Refund/Repayment Policies

Refund Policy

Students who officially withdraw from the University or from specific classes during the semester may be eligible for a refund of a portion of the tuition, fees, room and board paid to California University for that semester. Refunds are based on the official date of withdrawal as recorded by the Academic Records Office (for additional information see "Withdrawal from the University" listed in the Academic Policies section of the catalog). Students who do not follow the official withdrawal procedure but who stop attending classes for all of their courses will be considered to have withdrawn at the 50% point of the semester unless attendance is documented after that time.

Return of Title IV Funds Formula

Two formulas exist for determining the amount of the refund: California University's Refund Policy (for additional information see "University Refund Policy" in Billing Section) and the federal "Return of Title IV Aid" formula. The federal formula is applicable to any student receiving federal aid and withdraws from the University during the first 60% of a semester. These students will have their federal financial aid (Pell Grants, Supplemental Education Opportunity Grants, Perkins Loans, Federal Stafford and Plus Loans) adjusted based on the percent of the semester completed before the withdrawal. In essence, students will be entitled to retain the same percent of the federal financial aid received as the percent of the semester completed. This percent is calculated by dividing the number of days in the semester (excluding breaks of five days or longer) into the number of days completed prior to the withdrawal (excluding breaks of five days or longer). There will be no adjustment to federal financial aid after the completion of at least 60% of the semester. If any refund remains after the required return of Title IV aid, the refund will be used to repay California University funds, state grant funds, and other private sources and the student in proportion to the amount paid by each non-federal source, as long as there was no unpaid balance due at the time of withdrawal. If there is an unpaid balance, then all aid sources will be repaid before any refund is paid to the student.

Distribution Policy

Once the amount of the federal funds to be returned has been calculated, the funds will be returned to the appropriate program(s) in the following priority order:

1. Unsubsidized Stafford Loans
2. Subsidized Stafford Loans
3. PLUS Loans
4. Perkins Loans
5. Pell Grant
6. Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant

Repayment of Unearned Financial Aid Assistance

Students who receive a refund of financial aid before withdrawing from the University may owe a repayment of federal financial aid funds received. Students will be notified by the Bursar's Office and will be given 30 days to repay the funds to the University. Students who fail to return the unearned portion of federal financial aid funds given to them will have a "hold" placed on their University records, thereby preventing them from registering for future semesters until repayment is made in full.

For more information, please review the WIthdrawal Fact Sheet