Refund Policy of Title IV Funds

The Office of Student Accounts processes tuition refunds according to the date of the official withdrawal. The refund period for tuition and fees begins on the first day of the enrollment period.

If the student received Title IV Aid, Fordham will apply the most recent refund or repayment calculations.

Withdrawal

Students, who withdraw, officially or unofficially, may be subject to adjustment of their financial aid packages and tuition charges.  There are three refund policies: Pro Rata (adjustment of charges based on a prorated amount), Federal (R2T4), and Institutional (adjustment of institutional aid based on the proration of tuition and/or room & board). One of these three will be applied wherever applicable.  Students considering withdrawal should come to the Office of Student Financial Services or contact the Office of Student Financial Services prior to withdrawal so that they can be advised as to the impact on their financial aid.

Credit Balances

A credit balance occurs whenever a student has funds credited to their account which exceeds the total amount of a student's direct charges. Per cash management regulations, credit balances resulting exclusively from Title IV aid are refunded directly to the student or parent as soon as possible but no later than 14 days after the first day of classes or the date the funds were applied to a student's account whichever comes last. Regulations stipulate that a student's unpaid charges on their bill must be satisfied before a refund can be processed.

Federal Regulations also require that the University document that a student begin attending classes in order to be eligible for a refund of a credit balance. Therefore the Office of Student Accounts begins processing refunds once the add/drop period for a college has passed.

Treatment of Title IV Credit Balances when a Student Withdraws

Per cash management regulations, Fordham must refund a Title IV credit balance to a student within 14 days. However, when a student withdraws and had federal aid on his/her account, Fordham must perform an R2T4 calculation to determine whether adjustments to the credit balance will occur. As a result, the existing 14-day payment requirement is placed on hold to determine the final amount of any Title IV credit balance. Fordham does not obtain a student’s or parent’s authorization to hold a Title IV credit balance that existed prior to the return calculation (beyond the original 14-day deadline) while it determines the final amount of the credit balance. In order to allow time to appropriately apply any credit balance after it has been recalculated, a new 14-day deadline is triggered when a R2T4 calculation is performed. The new 14-day deadline begins on the date the R2T4 calculation is performed. Note: in order to determine the correct Title IV credit balance, Fordham takes into account both the results of the R2T4 calculation and our institutional refund policy.

Time Frame for Returning an Unclaimed Title IV Credit Balance

If Fordham attempts to issue a refund of the credit balance by check and the check is not cashed, then Fordham returns the funds no later than 240 days after the date the Office of Student Accounts issued the check. If a check is returned to the Office of Student Accounts or an EFT is rejected, the Office of Student Accounts may make additional attempts to disburse the funds, provided that those attempts are made not later than 45 days after the funds were returned or rejected. The school must cease all attempts to disburse the funds and return them no later than 240 days after the date it issued the first check.