Refund Policy and Return of Title IV Aid

For a variety of reasons, a student may find it necessary to withdraw from all classes during a term. Depending on when this action is taken, students may be refunded all or part of their tuition and fee charges. If the student is a financial aid recipient, the student may be required to return all or a portion of the aid disbursed. If a student had a  federal student loan at any time while at RHIT, the student is highly encouraged to complete exit counseling on studentaid.gov

Rose-Hulman withdrawal and tuition refund policy
RHIT has a tuition refund policy that stipulates the amount of tuition and fees that is refunded to a student who withdraws from all classes during a term. The Rose-Hulman Office of the Registrar is responsible for processing withdrawals. The Student Financial Services office determines specific refund dates each term and publishes them on the Rose-Hulman website. The chart below shows the amount of tuition and fees returned to a student depending upon when the student withdraws. Students must notify Student Affairs to start the withdraw process and follow specific withdrawal procedures as set forth by Rose-Hulman.

Unofficial withdrawals
The federal government considers an unofficial withdrawal one in which a failing grade is received due to a student not attending a class for which he/she is enrolled or stops attending said class. In the case of an unofficial withdrawal, you could be required to repay aid you have received. If you have any questions about your enrollment and eligibility for financial aid, please contact the Office of Financial Aid for assistance.

Return of Title IV (federal) financial aid
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 disbursed in excess of the earned amount must be returned by Rose-Hulman and/or the student to the federal government. In this situation, a student could owe Rose-Hulman, the government, or both.
The Office of Financial Aid is notified by the Registrar when a student has officially withdrawn from Rose-Hulman. The calculation for return of Title IV funds is based upon the date on which a student initiates the withdrawal process by indicating the student's intent to withdraw by speaking to the Office of Student Affairs and completing Rose-Hulman’s withdrawal form.
If for any reason a student does not officially withdraw but ceases to attend class(es), the Office of Financial Aid will be notified of the last date of participation by the instructor(s) when grades are reported at the end of the term. This date will determine any need to reduce the financial aid initially offered, as well as complete the Return of Title IV aid calculation described below.
To determine the amount of aid the student has earned up to the time of withdrawal, we divide the number of calendar days the student has attended classes by the total number of calendar days in the term (minus any scheduled breaks of 5 days or more). The resulting percentage is then multiplied by the total federal funds that were disbursed (either to the student’s Rose account or to the student directly by check or direct deposit) for the term.
This calculation determines the amount of aid earned by the student that he or she may keep (for example, if the student attended 25 percent of the term, the student will have earned 25 percent of the aid disbursed). The unearned amount (total aid disbursed minus the earned amount) must be returned to the federal government by Rose-Hulman and/or the student.
Students whose circumstances require that they withdraw from all classes are strongly encouraged to contact our office and their academic advisor before doing so. At that time, the consequences of withdrawing from all classes can be explained and clearly illustrated. Financial aid staff can provide refund examples and further explain this policy to students and parents.