Withdrawing and Dropping Classes
In situations where a student needs to withdraw from one or more classes, or withdraw entirely from UNI, federal regulations may require UNI to return a portion or all of the financial aid that has been disbursed to the student. The amount varies depending on the official date of withdrawal.
If you are considering dropping one or more classes, or withdrawing from the university, please contact the Office of Financial Aid & Scholarships to discuss your situation.
Dropping below half-time enrollment or withdrawing from all classes may affect the repayment status of your current or previous student loans.
Dropping Classes
The Office of Financial Aid & Scholarships monitors semester hours of enrollment for students who are receiving financial aid. Students who drop courses during the first two weeks of classes (but are still enrolled) will have their grants reduced accordingly. Students who drop courses after the first two weeks of the semester (but are still enrolled) will not have their financial aid adjusted.
The Office of the Registrar has a tuition refund policy that determines the amount of tuition and fees that will be refunded to a student who withdraws from all classes. The amount is based on the date the student withdraws from the university, and may vary from 0% to 100%. You should check with the Office of the Registrar to determine the amount of tuition and fees refund for which you may be eligible.
Room and board refunds are made in accordance with the agreement set out in the Contract for Room and Board. Please contact University Housing & Dining for more information about room and board refunds.
Financial Aid Impacts of Withdrawing
The U.S. Department of Education requires institutions to apply the Return to Title IV Funds policy for students withdrawing from a University who receive Title IV financial aid. The Title IV programs include: Federal Pell Grants, Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grants, TEACH Grants, Direct Loans, Direct PLUS Loans, and Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (SEOG). In addition, state and institutional aid programs are also subject to returning aid based on the last date of attendance.
Students who withdraw from all classes at the university before more than 60% of the semester has passed are required to return unearned federal student aid in a proportion equal to the time not in attendance. For example, if a student completes 30% of the semester, the student may keep 30% of the financial aid they received and the other 70% of aid received must be returned in the following order:
- Direct Unsubsidized Loan
- Direct Subsidized Loan
- Direct Graduate PLUS Loan (for graduate students)
- Direct PLUS Loan (for parents of undergraduate students)
- Pell Grant
- Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grant
- SEOG (Supplemental Education Opportunity Grant)
- TEACH Grant (Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education Grant)
- Children of Fallen Heroes
Adjustments to state programs, UNI grants and scholarships and any external agencies coincide with the tuition refund policy.
Students are notified of any changes to their aid resulting from withdrawal, and should check their U-Bill after they have withdrawn. Students who have attended classes through 60% of the semester will be able to retain all of the financial aid that has been disbursed. However, a student’s eligibility for financial aid in future semesters may be affected (please see our website: Satisfactory Academic Progress).
Students should keep in mind that loans that were disbursed must still be repaid according to the terms of the promissory note.
If circumstances arise that require you to withdraw from all classes, please contact both your academic advisor and the Office of Financial Aid & Scholarships so that the consequences of withdrawal can be explained.
Unofficial Withdrawal
At the end of each semester, the Office of Student Financial Aid & Scholarships reviews the status of students who received all F grades. Course instructors are contacted for assistance in identifying the last date of attendance. If a student stops attending all classes during a semester but fails to officially withdraw, the student will be considered “unofficially withdrawn” and is at risk of having portions of his/her financial aid returned based on the withdrawal percentages outlined above. Financial aid adjustments will be reflected on the University U-Bill.
Federal regulation limits the number of times a student may repeat a course and receive financial aid for that course. This policy applies whether or not the student received aid for earlier enrollments in the course.
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A student may receive aid when repeating a course that was previously failed regardless of the number of times the course was attempted and failed.
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A student may receive aid to repeat a previously passed course only one additional time.
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This policy applies whether or not the student received aid for earlier enrollments in the course.