Withdrawals, Refunds, and Title IV Funds

Students may elect to withdraw themselves from a course or courses by the published student-initiated withdrawal date for a given term. See the Academic Calendar for specific dates for each term. 

• There will be no refund for "withdrawn" credits/courses. 
• To withdraw from a course, students must complete the Drop/Add/Withdraw form available from the Office of the Registrar or on myprescott.edu in "Records and Registration Forms". 
• If this drop/add/withdraw form is received by the registrar prior to the drop/add date for the course session, the student will be dropped from the course and entitled to a full or partial refund per the college refund policy. Notice: financial aid return or recalculation may also apply. Please see the "Financial Aid Returns" section below. 
• If the drop/add/withdraw form is received by the registrar after the drop/add deadline for the session, but before the student-initiated withdrawal date, the student will receive a grade of "W". No tuition refund will apply in this case. However, a financial aid return or recalculation may still be required (see the "Financial Aid Returns" section below)
• After the student-initiated withdrawal date, students will receive their earned grade per the instructor (credit/letter grade, no credit, or withdrawal). 
• Withdrawing or being administratively withdrawn from a course may affect academic standing.

Students wishing to take a break from their studies or to further educational or personal goals outside of Prescott College may request either a leave of absence (LOA) or to be withdrawn from the college entirely. Students wishing either must submit a written, signed notification (Application for Leave of Absence) or Withdrawal to the Office of the Registrar, and comply with all required procedures stated on the form. Applications for an LOA or withdrawal can be found on myprescott.edu under "Records and Registration" or requested from the Office of the Registrar.

• The effective date of the LOA or withdrawal is the date that the written notice is received in the Registrar’s Office.

• The effective date of the LOA or withdrawal will determine whether or not a student is entitled to a full or partial tuition refund of "refundable/non-attempted" credits. Please see the Refund Policy for more information. Note: this same date may be used if a financial aid return is required which may result in a financial obligation to the student ( see the Financial Aid Returns section below).

• An LOA extends for one term.

• A student may request and be approved for an additional term of LOA, for a maximum of two consecutive terms of LOA. No more than two consecutive LOAs will be permitted.

• Students requesting an LOA after the term in which they are currently enrolled has started but before the term has ended, are considered to be “withdrawing from the term.”

• Military personnel who leave the College in order to perform military service may take an LOA may be placed on approved leave of absence during their period of deployment. Please see the Academic Catalog for the "Deployment and Recall to Active Duty" and "Returning After Deployment" policies for more information. 

• A student will be determined to be withdrawn from the College if she/he has not been continuously enrolled or if their approved leave of absence expires. 

• Students who are withdrawn from the college must re-apply to the college, should they wish later to be readmitted. Readmits follow the degree requirements listed in the college catalog for the year they are readmitted, which may be different from the requirements listed in the catalog from the year they originally started. 

• Application and orientation materials fees will not be refunded.

The following pertains to tuition refund policies for dropped or withdrawn courses. For information on financial aid disbursements and refunds, see Disbursements and Refunds. 

Students may be eligible to receive a full or partial tuition refund when a course drop results in a decrease in the number of credits for which the student is enrolled. This will only occur when a drop request is received and processed by the registrar's office by the published drop/add deadline for the course session. Requests received after the drop/add deadline result in a withdrawal grade of "W", for which a student is not eligible for a tuition refund. Please see the college's Refund Policy for more specifics regarding refunds of tuition, fees, library fines, etc., as well as information regarding appealing refund decisions. 

Note: If financial aid was used to pay for tuition credits, a drop in credits and consequent tuition refund may also result in a recalculation of financial aid eligibility and or a return of financial aid funds. If the financial aid return is greater than the tuition refund, this may result in a balance due to the student. Failure to attend or complete classes and/or withdrawing from courses may also trigger a financial aid eligibility recalculation or return of funds. Thus, students are strongly urged to contact the Financial Aid Office prior to dropping or withdrawing from any courses. Students are also encouraged to consult with their academic adviser to discuss other enrollment options. 

When a student receives financial aid funds to attend school, it is assumed that the student will complete the enrollment period for which they have received funding. If a student officially withdraws or unofficially withdraws (stops attending without formally notifying the school) after beginning courses, they are subject to the US Department of Education’s Return to Title IV (R2T4) policy and the school's institutional aid return policy. Other return policies for external sources of funding may also apply.

The U.S. Department of Education R2T4 policy requires a calculation to determine the amount of funding the student received compared to what the student actually earned based on the portion of the enrollment period the student completed. This calculation may result in a financial obligation for the student. Such financial obligations may include immediate repayment of student loan funds to their lender/bank, a balance owed to Prescott College, and/or a debt owed to the U.S. Department of Education. Upon withdrawal, the financial aid office will complete the necessary calculations and notify the student in writing of any obligations within 45 days of the school's date of determination that the student withdrew. The R2T4 policy is mandated by federal regulation and cannot be appealed. 

For institutional aid, Prescott College will prorate the amount of aid earned to the amount of tuition charged per the school's Refund Policy. For instance, if a student who drops a semester session course after the drop/add deadline for the first block is permitted a refund of 90% for this course, this means the student will still be charged for 10% of the tuition for those courses. In this case, the student will be allowed to keep 10% of their institutional aid for that course. The remaining 90% must be returned. 

When it is determined that a student has failed to start a course or courses, and/or a student chooses to drop or is otherwise dropped from a course or courses for administrative reasons, Prescott College will redetermine the student’s enrollment level for financial aid purposes.  For federal grant funds, this enrollment level re-determination is completed prior to any R2T4 calculation described above. As a result, students may lose full or partial financial aid eligibility which may result in a financial obligation for the student. Such financial obligations may include immediate repayment of student loan funds to their lender/bank, a balance owed to Prescott College, and/or a debt owed to the US Department of Education.