Consumer Information

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The Higher Education Opportunity Act

(Public Law 110-315) (HEOA) was enacted on August 14, 2008, and reauthorizes the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended (HEA).

The Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008 (HEOA) contains numerous federal reporting and disclosure requirements for information from various administrative areas of higher education institutions. In order to make this information readily available, Union College has created this website which is designed to provide quick access to this data. The consumer information has been organized in the categories above with links to additional information.

Family Education Rights and Privacy Act

The federal government regulates the sharing of private information regarding students and educational records. Learn more about this law here.

Financial Aid

Union College Return of Title IV Fund Policy

General withdrawal information

The US Department of Education requires institutions to apply the Return to Title IV Funds policy for students withdrawing from a University who receive Title IV financial aid. The Title IV programs include: Federal Pell Grants, Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grants, TEACH Grants, Direct Loans, Direct Plus Loans and Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (FSEOGs).

The requirements for Title IV program funds when you withdraw are separate from any refund policy that Union may have. Therefore, you may still owe funds to Union to cover unpaid institutional charges. Union will charge the student for any Title IV program funds that Union was required to return due to the student’s withdrawal. A student who withdraws after the 60% point of a semester is entitled to retain all Title IV aid for that semester. However, if the student withdraws prior to the 60% point of the term, unearned Title IV funds as determined by the federal policy must be returned to the various programs. These funds must be returned even if Union provides no refund to the student. This means the student could owe Union and/or the U.S. Department of Education a significant amount of money.

Return of Title IV Fund Policy:

This policy applies to students who completely withdraw, are granted a leave of absence request, involuntary withdraw or are academically dismissed from the institution. Tuition and Title IV refunds for these students are determined according to the following policy:

1.) The term “Title IV Funds” refers to the federal financial aid programs authorized under the Higher Education Act of 1965 (as amended) and for students enrolled at Union College includes the following programs: Federal Pell Grant, Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG), subsidized Direct Loans, unsubsidized Direct Loans, Direct Graduate Plus Loans, Direct Parent Plus Loans, and Federal Perkins Loans.

2.) A student’s withdrawal date is:

Official withdrawal or leave of absence date:

  • The date the student began the institution’s withdrawal process or officially notified the institution of intent to withdraw;
  • The date the student began the institution’s leave of absence process; or
  • The student’s last date of attendance as documented by academically related activity.

Unofficial withdrawal:

  • Students are defined as unofficially withdrawn for Title IV federal aid purposes when they do not have any grades for the semester other than FA, a failing grade due to non-attendance. When instructors assign the FA grade, the last known date of attendance or academic activity must also be reported. At the end of each semester, any students who have all FA grades are assumed to be “unofficially withdrawn.”

3.) Determining the amount of Title IV and Institutional funds to be returned:

  • The Federal Pell Grant will be returned on a per diem basis based on the number of days in attendance as a proportion to the number of days in the term or period of enrollment, up to the Pell Census date. The Pell Census and School Census dates are the same day.
  • Title IV funds (excluding Federal Pell Grant) will be returned on a per diem basis based on the number of days in attendance as a proportion to the number of days in the term or period of enrollment, up to the 60% point in the semester. There will be no funds returned after the 60% point in time. For instance, if a student completes 40% of the semester they would earn 40% of their Title IV, HEA funds.
  • Students with unofficial withdrawals will not receive a downward adjustment in their semester charges. Therefore, any refund owed to a federal financial aid program is the student’s responsibility and will appear as a charge on the student’s account.
  • Refunds, if applicable, will be disbursed no later than 14 days after the calculation of Return of Title IV. Refunds will be disbursed based on the method selected on the student’s electronic Credit Balance Form.
  • Adjusted financial plans will be emailed to the student’s Union College email address after the calculation of Return of Title IV.
  • In accordance with federal regulations, the return of Title IV funds is paid in the following order:
    • Unsubsidized Stafford Loans
    • Subsidized Stafford Loans
    • Perkins Loan
    • Direct PLUS (Grad PLUS)
    • Direct PLUS (Parent PLUS)
    • Pell Grant
    • Federal Supplemental Opportunity Grant (FSEOG)

4.) Institutional and student responsibilities in regard to the Return of Title IV Funds

  • When Title IV, HEA funds are returned, the student may owe a balance to the institution.  The balance owed could be due to the reduction of the tuition and fees not being sufficient to cover the portion of Title IV, HEA funds that were required to be returned.

Union College’s responsibilities include:

  • Providing each student with the information given in this policy
  • Identifying students who are affected by this policy
  • Completing the Return of Title IV Funds calculation for students who are subject to the policy
  • Returning the Title IV Funds that are due the Title IV programs as soon as possible, but no later than 45 days of the date of withdrawal or leave.
  • Refunding any credit balance that results from the calculation of Return of Title IV. Refunds will be processed no later than 14 days after the calculation of Return of Title IV and will be disbursed based on the method selected on the student’s electronic Credit Balance Form.

Student’s responsibilities include:

  • Students with Federal/Title IV financial aid must notify the Record’s Office immediately of a pending withdrawal or leave, as Federal refunds must be made within 45 days of the date of withdrawal or leave.

5.) Institutional post-withdrawal disbursement information:

  • Title IV funds that the student earned but have not been disbursed to the student account before withdrawal will be disbursed in the following manner
    • Grant funds will be disbursed within 45 days of withdrawal
    • Loans funds will be offered to the student within 30 days of withdrawal. Students have 14 days to respond.
    • All post-withdrawal disbursements are applied to the student account.
    • Any resulting credit balance from Title IV funds will be disbursed as soon as possible, but no later than 14 days of the Return of Title IV calculation.

Students should contact the Registrar’s Office for details on withdrawing or requesting a leave of absence.  Any student’s, who is granted a leave of absence, financial aid will be treated as a withdrawal for Title IV, HEA purposes.

Refund Policy

Union College offers a 100% refund of tuition and required fees should a student drop some classes or completely withdraw from the college on or before the published “Last Day to Add/Drop Classes.” After that date, required fees are non-refundable and the following refund policy applies to tuition.

Refunds for sessions or classes with durations other than the regular 15-week semester will be prorated using the above as a guideline. Federal Financial Aid is prorated based on a calculation prescribed in federal regulation which is slightly different from that used for institutional aid. The calculation determines the amount of federal aid the student earned while enrolled. Contact Student Financial Services with questions about this policy.

This information is also found in the Union College bulletin.

Refund

Your Calendar Days

100%

Up to and including Last Day to Add/Drop Classes

80%

days 10 to 19

60%

days 20 to 36

40%

days 37 to 53

20%

54 to 70

None 

Exceeding 70 days

General Institutional Information

Withdrawal

Courses dropped between the add/drop deadline and the published withdrawal deadline receive the designation W (withdrawal) instead of a letter grade. After that date, letter grades are assigned based on the work completed. Students considering withdrawal from a course should contact Student Financial Services to determine if financial aid could be jeopardized.

Administrative Withdrawal

The college administration may grant an administrative withdrawal (W) from a course or courses for a student suffering an emergency or unexpected circumstance. Administrative withdrawals are not granted to avoid failing grades or for circumstances normally addressed by a regular withdrawal. A student receiving an administrative withdrawal in all courses must demonstrate evidence of recovery from the circumstances before returning to Union College.

This information is also found in the Union College bulletin.

Athletic Program

Union College offers intramural sports, varsity teams for basketball, volleyball, golf, and an acrosport gymnastics team. Learn more on the Athletics website or find the annual Equity in Athletics disclosure here.

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