Separation from the University
Students who are considering separation from the University of Notre Dame for any reason should visit the Office of the Registrar for further information. The Registrar may provide information on the University Separation policy and separation procedures as well as other important related information. Information about separating from the university either temporarily or permanently can be found in the Bulletin of Information by searching “Separation Regulation”.
The Office of Student Financial Services policy regarding separations may be found here.
Students should become familiar with the Office of Financial Aid policies on Readmission and Satisfactory Academic Progress for financial aid recipients..
Treatment of Financial Aid When a Student Separates
When a student separates and has unearned financial aid funds there are federal regulations requirements 34 CFR 668.21 and 34 CFR 668.22 for determining what financial aid, if any, you may be able to keep. A summary of the federal regulations is below. State aid, University Scholarships, and private scholarships may have additional requirements beyond what the federal regulations require. Please contact the appropriate agency to learn more about the funds.
If a student officially withdraws, drops out, or is dismissed before the first day of class of a payment period or period of enrollment, the University is required to return all unearned funds paid to the student's account. The funds are returned to the respective funding program.
If a student officially withdraws, drops out, or is dismissed after the beginning of a payment period or period of enrollment, the University must determine the amount of federal grant or loan assistance earned as of the student's separation date.
If the total amount of federal grants or loans, or both, that the student earned is less than the amount of federal aid disbursed to the student or on behalf of the student in the case of a parent PLUS loan, the difference must be returned to the federal program.
In some cases, the student and/or parent may be eligible for aid that did not disburse. The University will notify the student (parent in the case of the parent PLUS loan) within 30 days of the University's determination of the student’s separation to offer funding that was earned but not yet disbursed for federal grants and loans. The loan funds will require the student and/or parent to accept or decline. The student and/or parent have 14 days from the date of notification to respond. If the student and/or parent notifies the University they will accept the loan funds, the University will disburse the funds within 180 days of the University’s determination that the student separated.
The following programs are defined as federal grant or loan assistance:
- Unsubsidized Federal Direct Student Loan
- Subsidized Federal Direct Student Loan
- Federal Direct PLUS Loan (parent or graduate)
- Federal Pell Grant
- Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grant
- Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant
- Other Federal Aid Assistance