the in-person registration period.  When these program changes result in the student dropping all courses prior to the start of the term, all financial aid funding is generally cancelled. Since the student does not attend any classes, he/she becomes ineligible for financial aid through the state or federal government or from Long Island University. The federal financial aid programs involved include:

Federal Pell Grants Federal SEOG Federal SDS Awards Federal Work Study Federal Perkins Loans Federal HPL Loans Federal Direct Student Loans

Similarly, this category of student is also not eligible for any other state or institutional financial aid including:

New York State TAP New York State APTS New York State’s HEOP funding New York State Regents Awards Other Miscellaneous New York State Programs Long Island University Scholarship/Grants/Assistantships/Fellowships/Athletic Awards

The University generally cancels the registration and billing for this category of student.

Title IV Refunds and Post Withdrawal Disbursements:

When a student totally withdraws from the University (from all courses), but attended at least one day of class prior to doing so, that student’s record must be reviewed for both the University’s refund policy and, if he/she was a Title IV financial aid recipient, for the federal governments Title IV Refund policy. The student is required to complete the Application for Withdrawal available from the Registrar’s Office.

The federal government requires all colleges and universities to monitor the attendance of the students who are recipients of Title IV financial aid. Title IV financial aid includes the following and if refunds are required they are made to the financial aid accounts in the following order:

The federal government requires this review and it is performed by three offices within the University: the Registrar’s Office, the Bursar’s Office, and the Office of Student Financial Services. The review is called a Title IV Refund and Post Withdrawal Disbursement Procedure (to be called Title IV refund process) and it requires that the student’s registration, billing, and financial aid profile be examined with the following in mind:

The Office of Student Financial Services will correspond with all categories of students described in the Title IV refund process, and will make final determination on the student’s eligibility for Title IV financial aid. Appeals may be made in writing to the Dean of Student Financial Services.

Point in Time of the Withdrawal from the University:

If the student attended classes through the 60% point in time of the semester – generally just after the mid-term, the Title IV refund process allows the student to keep any Title IV financial aid disbursed.

If the student’s withdrawal from classes took place before the 60% point in time, a review is made that includes a mathematical calculation of the percentage of financial aid that this student may use toward tuition and fees billing. To assist with this calculation, the following takes place:

• The Registrar’s Office determines, based on the students notification to that office of withdrawal, the last day of attendance for the student
  
• This date is recorded on the student’s record, which immediately triggers any appropriate change to the student’s billing
  
• The Bursar’s Office reviews the billing adjustment and makes any appropriate changes
  
• The Office of Student Financial Services receives the above information in an electronic format, and uses the U.S. Department of Education’s specialized software program to make the calculation on remaining Title IV financial aid eligibility.

Title IV Refund Decisions:

Once the student’s continued eligibility is determined, the University will take action to adjust the student’s financial aid profile with 45 days. If the student owes the University current charges, any remaining eligibility is applied to his/her account.

If a student becomes eligible for a Post Withdrawal Disbursement (funds being applied to the student’s account after the withdrawal date), this will also be acted upon within 45 days of the withdrawal date.

If the student does not have a current balance with the University, but is eligible for a Post Withdrawal Disbursement, and this includes loans, the University will contact the student to reaffirm their request for funding. This also applies to the PLUS loans, and the student and/or parent is given 14 days to express their approval or rejection of this offer.

If a financial aid disbursement did not take place for a student prior to withdrawal because of a missing document or a correction to federal data, that student will be given 14 days after his/her withdrawal date to provide the University with information to complete or correct his/her record. If not, no aid will be disbursed.

Title IV financial aid that is pending disbursement or “could have been disbursed” prior to the student’s withdrawal may include:

1. Estimated Pell Grants that require verification
2. Federal Pell Grants not disbursed because student withdrew before that action could take place
3. Estimated Federal Direct Student Loans for students who failed to take entrance counseling interviews
4. Estimated Federal Direct Student Loans for students who never signed promissory notes
5. Estimated PLUS loans rejected by the federal government’s processor
6. Estimated PLUS loans that were not accepted by parent
7. Estimated Federal Perkins Loans for students who never signed promissory notes
   

The Office of Student Financial Services will work with students and parents to find options for helping to pay any resulting unpaid balances on accounts due to the loss of financial aid funding in the Title IV refund process. In many instances alternative loans may be borrowed to help defray these unpaid balances, and there is a deferred payment plan available in the Bursar’s Office.

Students who unofficially withdraw from the University, who were eligible for Title IV funding, and for whom a date cannot be determined.

The students in this category, because they left the University without taking action with the Registrar’s Office, receive an administrative withdrawal. This category also includes students who received “UW” grades in all their courses, and earn no credit for the term. The University must consider a withdrawal date for these students that is set at the 50% point in time of the semester. The Title IV Refund process for these students requires this, and the review must be completed within 30 days of the end of the semester involved.