Withdrawals & Return of Financial Aid

*AIMS Education is currently a Title IV eligible school for clock hour programs. An application for degree and credit-bearing programs is pending.

The financial aid information provided on the AIMS website is for informational purposes only. Federal student aid is currently not available for degree and credit-bearing programs. Please contact a financial aid advisor for additional information.

How Withdrawals Affect Financial Aid

Students who withdraw or do not complete their program, may be required to return some of the aid originally awarded and/or disbursed. The amount of federal student aid earned is calculated by proration based on the number of credits successfully completed and the total attempted credits during the payment period. If a student withdraws after the 60% point in the payment period, the student is considered to have earned all of his/her financial aid and will not be required to return any funds. 

Types of Withdrawal and Procedures

Official Withdrawal

An official withdrawal occurs when a student provides formal notification stating his/her intent to withdraw. Students who wish to withdraw can contact the academic department located on the 3rd floor of the main campus. Acceptable forms of notification include in-person notification by the student, or notification via phone, fax, or email when in-person notification is not possible for the student.

Withdrawal Procedure

Students who wish to withdraw voluntarily from a program will be asked to complete a modification of enrollment contract in the academic department. The academic department will review the student’s attendance records, determine the coursework completed, establish the last date of attendance, determine the withdrawal date, and prepare a withdrawal letter.

The official withdrawal letter will be sent to the student via email and postal mail, and a copy will be forwarded to Student Records and the financial aid department. 

The financial aid department will assist students in the completion of the required exit counseling. Exit counseling is required for all students who have received Title IV Direct Loans. If the student is unable to complete the exit counseling on campus, the financial aid department will mail the exit counseling materials along with the withdrawal letter.

Unofficial Withdrawal

An unofficial withdrawal occurs when the school has not received formal notification from a student of his/her intent to withdraw but the student has not attended class for 14 calendar days. If a student does not return to class upon the completion of an approved leave of absence, it will also be treated as an unofficial withdrawal. The administrative procedure mentioned above will be followed to process the withdrawal letter.

Date of Determination

If a student provides a formal notification of withdrawal, the date of the school’s determination that a student withdrew would be the date the student began the official withdrawal process or the date of the student’s notification, whichever is later.

If the school has not received a formal notification of withdrawal, the date of determination would be the date that the school becomes aware that the student ceased attendance. In the case of an unofficial withdrawal when a student does not return from a leave of absence, the date of determination that a student has withdrawn will be the date on which the student is expected to resume.

Date of Withdrawal

The date of withdrawal is the last date of the student’s academic attendance (LDA) as determined by the school from any available attendance records.

R2T4 Process

Upon receipt of notification from the student and/or academic department that a student’s withdrawal is being processed, the financial aid department will review the student’s financial aid processes (e.g. packaging, awarding, and disbursement) and put a hold on further progress. Upon receipt of the withdrawal letter from the academic department, the financial aid department will complete the following:

  • Complete an R2T4 calculation worksheet using the date of determination and the date of withdrawal mentioned in the withdrawal letter.  
  • The student ledger and aid award letter will be reviewed to collect the student’s Title IV aid information and determine whether the amount of Title IV aid for the payment period will be put into “Amount Disbursed” or “Amount that could have been disbursed” on the R2T4 worksheet. 
  • Once 60% of the payment period has been completed, a student is considered to have earned 100% of the financial aid awarded. If a student has failed to pass any exams during that period, the financial aid department will investigate to determine the student’s enrollment status. If the student’s attendance cannot be verified, the financial aid awarded will be cancelled or adjusted.
  • Unearned Title IV aid will be posted on the student ledger as Title IV funds to be returned. AIMS Education will return the funds to the respective Title IV programs (sources) in the order in which they appear on the R2T4 worksheet.
  • If the amount of aid disbursed to a student is short of the aid earned, the student will be eligible for a Post Withdrawal Disbursement (PWD). Pell Grant funds will be disbursed upon completion of the R2T4 worksheet and notification to the student. If PWD includes loan funds, the student will be notified promptly of their eligibility and requested to consent to the disbursement of loan funds within 14 days of the written notification. The amount of PWD will be applied to eligible unpaid program costs. The balance of the PWD amount after eligible program costs, if any, will be paid to the student via check. 
  • R2T4 refunds and/or PWDs will be recorded on the student’s ledger. The student ledger will also be updated for adjustments of fees as per the institution’s tuition refund policy, and a copy of the student ledger will be mailed to the student.
  • A copy of the R2T4 worksheet will be placed in the student’s file.
  • The academic department is responsible for processing the signed withdrawal letter as soon as possible to allow the financial aid department sufficient time to complete the R2T4 calculations. R2T4 calculations must be completed within 30 days of the withdrawal and unearned aid must be returned within 45 days of the date of withdrawal.
  • If the student has any overpayments, the student will be notified of the overpayment upon completion of the R2T4 calculations. Overpaid aid that is not repaid within 45 days, will be posted to the National Student Loan Data Base showing the student is ineligible for further funding.