Refunds

Refunds

°ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²ÊÔ¤²â refunds are processed by Heartland ECSI RefundSelect. You can access RefundSelect by logging in to my.°ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²ÊÔ¤²â, selecting Financials and MyRefund°ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²ÊÔ¤²â from the left-hand menu. 

In creating your profile, please note that your selected username must begin with a letter and cannot contain spaces or special characters. Once you have created your account, be sure to select “Direct Deposit” as your preferred method for refunds in order to receive your refund in a timely manner. You must be eligible to enroll in order to access RefundSelect. All Title IV refunds posted to the Student Account prior to the first day of class will be refunded within 14 days of the first day of the academic calendar.

Heartland ECSI is also our current service provider for 1098-Ts and Perkins and Institutional Loans. Please continue using °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²ÊÔ¤²âpay for billing and payments.

IMPORTANT:  Please sign up for direct deposit so you can receive your refund quickly and securely. Refunds that are sent by paper check take longer to reach you and are subject to a minimum two week waiting period before we will reissue a replacement check in the event your refund check is lost in the mail.

What if I don't want my refund?

Students and parents have the right to reduce or cancel a loan if they do not want a refund.  Should this be something you would like to do, please contact the °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²ÊÔ¤²â Mane Desk at manedesk@smu.edu or (214) 768-5555 to make this request.

Financial Aid Refund Policy

  1. Dropping Credits
  2. Withdrawal from the University

Return of Funds Policy for Title IV Aid Recipients Who Withdraw

The Higher Education Amendments of 1998, as well as the program integrity regulations in 2010, set forth regulations governing the treatment of Title IV funds* when a student withdraws from an institution.

There are three types of withdrawals that fall under the return to Title IV (R2T4) federal calculation regulations:

  1. Official Withdrawals
    •  Student contacts the Registrar's Office or their Academic Advisor to initiate an official withdrawal.
  2. Unofficial Withdrawals
    • If a student begins to attend class, receives federal Title IV aid, but then ceases to attend class without providing official notification to the University, the Department of Education considers this to be an "unofficial withdrawal".
    • For Title IV purposes, the withdrawal date for students who unofficially withdraw is considered to be the midpoint of the semester unless a documented last date of academic engagement can be determined.
    • If the University determines that a student did not provide official notice of the intent to withdraw due to illness, accident, grievous personal loss or other circumstances beyond the student's control, the University may use a date that is related to that circumstance.

Whether official or unofficial, once a student is determined to have withdrawn, the refund rules for Title IV aid recipients as defined by the Department of Education are then followed to determine the unearned portion of Title IV aid that must be returned to the appropriate aid program(s).

When a student is considered to have withdrawn, as described above, during an enrollment period in which they have begun attendance and received federal Title IV financial aid, °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²ÊÔ¤²â is required to determine the amount of earned and unearned Title IV aid. A student is only eligible to retain the percentage of Title IV aid disbursed that is equal to the percentage of the enrollment period that was completed by the student (calculated daily). The unearned Title IV aid must then be returned to the appropriate federal aid program(s). If more than 60% of the enrollment period has been completed by the student, no Title IV aid needs to be returned.

According to university policy, when a student withdraws prior to the quarter of the semester and/or receives a 100% tuition refund from the University, all of that semesters Title IV grant aid (SEOG and Pell Grant) will be billed back to the student's account. Most non-federal aid will also be billed back to the student's account. All Title IV aid will be included in the calculations outlined below. Depending on the results of the calculations, some or all of the federal grant aid may be re-disbursed to the student account.

The following steps will be followed when determining the amount of Title IV aid to be returned upon withdrawal:

  1. Determine percentage of enrollment period completed by student. Divide the number of days attended by the number of days in the enrollment period. If the calculated percentage exceeds 60%, then the student has earned all Title IV aid for the enrollment period.
  2. Calculate the amount of earned Title IV aid.
  3. Multiply the percentage of the enrollment period completed by the total Title IV aid disbursed (or could have been disbursed as defined by late disbursement rules).
  4. Determine amount of unearned aid to be returned to Title IV aid program accounts.
  5. Subtract the amount of earned federal aid from the total amount of federal aid disbursed. The difference is referred to as "unearned aid" and must be returned to the appropriate Title IV aid program(s).
  6. Unearned Title IV Funds will be returned to federal programs in the following order:
    • Unsubsidized Federal Direct Stafford Loans
    • Subsidized Federal Direct Stafford Loans
    • Federal Direct Parent (PLUS) Loans
    • Federal Pell Grant
    • Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grants
    • Federal SEOG
    • TEACH Grants

Example of a Title IV Return of Funds Calculation for a Title IV recipient who is considered to have withdrawn

Institutional Charges $5,000
Title IV Loans $2,000
Title IV Grants $1,000
Total Title IV aid $3,000

Student withdrew on 35th day of a 110 day enrollment period.

Percent Earned  35/110 = 32%

Percent Unearned 100%-32%=68%

Amount of Title IV aid unearned $3,000 x 68% = $2,040

°ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²ÊÔ¤²â is responsible for returning the lesser of unearned Title IV aid ($2,040 from above) or unearned institutional charges ($5,000 x 68% = $3,400). °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²ÊÔ¤²â will return aid as follows:

  • Title IV Loans - $2,000 (students remaining loan debt = $0)
  • Title IV Grants - $40 

The example shown above does not reflect every student refund situation that may exist. Questions regarding the Return of Title IV Funds Policy for students who withdraw should be addressed to the

The University reserves the right to amend the Title IV Return of Funds Policy at any time in order to comply with Federal regulations.

*Federal financial aid programs authorized under Title IV of the Higher Education of 1965, as amended, and regulated and administered by the U.S. Department of Education.