Return of Title IV Funds Policy

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Title IV funds (Federal Student Aid) are awarded to a student under the assumption that the student will attend school for the entire period (semester) for which the assistance is awarded. A student must begin attendance in their classes to establish eligibility for those awarded funds. When a student withdraws or stops attending classes, they may no longer be eligible for the full amount of Title IV funds that were originally scheduled to be received.

US Federal Regulations determine how Title IV funds are handled when a recipient of those funds completely withdraws from or ceases attendance at the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo (UH Hilo) prior to the end of an enrollment period. The return of funds is based on a pro-rated schedule which calculates the amount of Title IV funding the student earned before they either stopped attending or completely withdrew from classes. If the student does not attend beyond the 60% point of the semester, they will be required to return the unearned portion of their Title IV funding.

Official Withdrawal

Students who withdraw online or via the UH Hilo Complete Withdrawal Form (PDF) are considered to have “officially withdrawn.” The Last Date of Attendance (LDA) or withdrawal date is used to determine the percentage of the term that the student completed. Each of the student’s instructors will be contacted to verify his or her attendance.

Unofficial Withdrawal

Students who do not earn a passing grade (fails all classes) during a term will be reviewed to determine if the failure was due to not attending class. A student is considered to have unofficially withdrawn if they cease attendance prior to the end of the semester. The last date of attendance (provided by instructors) will be used to determine if a Return of Title IV Funds calculation is necessary.