Throughout the year, students may find it necessary to withdraw from all classes during a semester. Depending upon when this action is taken, a student may be refunded all or part of their tuition and fee charges. If the student is a financial aid recipient, the Office of Financial Aid, as well as the student, may be required to return to the federal government all or a portion of the aid that had been disbursed to the student and/or the student’s account.

IIT Tuition Refund Policy

IIT has a tuition refund policy that stipulates the amount of tuition and fees that are refunded to a student who withdraws from all classes during a semester. Students are entitled to a 100 percent refund of their tuition during the first two weeks of classes. After the second week of classes, the refund of tuition is zero percent

Federal Refund Policy (Return of Title IV)

The federal government mandates that students who withdraw from all classes may only keep the financial aid they have “earned” up to the time of withdrawal. Title IV funds that were disbursed in excess of the earned amount must be returned by IIT and/or the student to the federal government. This situation could result in the student owing aid funds to IIT, the government, or both.

In general, the law assumes that the student must "earn" federal financial aid awards directly in proportion to the number of days of the semester the student attended. In other words, a student earns financial assistance as they attend class. If a student completely withdraws from all classes during a semester, IIT must calculate the portion of the total scheduled financial assistance earned. If the student received (or the university received on behalf of the student) more assistance than earned, the unearned excess funds must be returned to the federal programs.

To determine the amount of aid the student has earned up to the time of withdrawal, the Office of Financial Aid will divide the number of calendar days the student attended classes by the total number of calendar days in the semester (less any scheduled breaks of five days or more). The resulting percentage is then multiplied by the total federal funds that were disbursed (either to the student’s account or to the student directly by check for the semester. This calculation determines the amount of aid earned by the student that he can keep. However, IIT and/or the student must return the unearned amount (total aid disbursed less the earned amount) to the federal government. The Office of Financial Aid will provide instructions to students who are required to return funds to the government.

Allocating Returned Title IV (Federal) Aid

Funds that are returned to the federal government are used to reduce the outstanding balances in individual federal programs. Financial aid returned must be returned in the following order:

• Federal Unsubsidized Stafford Loan
• Federal Subsidized Stafford Loan
• Federal Perkins Loan
• Federal PLUS Loan (Parent Loan)
• Federal Pell Grant
• Federal SEOG
• Other Federal Loan or Grant Assistance

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