Student Billing – Government Regulations

Refund Policy

Student Account Credit Balance Refunds

If a student billing account reaches a credit balance (caused when financial aid, awards, and/or payments exceed the total of charges assessed), the student may choose to:

1. Carry the full credit on account (The student must notify the Business Office in writing for this option.)
2. Receive a full refund of the credit balance.

Should the student opt for the refund, the Business Office will issue the refund as either direct deposit (also referred to as electronic refund or eRefund) or paper check, based on the student’s selection. For the convenience of the student, the college recommends direct deposit for student refunds. Direct deposit enrollment will be through the student’s RavenZone account utilizing the TouchNet vendor secure web page to collect the student’s direct deposit information. The first direct deposit refund (eRefund) will be issued the Friday of the first full week of classes. Paper checks will be mailed to the student’s home address the Monday following the first full week of classes. Refunds created as a result of federal financial aid credits are to be disbursed to the student within 14 calendar days after aid credits have been posted to the student’s account and the student has met enrollment and attendance qualifications according to federal and/or state regulations.

After classes begin, to be considered for any potential refunds or adjustments on the student’s tuition statement from the Business Office, the student MUST follow these procedures to affect an official withdrawal/drop from class:

1. For a reduction of credit hours, complete the change of schedule process as directed by the Office of Academic Records and Registration.
2. For withdrawal from a residence hall or board contract, obtain approval from a Residence/Student Life officer and complete a written withdrawal form in that office.
3. For total academic withdrawal, complete a written withdrawal form in the Office of the Director of the Student Success Center and the Student Life Office. These offices will notify the Office of Academic Records and Registration, and the Registrar will obtain the student’s last date of attendance in class. The withdrawal date and the date of last attendance both impact the calculation of any potential refund, tuition adjustment or aid adjustment, as further explained in the section titled “Government Regulations for Adjustments, Refunds and Repayment of Awarded Monies under the Title IV Program.”

Fees

Individual course fees, including any program fees, will not be refunded once the semester begins.

Tuition – Adjustments/Refunds

Students who drop individual courses but remain enrolled as full-time students (12 to 18 credit hours) will not see a change in the full-time tuition charge. For the first six days of each semester, a change in status from full-time enrollment to part-time enrollment (less than 12 credit hours) will impact charges as well as eligibility for financial aid. Part-time students are not eligible for certain financial aid; contact the Financial Aid Office for further information. After the sixth day of the semester, there will be no change in tuition charges or financial aid when dropping classes that cause a student to go from full-time to part-time enrollment status; the student’s enrollment status “freezes” for the purpose of charges as well as receipt of financial aid. When part-time students drop individual courses after the sixth day of the class, tuition charges related to the dropped class will be prorated based on the date the student officially drops the course, according to the Tuition Adjustment schedule below.

Students whose status changes from part-time to full-time after the first six days of the semester but during the time period allowed to “add” classes will see a change in charges. When enrollment status changes, students are encouraged to meet with Student Billing in the Business Office to understand how charges will be affected and with the Financial Aid Office for a clear understanding of how aid may be affected.

Tuition overload charges will be refunded based on the date the student officially drops the overload course, according to the Tuition Adjustment schedule below.

When enrollment status changes, students are encouraged to meet with Student Billing in the Business Office to understand how charges will be affected and with the Financial Aid Office for a clear understanding of how aid may be affected. 

When a student withdraws from college, tuition charges will be adjusted following the schedule below. Overload tuition charges will be refunded at the same rate as other tuition charges. Students withdrawing should request a withdrawal form from the Office of the Director of the Student Success Center in order to begin the official withdrawal (exit) process. Tuition charges will be adjusted once the withdrawal date is recorded in the Office of Academic Records and Registration and entered into the student’s record.

Tuition Adjustments

Week Ending (Friday, 5:00 p.m. CST)	Percent Refunded
1st partial week of semester	95%
1st full week of semester	90%
2nd full week of semester	75%
3rd full week of semester	50%
To 20th day each semester	25%
After 20th day	No adjustment

Summer Session Tuition Adjustments

	4 Weeks, Session 1 & 2	6 Week Session	8 Weeks, Entire Summer
80% Refund	Session days 1 and 2	Session days 1–3	Session days 1 through 4
40% Refund	Session days 3 and 4	Session days 4–6	Session days 5 through 8
No Refund	Session day 5 and following	Session days 7 and following	Session day 9 and following

A student who registers for a summer class, but does not ever attend the class and does not drop the class before the first day of the session will be charged a $50 Nonattendance fee. For students taking an online class taught through Benedictine College, logging into your class is considered as attending the class for one session.

The college also partners with other academic consortiums to offer additional online classes to Benedictine College students, allowing students the opportunity to improve their Benedictine GPA and enhance or maintain academic progress toward their degree.  The consortium classes offered have been reviewed and approved by the Benedictine College Registrar.  Students that enroll in these classes take a class taught by a partner institution, and transfer the credit and the grade back to Benedictine College. These classes are very compact in nature and have various start dates; as a result, they have a tuition refund policy different that Benedictine’s published policy stated above. Refer to refund timeline below.

Tuition Refund Timeline for Consortium Classes	Tuition Refund
Drop class before Day 1 of class	100%
Drop class Day 1 or Day 2 of class	80%
Drop class AFTER Day 2 of class	No refund
Never drop class, administratively dropped from class by Teaching Institution WITHIN drop period.	Tuition reversed 100% charged $50 non-attendance fee
Never drop class, administratively dropped from class by Teaching Institution AFTER drop period.	No refund

For Graduate Education Students: Students should refer to the Refund and Withdrawal Policy as stated in the Graduate Education Program Handbook given to them at orientation.

Room and Meal Adjustments/Refunds

A student signs a contract with the Student Life Office for each full academic year regarding his or her campus residency status while attending Benedictine College. Rooms and meal plans are assigned and charged to a student’s account by semester. Refunds for the semester may be given as long as a student provides written notice of withdrawing from college at least one full week prior to the start of classes, and the basis for cancellation meets the criteria as defined by the Student Life Office. This gives the college the opportunity to make the space available to other students. In cases of this type of notification, all of the room and meal plan charges are refunded. From the week classes are scheduled to begin, room charges are refunded on a pro rata basis up to and including the 20th day of the semester; after this date, no refund for room charges will be awarded. Meal plans are refunded on a pro rata basis. The eligible refund period for room and board begins the day after the student has moved out of the dorm and also returned all keys to the Residence Director.

To assist in offsetting the cost of attendance when a student withdraws, financial aid will be earned and repaid according to the Government Regulations for Adjustments, Refunds and Repayment of Awarded Monies under the Title IV Program described below.

It is possible that a student who withdraws may still have an outstanding balance payable to Benedictine College after institutional charges and financial aid have been adjusted. Students should meet with the Financial Aid Office to understand the adjustment process and Student Billing in the Business Office to understand the balance remaining and to make payment arrangements for any remaining balances. The college reserves the right to hold transcripts until all balances have been paid in full.

Government Regulations for Adjustments, Refunds and Repayment of Awarded Monies under the Title IV Program (Financial Aid)

Students are awarded financial aid at the beginning of each academic term with the expectation that student will complete the entire term requirements. When students withdraw from the College prior to the end of an academic term, the student’s educational charges billed by the institution, and the financial aid previously awarded/disbursed to the student’s billing account may require adjustment. Adjustments to the students’ financial aid are based upon withdrawal adjustment/refund guidelines of the US Dept. of ED. For withdrawing students receiving financial aid, adjustments to aid will be based on the last date of class attendance and as set forth in The Federal Refund/Adjustment Policies contained in the provisions of the US Dept. of ED relating to financial aid received, and is summarized below. Students are encouraged to meet with the Financial Aid Office for clarification of the impact of individual situations.

Federal regulations require the use of the Return of Title IV Funds policy to be used for all students receiving any type of federal aid when calculating the aid a student can retain after withdrawing. This policy relates to Federal Pell and SEOG Grants, Federal Direct student loans, and Parent PLUS Loans. At Benedictine College, the same policy will be used for state, institutional, and outside aid sources.

These regulations govern the return of aid disbursed for a student who completely withdraws from a term or payment period. During the first 60% of the period/semester, a student “earns” aid in direct proportion to the length of time the student remains enrolled. The percentage of time the student remained enrolled determines the percentage of disbursable aid for that period the student has earned. The percentage of the period the student remained enrolled is based upon the number of days the student was enrolled, in comparison to the total number of days available within the applicable academic term (divide the number of days enrolled by the total days in the enrollment period, or semester). A student who remains enrolled beyond the 60% point earns all aid for that academic term.

If a student has not earned all of the federal aid received to date at the point of withdrawal, funds will be repaid in the following order:

1. Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loan.
2. Federal Direct Subsidized Loan.
3. Federal Direct PLUS Loan.
4. Federal Pell Grant.
5. Federal SEOG Grant.
6. State grant and scholarship funds.
7. Institutional aid.
8. Scholarships from outside sources.

Government Regulations for Cash Refunds to Students Awarded Monies under the Title IV Program

The Benedictine College refund policies, or any portion thereof, is subject to change without notice due to subsequent changes in federal regulations that apply to the college policy. With the federal schedule directing return of borrowed federal loans first, it is very likely the student who withdraws will still have an outstanding balance with the institution.

Government Repayments

If a withdrawing student received financial aid in excess of direct costs (tuition, fees, room, and board), a percentage of this aid may have to be returned. The amount will depend on how many days the student was enrolled and the amount of aid received. Details should be discussed with the Financial Aid Office.