Return of Title IV Funds/Institutional Refund Policy
B. Return of Title IV Funds/Institutional Refund Policy
Refunds for undergraduate students who completely withdraw from Messiah University voluntarily or otherwise are determined according to the following policy:
- The portion of tuition and residence charges to be refunded to withdrawing students during the fall or spring semester will be as follows:
Week 1 100% Week 2 75% Week 3 60% Week 4 50% Week 5 25% - For refund calculation purposes, spring semester starts on the first day of J-term. Students who withdraw from the College during J-term are considered part-time students for the purpose of calculating refunds. As such, no J-term refunds are issued after the third day of J-term classes.
- Student Activity, Student Services, Applied Music, Lab and other course related fees are not refunded after the first week. Nursing course related fees are not refunded unless the major is dropped prior to the first day of class.
- Students who withdraw from the College after the completion of the fifth week of classes during fall or spring semester will not receive a refund of tuition or residence fees.
- Dining Dollars Refund Policy can be found online at: messiah.edu/studentmealplan
- Spring semester room charges will be adjusted only for students enrolled in credit-earning, off-campus activities during January or May terms. Adjustments will be uniformly applied to all campus housing charges. Housing charges will be adjusted for students participating in directed and independent studies only if there is an academic requirement that necessitates living off-campus. Housing charges will not be adjusted for students who attend classes, or who are otherwise on-campus during both January and May terms.
- There are no refunds for enrolled students vacating a room after the start of the semester.
- There are no refunds for incomplete courses, independent study, directed study, internship/practical and online courses.
- Refunds and adjusted bills will be sent to the student’s home address following withdrawal.
- In accordance with federal regulations, when federal financial aid (Title IV) refunds are involved, the amounts are allocated in the following order: Unsubsidized Federal Direct Loan, Subsidized Federal Direct Loan, Federal Direct PLUS Loan, Federal Pell Grant, Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (SEOG), TEACH Grant, IRAQ and Afghanistan Service Grant, and other Title IV aid programs.
- The term “Title IV Funds” refers to the federal financial aid programs authorized under the Higher Education Act of 1965 (as amended) and includes the following programs: Unsubsidized Federal Direct Stafford Loans, Subsidized Federal Direct Stafford Loans, Federal Direct PLUS Loans, Federal Pell Grants, Federal SEOG, TEACH Grants, and IRAQ and Afghanistan Service Grants.
- Institutional and student responsibilities in regard to the Return of Title IV Funds
- Messiah University’s Responsibility: Providing each student with the information given in this policy, identifying students who are affected by the policy and completing the Return of Title IV Funds calculation for those students, and returning any Title IV funds that are due the Title IV Programs
- Student’s Responsibility: Returning to the Title IV programs any funds that were disbursed directly to the student and for which the student was determined to be ineligible via the Return of Title IV Funds calculation.
- Institutional financial aid will be refunded according to #1 above.
- Dropped course fees follow the dates published on messiah.edu/registrar. Students must be full time (12+ credits/semester) through the “LAST DAY TO DROP A COURSE” in order to maintain full-time eligibility for financial aid.
- Medical Leave Refunds and information can be found at: messiah.edu/refunds
- Small student account credit balances of $5.00 or less, if not specifically requested to be refunded within two weeks after the student leaves Messiah, will automatically be cleared and donated to the general scholarship fund.
The fees, procedures, and policies listed above supersede those published previously and are subject to change at any time. Not all fees are listed.
Any notification of a withdrawal or cancellation and request for a refund should be in writing and addressed to the appropriate institutional official. These would be respectively the Registrar, an Admissions Office representative, and the Controller.
If you believe that your individual circumstances warrant that your charges or refund should be determined in a manner other than the published policy, or you would like examples of the refund policy, contact: Cathy Poiesz, Director of Student Financial Services, Messiah University, One University Avenue, Suite 3011, Mechanicsburg, PA 17055.