Special Circumstances
Cancellation of Enrollment
Should a student cancel his/her enrollment before classes start as opposed to withdrawing, no Return of Title IV calculation will be performed. Instead, all aid disbursed will be canceled and returned to the appropriate aid programs.
Should a student attend classes and officially withdraw during the refund period, but ask in writing that all of his/her aid be returned, all of the student’s aid will be returned and no calculation will be performed. For example, this can happen when a student plans to transfer and attend another institution for the same semester. If all of the aid is not returned, the student may be prohibited from receiving aid at the other institution due to concurrent enrollment restrictions. If a calculation has been performed, the earned aid retained will be canceled and those funds will be refunded to the various programs.
Suspension or Dismissal
In cases where a student is suspended or dismissed from the University, the "Student's Withdrawal Date" and "Date of the Institution's Determination that the Student has Withdrawn" will be the date the student’s suspension or dismissal become effective.
Academic Leave (not a Leave of Absence)
Catholic University, being a term-based credit-hour institution, cannot offer a federally approved Leave of Absence (LOA) option. However, students may request to be placed on Academic Leave for a future semester.
Students who must interrupt their studies for a legitimate reason, such as sustained ill health or military service, may be granted an academic leave for a stated period, usually not to exceed one year. Requesting Academic Leave permits the student to return to the University within a specified timeframe without reapplying to the University. Academic Leave can only be granted for a future term(s) and cannot be granted once a term has started. Students who have to interrupt their studies once a semester has started will have to apply for a term withdrawal.
Undergraduate students requesting to be placed on Academic Leave should contact the Dean of Students Office. Graduate students should contact the dean of their school. In addition, all students may request an Academic Leave by completing a Request for an Academic Leave form with the Office of Enrollment Services.
Students on Academic Leave will be reported to the National Student Clearinghouse as "not enrolled" with an effective date as of the last day of the semester in which they were last enrolled. They will enter their federal student loan grace period as of that date, and if they have previously used up their student loan grace period, they will immediately enter into loan repayment.
Unable to Provide Official Notification
If the student does not provide official notification because of circumstances beyond the student's control (i.e., student's death, student’s hospitalization, natural disaster), the "Student's Withdrawal Date" will be the date that the University determines that the event took place that resulted in the student being unable to provide official notification. This will usually be processed as an official withdrawal by the Dean of Students for undergraduate students and the Academic Dean for graduate students. The "Date of the Institution's Determination that the Student has Withdrawn" will be the date that the school is notified that the student has ceased attendance. If a student attends class after the event and then withdraws, the “Withdrawal Date” will be the date the school is notified of the student’s intent to withdraw. Since a student can officially withdraw online, the student would have to document that they could not have reasonably gained access to a computer to officially withdraw online.