Purpose & Scope:
To describe the process and procedure for determining whether a student who began attendance and received or could have received an initial disbursement of Title IV funds unofficially withdrew from all courses (ceased attendance without providing official notification or expressed intent to withdraw) during a payment period or period of enrollment, as applicable.
HEA, Section 484B, 34 CFR 668.22(j)(2) the Code of Federal Regulations derived from the Higher Education Act requires that a school have a mechanism in place for identifying and resolving instances where a student’s attendance through the end of the period cannot be confirmed. That is, institutions are expected to have procedures for determining when a student’s absence is an unofficial withdrawal from all courses. The school must make that determination as soon as possible, but no later than 45 days after the end of the earlier of: 1 . the payment period or period of enrollment, as applicable; 2 . the academic year; or 3 . the program.
Definition(s):
Fail (F): Grade awarded to students who complete the course but fail to achieve the course objectives.
Not Attending Fail (NF): Grade awarded to students who did not officially withdraw from the course. It is used when, in the opinion of the instructor, completed assignments or course activities or both were insufficient to make normal evaluation of academic performance possible.
Policy
A student is considered an unofficial withdrawal if:
- Student did not receive a passing or failing grade .
- Student did not officially withdraw from the course but, in the opinion of the instructor, failed to provide sufficient evidence for evaluation of academic performance are awarded a grade of “NF.”
A student is NOT considered an unofficial withdrawal if:
- Student completed the course but failed to achieve the course objectives are awarded a grade of “F .”
- Student received a passing or failing grade would be considered to have completed the course and would not be
Procedure
Bethany College requires class attendance to be recorded. The College documents the student’s last confirmed date of attendance at an academically related activity. If the College cannot prove the student attended at least one day of coursework, the student is considered as never enrolled and all of the financial aid is returned.
At the end of each term (fall and spring), the Registrar’s Office will identify and review all students who have a term 0.0 GPA and who have been assigned all “NF” grades for that term. The College Registrar will place an administrative hold on these accounts and send written notification to the student’s permanent address explaining that the College considers the student unofficially withdrawn and that they are not permitted to enroll in future terms until contacting the Registrar’s Office.
When sending such notifications, the Offices of Financial Aid and Student Accounts will be included and receive a copy of the correspondence. At the end of each term and after notification occurs, Financial Aid will run a report of all students who receive financial aid that are assigned all “NF” grades and the student’s last date of attendance. If the instructor does not provide a date of last attendance, then the mid-point date should be provided. Within 45 calendar days of the end of the term, Financial Aid will calculate Return of Title IV aid and return Title IV aid as mandated by federal regulation. After Financial Aid calculates the Return of Title IV aid and returns funding, Financial Aid notifies the Registrar’s Office of students’ last dates of attendance if it is less than 60% of the term so that the Registrar’s Office can notify the Clearinghouse. Financial Aid will also notify the Office of Student Accounts the students’ last dates of attendance if it is less than 60% of the term so that the Student Accounts Office can mail a bill if an unpaid balance is created after the return of Title IV funding.
At the midpoint of each term, the College Registrar will run a report of students that are assigned “F” and “NF” grades to be reviewed by the College Retention Committee that will determine the best outreach. If at the midpoint, the student has all “F” grades or a combination of all “F” and “NF” grades, the student will be required to meet with their academic advisor to complete an Academic Plan to be submitted to the Academic Standards Committee for review and approval. If at the midpoint, the student has all “WF” grades, the Registrar’s Office will work with the Financial Aid Office to determine the last date of attendance and process as an Unofficial Withdrawal.