Financial Aid - Refund Policies

Refund Policies

Treatment of Title IV (Federal) Aid When a Student Withdraws

The law specifies how Lebanon Valley College must determine the amount of Title IV program assistance that you earn if you withdraw from school. The Title IV programs that are covered by this law are: Federal Pell Grants, Stafford Loans, PLUS Loans, Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (FSEOGs), Federal Perkins Loans and in some cases, certain state grant aid to students.

When you withdraw during your period of enrollment the amount of Title IV program assistance that you have earned up to that point is determined by a specific formula. If you received (or Lebanon Valley College or your parent received on your behalf) less assistance than the amount that you earned, you may be able to receive those additional funds. If you received more assistance than you earned, the excess funds must be returned by Lebanon Valley College and/or you.

The amount of assistance that you have earned is determined on a pro rata basis. For example, if you completed 30% of your payment period or period of enrollment, you earn 30% of the assistance you were originally scheduled to receive. Once you have completed more than 60% period of enrollment, you earn all the assistance that you were scheduled to receive for that period.

If you did not receive all of the funds that you earned, you may be due a postwithdrawal disbursement. If the post-withdrawal disbursement includes loan funds, you may choose to decline the loan funds so that you don't incur additional debt. Lebanon Valley College may automatically use all or a portion of your post-withdrawal disbursement (including loan funds, if you accept them) for tuition, fees, and room and board charges (as contracted with the school). For all other institutional charges, Lebanon Valley College needs your permission to use the post-withdrawal disbursement. If you do not give your permission, you will be offered the funds. However, it may be in your best interest to allow the college to keep the funds to reduce your debt at the college.

There are some Title IV funds that you were scheduled to receive that you cannot earn once you withdraw because of other eligibility requirements. For example, if you are a first-time, first-year undergraduate student and you have not completed the first two weeks of your program before you withdraw, you will not earn any Stafford loan funds that you would have received had you remained enrolled past the second week. If you receive (or Lebanon Valley College or your parent receive on your behalf ) excess Title IV program funds that must be returned, Lebanon Valley College must return a portion of the excess equal to the lesser of:

your institutional charges multiplied by the unearned percentage of your funds, or
the entire amount of excess funds.

The school must return this amount even if it didn't keep this amount of your Title IV program funds.

If Lebanon Valley College is not required to return all of the excess funds, you must return the remaining amount. Any loan funds that you must return, you (or your parent for a PLUS Loan) repay in accordance with the terms of the promissory note. That is, you make scheduled payments to the holder of the loan over a period of time.

Any amount of unearned grant funds that you must return is called an overpayment. The amount of a grant overpayment that you must repay is half of the unearned amount. You must make arrangements with Lebanon Valley College or the Department of Education to return the unearned grant funds.
NOTE: The federal government requires that all full-time students make satisfactory academic progress toward a degree or certificate. View the Academic Progress policy and requirements.

Treatment of Non-Title IV Aid When a Student Withdraws

Lebanon Valley College follows guidelines for Title IV programs (see above) when calculating the amount of institutional and/or state aid and/or private loans/scholarships that you have earned up to the point of withdrawal. Types of aid covered by this policy include but are not limited to: Presidential Scholarships (such as Vickroy, Leadership and Achievement Awards), LVC Grant-In-Aid, institutional scholarships, PHEAA State Grant and/or any other state administered grant funds.

When you withdraw during your period of enrollment the amount of non-Title IV assistance that you have earned up to that point is determined by the same specific formula used to calculate Title IV funds earned. If you received more assistance than you earned, the excess funds must be returned by Lebanon Valley College and/or you.

Once you have completed more than 60% period of enrollment, you earn all the assistance that you were scheduled to receive for that period.

Treatment of Institutional Charges When a Student Withdraws

Lebanon Valley College follows guidelines for Title IV programs when calculating the amount of unearned institutional charges to be refunded. Charges eligible for refund are tuition, room, board, private music lessons and overload charges.

Once you have completed more than 60% of the period of enrollment, you have earned all of the charges billed for that period.

Part-Time Student Refund Policy

Full tuition is refunded if withdrawal notification is received before the first day of class. Full tuition is refundable if the course is cancelled by the College. See the current refund table as posted on the Continuing Education tuition and fees page for specific dates for partial refunds. Students receiving federal financial assistance (Title IV) will receive a refund according to federal policy. A copy of the federal policy is on file in the Business Office.

Credit balance refunds will be issued upon request. Please keep in mind that your credit balance may be reduced by college store charges yet to be applied to your account. Please contact the Business Office to request your refund.