1. Tracking Unofficial Withdrawals

2. Wednesday, November 7, 2013 2:00-3:00 Palm Garden Ballroom E 2013 WASFAA Conference2

3. Your Presenter Neelima Tummala Assistant Director – Systems and Data Management Office of Student Financial Aid Marquette University 2013 WASFAA Conference3

4.  What are unofficial withdrawals?  What are the requirements regarding tracking these?  What methods do we use at Marquette to track unofficial withdrawals?  What challenges do we face in this process?  This presentation aims to answer these questions and more... 4 Overview 2013 WASFAA Conference

5. This is not a session about:  Official Withdrawals  R2T4 procedures  Leaves of Absence 5 Overview 2013 WASFAA Conference

6.  Fundamentals  Official versus Unofficial Withdrawals at MU  Important Dates  Sessions with Modules  Identifying Unofficial Withdrawals  Next steps  Examples  Other things to note & tips 6 Agenda/Contents 2013 WASFAA Conference

7. We are Jesuit We are in Milwaukee, WI We are 11,000+ students 7500 Undergrads 1400+ Pell Recipients 3500 Grad/Professional (Dentistry, Grad Health Sciences, Law, Grad School) FA staff are:14 admin, 3 support, many student workers 7 Marquette University 2013 WASFAA Conference

8. Assumption: When a student is awarded Title IV aid, we assume the student will attend school for entire period. Reality: Students sometimes withdraw. When this happens, we need to make sure student eligible for the funds they received. 8 Fundamentals 2013 WASFAA Conference

9. Marquette’s Policy: We do not allow students to withdraw themselves from all their classes. If they wish to withdraw from all classes, they have to follow our Official Withdrawal Procedures. 9 Official Withdrawals at MU 2013 WASFAA Conference

10.  Student begins attendance.  Not officially withdrawn.  Fails to earn a passing grade in at least one course. If this happens, we must assume that the student has unofficially withdrawn, unless we can prove that the student completed the period, or determine what percentage of period has been completed. 10 Unofficial Withdrawals at MU 2013 WASFAA Conference

11.  % aid earned = % of payment period or period of enrollment completed.  If aid disbursed > aid earned: money is returned to the programs.  If aid disbursed < aid earned: potential for a post withdrawal disbursement.  60% of payment period complete = 100% of Title IV funds earned. 11 Important Considerations 2013 WASFAA Conference

12. For Unofficial Withdrawals: Date of Determination of Withdrawal: The date the school becomes aware that the student has ceased attendance. Student’s Withdrawal Date: Midpoint of the payment period or a documented last date of attendance in an academically related activity. 12 Important Dates 2013 WASFAA Conference

13. For Unofficial withdrawals, schools (if not required to take attendance) must determine withdrawal date as soon as possible, but no later than 30 days after the end of the earlier of:  The payment period  The academic year  The student’s educational program As with official withdrawals, title IV funds must be returned as soon as possible, but no later than 45 days after the date the institution determined the student withdrew 13 Date of Determination (for Unofficial Withdrawals) 2013 WASFAA Conference

14. At MU, we do not require faculty to take attendance. So, for unofficial withdrawals, withdrawal date is:  Midpoint of the payment period  OR documented last date of activity at an academically-related activity  Student withdrawal date must be documented  Student self-certification is not adequate documentation  At MU, faculty enter non-passing grade, they enter a last date of activity. 14 Withdrawal Date (for Unofficial Withdrawals) 2013 WASFAA Conference

15. Academic activity IS: Physically attending class, submitting assignments, exams, interactive tutorials, attending a study group assigned by the institution, participating in online discussions about academic matters, initiating contact with faculty. Academic activity IS NOT: Living in institutional housing, participating in an institutional meal plan, logging into an online class without active participation, participating in advisement/academic counseling. 15 What is Academic Activity? 2013 WASFAA Conference

16.  Modules = courses in the program do not span the entire length of the payment period.  If a student is identified as unofficially withdrawn in a current module, but is enrolled in a future module, school must contact student to obtain written confirmation of intent to attend future module.  At MU, when we run our queries (method 1), we include students with enrollment in future modules, so intent to attend can be confirmed. 16 Sessions with Modules 2013 WASFAA Conference

17. 17 Sessions with Modules 2013 WASFAA Conference

18. If the student submits a written confirmation of future attendance:  Student may change date of return in writing if prior to original return date.  If student does not return as scheduled, student will be considered withdrawn and withdrawal date and total number of days in calculation are those that applied if written confirmation had not been provided. 18 Sessions with Modules 2013 WASFAA Conference

19. Method 1: Once school starts, we run a query every two weeks that identifies students who:  Have all withdraw-type grades For example – W, WA etc.  Are not officially withdrawn 19 Identifying Unofficial Withdrawals 2013 WASFAA Conference

20. Method 2: Nightly process that identifies students:  Enrollment level (full time, half time, etc.) has changed.  Student has Federal Aid.  Place a refund hold on student until review complete. 20 Identifying Unofficial Withdrawals 2013 WASFAA Conference

21. Method 3: At the end of every session, identify students who:  Zero credits have been earned.  Include grades and grading date, so earned units can be determined. 21 Identifying Unofficial Withdrawals 2013 WASFAA Conference

22. For all students identified using the various methods:  Review Last Date of Activity  Determine if student completed more than 60% of payment period.  If yes, no R2T4 required.  If no, determine % of aid earned and process R2T4 as necessary. 22 Next steps 2013 WASFAA Conference

23. Thomas Fall 2013Session 1 Session Start Date = 08/26/13 Session End Date = 12/14/13 CourseGradeGrade DateLDA ENGL 001W09/10/2013 HIST 001W09/10/2013 SPAN 001F12/17/201312/14/2013 MATH 001F12/17/201312/14/2013 23 Example 1 – Is this an unofficial withdrawal? 2013 WASFAA Conference No, the F grades with LDA of 12/14/2013 are earned F’s. Therefore, not an unofficial withdrawal.

24. Emma Fall 2013Session 1 Session Start Date = 08/26/13 Session End Date = 12/14/13 CourseGradeGrade DateLDA ENGL 001W09/10/2013 HIST 001W09/10/2013 SPAN 001WA10/01/201309/20/2013 MATH 001WA10/01/201309/20/2013 24 Example 2 – Is this an unofficial withdrawal? 2013 WASFAA Conference Yes, WA (withdrawal due to absence) with LDA of 09/20/13, therefore unofficial withdrawal.

25. 25 Example 2 – continued… 2013 WASFAA Conference Emma was identified as a potential unofficial withdrawal on the query (Method 1) we ran on 10/02/2013.  Date of determination = 10/02/2013  Withdrawal date = Last date of attendance recorded by faculty (09/20/2013).

26. 26 Example 3 – Is this an unofficial withdrawal? 2013 WASFAA Conference Not necessarily, depends on what Adam is planning to do in Session 5. Adam Summer 2013 SessionSession StartSession EndCourseGradeGrade DateLDA 105/20/201306/29/2013ENGL 001WA05/23/201305/21/2013 105/20/201306/29/2013HIST 001WA05/23/201305/21/2013 507/01/201308/17/2013SPAN 001 507/01/201308/17/2013MATH 001

27. 27 Example 3 – continued… 2013 WASFAA Conference  Adam was identified as a potential unofficial withdrawal on the query (Method 1) we ran on 05/25/2013.  Adam was contacted to see if he planned to return for session 5 (future module).  Adam sent us written confirmation that he was planning to attend – therefore, NOT an unofficial withdrawal.

28. 28 Example 3 – continued… 2013 WASFAA Conference After the first week of session 5, we made the determination that Adam is not attending school. We now have to treat Adam as an unofficial withdrawal.  Date of determination = 07/08/2013  Withdrawal date = Last date of attendance recorded by faculty in session 1 (05/21/2013).

29. For an unofficial withdrawal:  You have determined that a student is no longer considered enrolled and in attendance.  You have determined their last date of activity.  The student is no longer eligible for an in- school status.  Student must be reported as withdrawn in NSLDS Enrollment Reporting 29 Also, don’t forget! 2013 WASFAA Conference

30.  Get campus partners on board – Registrar, faculty etc.  Be prepared – know regulations.  Have clear written policies.  Know impact of unofficial withdrawals on other groups of students – SAP probation students for example, and coordinate appropriate activities. 30 Other useful tips 2013 WASFAA Conference

31. Resources & References  FSA Handbook Volume 5 http://ifap.ed.gov/fsahandbook/1314FSAHbkVol5.html  Regulations: 34 CFR 668 668.4 – Payment period. 668.22 – Treatment of Title IV funds when a student withdraws.  FSA presentation on R2T4 http://ifap.ed.gov/presentations/attachments/29ForeignSchoolsR2T4V1.pdf  NASFAA presentation on R2T4 (Eileen Welsh) 2013 WASFAA Conference

32. Neelima Tummala Assistant Director – Systems and Data Management Office of Student Financial Aid Marquette University E-mail: neelima.tummala@marquette.eduneelima.tummala@marquette.edu Contacts 2013 WASFAA Conference