Please be Advised: This policy applies to all students of Gardner-Webb University.
When a student’s charges are reduced, Federal, State, Institutional and Non-Institutional Aid will be adjusted in accordance with the federal and state regulations governing the respective programs. Please contact the Financial Planning Office for current regulations concerning these programs. Leaving the University without officially withdrawing may result in a student forfeiting all financial aid and, thus, becoming responsible for the entire balance owed to the University.
Gardner-Webb reserves the right to modify this policy and make exceptions to the policy deemed reasonable by the institution.
Subject to the exceptions set forth in this policy, registration in the University is considered a contract binding on the student for charges for the entire semester. The following policy outlines financial implications in relation to charge reductions because of changes to a student’s enrollment in classes, programs, meal plans and housing, as well as partial withdrawals and full withdrawals from the University.
Determination of refunds will be determined based on the time of request (if within the allowed refund period of the semester) and whether a request is a complete withdrawal for authorized reasons or a partial charge reduction for a semester.
It is the policy of the University to give pro-rata charge reductions through 60% of the enrollment period in the event a student officially withdraws from school for Tuition & Required Fees and Room fees. For purposes of interpreting this policy, the pro-rata charge reduction percentage is equal to the number of calendar days (including weekends) remaining in the semester divided by the number of calendar days in the semester.
Other educational fees, Bulldog Bundle fees and Board fees are contractual fees of the University with outside vendors and suppliers and may not be refunded or prorated after the add/drop date. Additional details regarding each category of fee are described below.
Refunds will not be provided for disciplinary dismissals or withdrawals from the University that did not follow the University withdrawal procedures. All complete withdrawals from the University must be authorized using the withdrawal form. Confirmation will be sent when the withdrawal is complete. The withdrawal date is the date of last attendance.
Tuition and Required Fees include:
All other academic fees are considered other educational fees and may be required for a student’s program or class. These other educational fees are discussed below.
For tuition and required fees, students will be refunded on a pro-rata per day rate from the date the University approves the withdrawal or change of enrollment up to the point where 60% of the enrollment period has gone by, after which time no refund will be permitted.
Other educational and general fees include but are not limited to automobile registration fees, late fees, lab fee, course supply fees, testing fees, clinical fees, program specific fees, etc. Many of these fees are refundable unless stated on our fees website up to the date of drop/add after which fees are considered non-refundable regardless of withdrawal approval.
The University works with our bookstore vendor to provide this discounted rental rate for textbooks and course material annually to ensure the lowest price possible. The vendor allows students the limited ability to opt out of the program each semester and due to such, these fees are refundable only through drop/add. Regardless of withdrawal approval, these fees are non-refundable past this date.
Housing fees include our room cost, residential amenities fee, and our housing deposit. Housing deposits and residential amenities fees are non-refundable. All other housing fees (actual Room/Housing Fees) will be refunded on a pro-rata per day rate from the date of university approval of withdrawal or change of enrollment up to the point where 60% of the enrollment period has gone by after which time no refund will be permitted.
The University works with our dining service vendor to provide the annual meal plan rates. The vendor allows students to modify their meal plans through the add/drop date, after which no modifications may be made. Reduction in board plan charges will be computed based on the total cost of the board plans on a pro-rata per day rate less the amount of Flex Dollars available with the plan. Any unused flex dollars will be refunded against the dining fee.
Indebtedness to the university created by the return of aid must be resolved before a student can reenroll or be issued an academic transcript. Federal regulations prohibit the use of federal financial aid to pay prior-year balances. Therefore, a student needs to consider the payment of any outstanding balances as they make plans to return to school.
Students who stop attending all of their classes are required to officially withdraw from the university. The University recognizes several classifications for withdrawal which include but are not limited to leave of absence or medical withdrawal, military just to name a few. The Office of Student Development and the Registrar’s Office are primary resources for helping students through the withdrawal processes.
An unofficial withdrawal occurs when a student does not successfully complete any of their courses (receives all F grades), stops attending classes, and/or does not complete any coursework as of the 60% point of the semester or summer term without formally withdrawing from the university, as required. When these withdrawals occur, forms of federal financial aid are subject to return. These returns are required by federal regulation and dictated by calculations based on the Return to Title IV Aid guidance.
An unofficial withdrawal and the repayment of financial aid is calculated based on the last date of attendance. Students noted to have never attended any of their classes and did not complete any course work / never attended prior to the add/drop date of the term are required to repay 100% of the financial aid received for the semester or summer term.
Federal law specifies how Gardner-Webb University must determine the amount of federal (Title IV) financial aid and VA Benefits that earned if a student withdraws from school. The federal programs included under this law include Direct Loans, Direct PLUS Loans, Federal Pell Grants, and Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants.
When withdrawing during a semester, term or module (mini session), the amount of federal financial aid earned up to that point is determined by a specific formula. If the student has received more assistance than earned, the excess funds must be returned to the government by Gardner-Webb University and/or directly by the student. This is called a Return to Title IV (or R2T4). The amount of assistance that a student has earned is determined on a pro-rata basis.
Though total aid for the semester, term or module (mini session) is posted to the student’s account just after the start of each semester, it is earned over the duration of the period covered. Title IV financial aid is earned by the calendar day, not class day. This includes weekends, holidays, and breaks of less than five consecutive days for standard terms and ANY breaks for modules (mini sessions).
Once the student has completed more than 60% of the period, the student has earned all the assistance scheduled to receive for that period. Once withdrawal has been processed by the Registrar’s office and has notified the Office of Financial Planning, a calculation will be completed, if applicable, according to these guidelines. Returned Title IV funds are allocated in the following order:
VA Benefits follow similar refund policies. VA benefit eligible students should consult the VA sponsor or University Liaison for program specific policies.
Mandatory returns may create significant indebtedness if this aid was used to pay for charges for which a student is still responsible for or if the student received these funds as a refund prior to official withdrawal. These funds must be returned even if GWU provides no refund to the student.
The school must return the Title IV funds within 45 days of the date the school determines the student withdrew.
Financial aid is expected to help meet educational costs, so any academic, housing, or meal plan refunds resulting from withdrawal from the university will be returned to the financial aid programs from which assistance is received. University, state, and outside scholarships may be adjusted based on the tuition refund schedule and in accordance with the regulations of those funding entities. Students may be required to return funds from previously issued financial aid refund checks.
Any amount of unearned grant funds that the withdrawing student must return is called an overpayment. The maximum amount of a grant overpayment the student must repay is half the grant funds that were received or scheduled to receive. The student does not have to repay a grant overpayment if the original amount of the overpayment is $50 or less. Arrangements must be made with GWU or the Department of Education to return the unearned grant funds. The student will be notified of any grant overpayment within 30 days of the date the school determined the student withdrew.
If a student received (or Gardner-Webb University or legal guardian received on behalf) less assistance than the amount that is earned, students may be able to receive those additional funds as a Post-Withdrawal Disbursement. If the post-withdrawal disbursement includes loan funds, the student must give permission before the funds can be disbursed. GWU may automatically use all or a portion of the post-withdrawal disbursement of grant funds for tuition, fees, and room and board charges. Permission is required to use the post-withdrawal grant for disbursement for all other school charges. Students will be notified of post-withdrawal disbursement eligibility within 30 days of the date of withdrawal determination.
