Refunds, Withdrawals, and R2T4

Withdrawal Policy And Procedures

Any student who withdraws from one or more courses at Talmudical Seminary Oholei Torah while the semester is in progress should inform Rabbi Elchonon Lesches or Mrs. Rachel Bronchtain. The notification can be made in person, called to 718-774-5050, emailed to bmotzal@gmail.com, or sent to the administrative offices at Talmudical Seminary Oholei Torah ATTN: Rabbi Elchonon Lesches, 667 Eastern Parkway, Brooklyn, NY 11213. Rabbi Lesches will relay this information to the Registrar’s Office.

A student who withdraws from one or more courses may be entitled to a refund of tuition and fees. Adjustment of institutional charges and calculation of refunds will be based on the schedule that appears in the institutional refund policy, according to the date of withdrawal. For information on how institutional charges will be impacted by adding or dropping courses, please refer to the Add/Drop Policy.

At the beginning of each semester the institution confirms attendance in each course in which every student is registered. Attendance is confirmed again at the 60% point of the semester. This process enables the school to confirm enrollment for enrollment reporting purposes, and to determine if a student who withdraws without giving official notification has attended 60% of the semester. For information on how the student’s enrollment status will be impacted by adding or dropping courses, please refer to the Add/Drop Policy.

A student who receives failing grades for all their courses will generally be considered as having unofficially withdrawn unless there is evidence that they completed the semester.

Institutional Refund Policy

Institutional charges for students who withdraw are adjusted according to the following schedule:

Return Of Title IV (R2T4) Funds

When a student who is receiving Title IV aid withdraws from all their classes during a semester and it has been determined that they do not meet an R2T4 exemption, the institution performs an R2T4 calculation utilizing the Return to Title IV software provided by the U.S. Department of Education. The date of withdrawal used in the R2T4 calculation is determined by the institution.

R2T4 Exemptions

Graduation Exemption

When a student completes all requirements for graduation from their program prior to completing the days or hours they were scheduled to attend in the payment period, they are not considered to have withdrawn, and an R2T4 calculation will not be performed.

Never Attended Exemption

The institution may exempt a student from the R2T4 calculation under the following conditions:

1. The student is officially recorded as never having begun attendance in any course during the applicable payment period or period of enrollment;

2. All Title IV, HEA funds disbursed for that period are returned in full to the U.S. Department of Education;

3. The institution provides a full refund of all institutional charges to the student for that same period; and

4. Any resulting student account balance caused by the return of Title IV funds is fully canceled or written off by the institution.

This exemption may be applied on a case-by-case basis, and all qualifying actions will be documented to demonstrate compliance. The institution’s financial aid and business offices will coordinate to ensure proper reconciliation, communication, and record retention for exempted cases.

Official Withdrawals

For a student who gave official notification, as described above, the date of withdrawal used for the R2T4 calculation is the date the notification is received or the date of withdrawal, whichever is earlier.

Generally, if a student officially withdraws before 60% of the semester has passed, they will be able to retain a prorated portion of the financial aid award based on the number of days attended and the number of days in the semester. If the student withdraws after 60% of the semester has passed, they will most likely be able to retain all of the financial aid.

Unofficial Withdrawals

For a student who is confirmed to be in attendance at the beginning of the semester, and withdraws without giving official notification, the date of withdrawal is the midpoint of the semester. The student will be able to retain 50% of the Title IV funds disbursed or 50% of the amount that could have been disbursed.

If a student is confirmed to be in attendance at the confirmation once 60% of the semester has passed, they will most likely be able to retain all of the financial aid.

Return Of Title IV Funds

If the calculation on the U.S. Department of Education’s R2T4 system results in the need to return funds to the Title IV programs, funds will be returned to the various federal financial aid programs in the following order:

i.Unsubsidized Federal Direct Stafford loans

ii.Subsidized Federal Direct Stafford loans

iii.Federal Direct PLUS received on behalf of the student

Any funds that need to be returned to a lender will be returned by the school on behalf of the student. If unearned funds remain to be returned after repayment of outstanding loan amounts, the remaining funds will be returned in the following order:

i.Federal Pell Grants

ii.FSEOG

Refunds and returns of Title IV funds will be made as soon as possible but no later than 45 days after the date of the institution’s determination that the student withdrew. Institutional charges that were previously paid by FSA funds might become a charge that the student will be responsible for paying.

Returning Unearned Aid

Within 30 days of determining that a student who withdrew must repay all or part of a Title IV grant, the school will notify the student that they must repay the overpayment or make satisfactory arrangements to repay it.

The student’s eligibility for additional Title IV funds will end if the student fails to take positive action by the 45th day following the date the school sent or was required to send notification to the student.

To extend their eligibility for Title IV funds beyond 45 days:

a. The student may repay the overpayment in full to the school.

b. The student may sign a repayment agreement with the school. Two years is the maximum time a school may allow for repayment. The school will immediately refer for collection (to the Default Resolution Group) any student who violates the terms of the repayment agreement (including failing to repay the full amount within two years).

c. The student may sign a repayment agreement with the Department. If the student fails to take one of the positive actions listed above during the 45-day period, the school will report the student’s overpayment to NSLDS and refer the student to the Default Resolution Group for collection.

Post-Withdrawal Disbursements

The R2T4 calculation will determine if a student earned more funds than funds disbursed at the time of withdrawal. If so, the student qualifies for a post withdrawal disbursement (PWD) of those funds.

No post-withdrawal funds for loans will be drawn down and disbursed without the borrower’s authorization. In the case of a Federal Direct Loan the school will obtain confirmation from the student before disbursing any loan proceeds. In the case of a Federal Direct PLUS Loan the school will obtain confirmation from the parent before disbursing any loan proceeds.

A PWD of Title IV funds may be credited to a student’s account for current-year allowable charges such as tuition, fees, room and board, up to the outstanding amount of these charges. Current-year funds may also be used to satisfy prior-year charges of not more than $200 for tuition, fees, and food and housing (provided by the school).

Any amount of the PWD that is in excess of the balance of allowable charges will be disbursed to the student as soon as possible, but no later than forty five days after the date of determination of withdrawal.

Credit Balance Procedures

If the R2T4 calculation results in a Title IV credit balance on the student’s account, the amount of the credit will be disbursed to the student within fourteen days of the date of the R2T4 calculation.

Timely Processing Of Refund Checks

The institution reviews bank accounts monthly, to ensure that all refund checks have cleared the account. In the event that a check has not cleared, the institution will notify the student that their refund check is outstanding. The student may also request a duplicate check if they misplaced the original check. Title IV funds will be returned to the Department of Education in the event they are left in the account 240 days from when the original check was issued.

Refunds For The State Of New York Tuition Assistance Program (TAP)

TAP regulations govern the reduction or cancellation of TAP in cases where students withdraw or drop classes. TAP funds are used only for tuition. If a student withdraws and receives a refund, credit, or cancellation of tuition and/or fees, TAP awards will be reduced to ensure that the award amount does not exceed the remaining applicable charges.