Federal regulations require Meharry Medical College to calculate a return of Title IV funds (Federal Unsubsidized and Graduate PLUS loans) for any student who withdraws or does not complete an enrollment period or payment period and who has received financial aid through the aforementioned programs. Federal student aid funds are awarded to a student under the assumption that the student will attend the institution for the entire period for which the assistance is awarded. When a student withdraws, the student may no longer be eligible for the full amount of Title IV funds that the student was originally scheduled to receive.   

If a recipient of federal student aid loan funds withdraws from school after beginning attendance, the amount of federal student aid loan assistance earned by the student must be determined. If the amount disbursed to the student is less than the amount the student earned, and for which the student is otherwise eligible, he or she is eligible to receive a post withdrawal disbursement for the earned aid that was not received. This policy does not apply to instances where a student withdraws from some classes but continues to be enrolled at the school.   

If a student completely withdraws from all enrolled classes during the first 60 percent of the semester and has received federal student funds, the institution must calculate the amount of federal funds that were “not earned.” This process is required to determine if the institution and/or the student must return funds to the federal department.  

To determine the amount of funds that must be returned to the Federal Government, the web-based R2T4 program is used. A calculation of earned/unearned Title IV program assistance loan funds that were disbursed or could have been disbursed to a student based on the length of enrollment for the academic year. 

PERCENTAGE OF PAYMENT PERIOD OR TERM COMPLETED = THE NUMBER OF DAYS COMPLETED UP TO THE WITHDRAWAL DATE DIVIDED BY THE TOTAL DAYS IN THE PAYMENT PERIOD OR TERM. (ANY BREAK OF FIVE DAYS OR MORE IS NOT COUNTED AS PART OF THE DAYS IN THE TERM.) THIS PERCENTAGE IS ALSO THE PERCENTAGE OF EARNED AID.

The withdrawal date is used to determine the point in time that the student is considered to have withdrawn so the percentage of the enrollment period completed by the student can be determined. The percentage of Title IV Aid earned is equal to the percentage of the enrollment period completed. If the day the student withdrew occurs on or before the student completed 60 percent of the enrollment period of which the assistance was awarded, the percentage earned is equal to the percentage of the enrollment period that was completed, and the Return To Title IV (R2T4) calculation is performed. If the day the student withdrawal occurs after the student has completed 60 percent of the enrollment period, the percentage earned is 100 percent, and no R2T4 calculation is needed.  

AID TO BE RETURNED = (100% OF THE AID THAT COULD BE DISBURSED MINUS THE PERCENTAGE OF EARNED AID) MULTIPLIED BY THE TOTAL AMOUNT OF AID THAT COULD HAVE BEEN DISBURSED DURING THE PAYMENT PERIOD OR TERM.  

For students who borrow from Title IV loan programs, Meharry Medical College is required to return the funds which are not eligible to be retained, to the following loan programs in the following order:   

1. Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loans  
2. Federal Direct Grad PLUS loans  
3. Institutional Loan Funds   

It is strongly recommended that any student receiving federal financial aid funds who is contemplating withdrawing or taking a leave of absence from the institution consults the Office of Financial Aid and Scholarship Management before initiating the withdrawal process to see how these regulations will affect their eligibility for financial aid.   

Please see the ‘Withdrawal-Refund Policy’ for more information regarding return of federal financial aid funds.