REFUND POLICY, BEFORE THE START OF CLASS
Applicants who do not begin academic study and never attend class (no show) or who cancel their contract prior to the class start date will receive a full refund of all monies paid except for the non-refundable application fee and the cost of books received that are not returned with all their original components within forty-five [45] calendar days of the first scheduled day of class or the date of cancellation, whichever is earlier.
CANCELLATION POLICY
An applicant will receive a full refund of all tuition paid if he or she is not accepted by Hawaii Medical College within seven (7) business days. Applicant or student may cancel an enrollment agreement by providing notice of such cancellation to the College at its address within 21 days after the start of the student’s initial entry module.
The notice should be postmarked no later than midnight of the 21st day; excluding Sundays and Holidays, following the first day of class of their initial entry module, or personally or otherwise delivered to the College within the above specified time.
In the event of a dispute over timely notice, the burden of proof rests with the student.
A student who never attends class after initial enrollment or a student who, during continued academic registration periods, fails to commence academic study in subsequent registered academic sessions, or fails to register for subsequent academic sessions, is considered a cancellation for the academic period in question. First-time students in their initial academic session are under the Student Trial Period. During the Student Trial Period, students shall provide official notice of cancellation up to the 21st day following the 1st date of the Session, which is considered a cancellation for enrollment purposes.
REFUND POLICY – AFTER THE START OF CLASSES
For enrolled students who withdraw from the College after the 21st day from the first day of their initial entry module, regardless of the reason, including medical, will have a refund calculation completed within 30 calendar days and a return of funds within forty-five [45] calendar days following the documented date of determination of withdrawal. All refunds of tuition are calculated using the last date of attendance.
The date of determination is defined as the date the student provides written or verbal notice of their withdrawal from the College, or the date the College terminates the student due to lack of attendance, issue of conduct, or a failure to maintain Satisfactory Academic Progress
Documentation of students who cancel, withdraw, or are terminated include the following:
- Start Date
- Last Date of Attendance (LDA)
- Date of Determination (DOD)
- Charges in accordance with the Contract
- Total Amount paid against contract
- Weeks earned and resulting percentage (%) of program completed
- Calculation of Tuition Refund
Students will be granted a prorated refund of unearned tuition based on the period of financial obligation defined as a 10-week academic session up to the students’ last day of attendance (LDA). Nonrefundable costs incurred from the withdrawal include an administrative fee of
$100.00.
Hawaii Medical College has developed a tuition methodology that ensures fairness and remains compliant with multiple regulatory bodies. Most students are scheduled to take two courses during each 5-week module. Tuition charges for those courses are posted to the student’s account as related to the number of credits the student is enrolled in within the 1st week of the scheduled Session. Two (2) 5-week modules are represented in an academic session.
Tuition for the courses enrolled in each 10-week session is earned within the timeframe described below:
During the 1st week of scheduled classes within a 10-week session the Tuition Charges withheld must not exceed ten percent (10%) of the stated Tuition for the session, up to a maximum of $1,000.
After the 1st week of classes and through the fifty percent (50%) point of the session [defined as the period of financial obligation], Tuition charges retained must not exceed a “PRO- RATA” portion of Tuition stated for the session completed, plus, ten percent (10%) of the unearned tuition for the session that was not completed, up to a maximum of $1,000.
After fifty percent (50%) of the session is completed by the student, the institution may retain the full amount of Tuition charged for the session.
In the calculation of any Tuition Refund, the percentage (%) of the Tuition retained by the College is based on the “portion” of the program the student was attending up to and through the last date of attendance when the student was determined to no longer be enrolled.
Refund Calculation Example:
- The student is enrolled in the CMA diploma program and registered for 4 courses in a 10-week academic session starting 6/3/2019 and ending on 8/17/2019, with an academic year that ends on 1/11/2020 There are 2 academic breaks during the academic year of 7 days
- The Tuition charged for the 10-week session is: $3,360.00
- The last day of attendance for the student is July 3, 2019
- The date of determination is July 22, 2018 (Student failed to attend 2nd 5-week mod)
Pro rata portion based on # of days attended = 31 days Academic 10-week sessions are defined as 69 days
# attended days / # scheduled days = 44.9% of $3,360 = $1,508.64 [+] 10% of the unearned tuition for 10-weeks = [3360-1508.64] X 0.1 = $185.14
Refunds will be paid no later than forty-five (45) calendar days from the documented date of determination (Drop Date).
Any remaining balance due after the calculated tuition pro-ration is the student’s responsibility to pay in full.
RETURN OF TITLE IV FINANCIAL AID POLICY
When a student withdraws or his/her enrollment is otherwise terminated, HMC will not only calculate the amount of tuition/fees that will be refunded to the student (if any), but also the amount of federal financial aid (“Title IV”) that must be returned to the Federal Student Aid Programs (if required). Title IV funds (Federal Student Aid) are awarded under the assumption that students will attend school for the entire academic period for which the funds are
awarded. HMC is required to apply the Return of Title IV calculation to any Federal Student Aid recipient who does not complete their academic period.
When a student who is eligible to receive Title IV funds is no longer enrolled, the federal government mandates that all schools provide students with details of all refund policies applicable as well as information on the Title IV program requirements for the treatment of Title IV funds. HMC determines the amount of Title IV funds the student earned as of the date enrollment ceased (withdrawal date). Unearned Title IV funds must be returned to the federal government.
Ceasing enrollment may result in the student owing aid funds to the school, the government, or both.
- If a student withdraws or is terminated from academic study, HMC is required to determine if any of the federal financial aid received should be returned. Federal financial aid is based on the length of time students are in class, so if a student does not attend the entire period, funds received may be required to be returned in full or a portion of the aid received based on the
- If a student receives all W or F grades and is not registered or does not continue with academic enrollment in the next session, HMC must perform this Return to Title IV calculation. The repayment percentage aid is determined by the formula used for the payment period as of the last date of
- If a student owes federal financial aid repayments or Return of Title IV Funds, they are denied federal aid eligibility at any institution and may not be able to enroll at Hawaii Medical College until payment arrangements are made.
- Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) requirements apply to all students including financial aid recipients regardless of the funding status or the calculation of a Return to Title IV Funds. Repayment of any part of federal financial aid at the time of withdrawal does not release students from the satisfactory academic progress requirements or actions taken as a
Determination Return to Title IV
- If a student withdraws after completing 60% of the academic session, then the student would have earned 100% of the Title IV funds awarded/received for that
- If a student withdraws from all classes on or before the 60% point of the academic session, then the student may be required to repay the portion of federal student aid that is determined to be unearned. A Return to Title IV calculation determines the amount that the College and the student are responsible for
- Any portion of federal student aid disbursed that HMC is required to return to the US Department of Education will be returned within 45 days of the date the student was determined to be withdrawn or
- Any portion of federal student aid that is required to be repaid by the student [for any portion of a federal student aid credit balance or excess aid disbursed to the student] is due within 45 days of the date the student is notified of the requirement to return/repay federal student aid to the US Department of Education. A student who owes a return or repayment of funds is ineligible for any additional Title IV funding until the repayment is
Withdrawal Date Policy
Any student who plans to withdraw from academic study should contact student services to discuss the options or impact of a withdrawal. Official and unofficial withdrawal dates will be
determined using the federal regulation definition for a withdrawal date. The official date will be determined by the earlier of one of the following:
- Date the student begins the withdrawal process
- Date the student provides official notification of intent to withdraw;
- Date of academic sessions where the student fails to register for or enroll in
Students who fail to officially withdraw from a course or from their academic session and/or abandon their program will be withdrawn from HMC effective the last date of attendance and/or academic activity within 14 calendar days from the last recorded academic attendance activity at HMC. Students who fail to begin a scheduled session will be considered withdrawn as of the last date of the previously completed academic module.
Return of Title IV Funds
The school will use the federal policy to determine the amount to return to all Title IV programs no later than 45 days after the date of determination. The return procedure is:
- Determine the appropriate withdrawal date
- Determine the last date of attendance or academic activity
- Determine Amount of Earned Title IV Aid
- Determine Amount of Unearned Title IV Aid
- Determine Title IV Aid to be Disbursed
- Determine Title IV Aid Disbursed
- Determine Title IV Aid to be Returned
- Calculate the School’s Responsibility
- Determine the Amount of School Returns by Program
- Determine Student’s Responsibility
- Determine Amount Student Returns by Program
Students are notified with a letter explaining how we calculated the return and the process we went through to come to that conclusion.
Funds Returned by Program
Funds are returned to Title IV Programs according to federal regulations. The order is:
- Unsubsidized Direct Loans Subsidized Direct Loans Direct PLUS Loans
- Federal Pell Grant
- Federal Supplemental Education Opportunity Grant (FSEOG)
Note: Student-responsible portions are calculated by the school and any funds required to be
returned to the loan programs is done in accordance with the terms of the promissory note.
RETURN OF FUNDS must be made directly to the school. Students who do not make satisfactory arrangements for payments in a timely manner will have their debts submitted to the U.S. Department of Education for collection.
Date of Determination of Withdrawal
Date of Determination is determined in two ways, either through student-initiated withdrawal (official) or through HMC administrative withdrawal (unofficial). Student-initiated withdrawal occurs when the student notifies HMC of the intent to withdraw. Administrative withdrawal occurs when HMC determines that the student is no longer enrolled based on attendance.
Official Withdrawal Date: The withdrawal date is the date the student notified HMC of their intent to withdraw.
Unofficial Withdrawal Date: Occurs after 14 calendar days without attendance or academic activity.
Calculation for the Return of Title IV Aid
A student earns Title IV aid in a prorated manner based on the period of enrollment up through the 60% point in the academic period. After the student has completed more than 60%, the student is considered to have earned all aid.
Earned Aid: The percentage of earned aid is calculated by determining the last date attended within the academic period through the withdrawal date and then dividing that number by the total clock hours in the payment period
Unearned Aid: The amount of unearned Title IV funds that must be returned is calculated, first, by subtracting the earned Title IV percentage from 100% to determine the percentage of aid that is unearned and, second, by multiplying the total amount of financial aid that could be disbursed to the student by the unearned Title IV funds percentage.
Over-Award Policy: An “over-award” is when the need-based awards exceed financial need or the total of financial aid awards exceeds the cost of attendance. If a student has been overawarded, federal regulations require Hawaii Medical College to adjust the award. Need-based aid includes grants, scholarships, Federal Work Study, Federal Perkins Loans, Federal Direct Subsidized Loans, and outside resources (i.e. faculty/staff tuition benefits, scholarships, etc.). Non-need-based aid includes Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loans and Federal Parent PLUS Loans.
Possible reasons an over-award can occur are:
- Additional awards are received after the final award letter is sent. (Other Sources: Scholarship, Military, Vocational Rehab.)
- The verification process may result in changes to FAFSA
If a need-based overaward occurs, the financial aid department will reduce or cancel federal aid in the following order: A Federal Pell Grant is never reduced.
- Direct Subsidized Loan
- Federal Work-Study
- Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant
If a non-need-based overaward occurs (the student’s cost of attendance was exceeded), the Financial Aid Department will reduce or cancel federal aid in the following order:
- PLUS Loan
- Direct Unsubsidized Loan
- Direct Subsidized Loan
- Federal Work-Study
- Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant
If the student’s tuition is paid by other sources, financial aid loans will be cancelled or reduced by the HMC-Financial Aid Department and will be refunded to the Department of Education to avoid the accumulation of non-need-based FA on the student account.
Amount to Be Returned by the Student
The amount to be returned by the student depends on the actual amount that has been disbursed to the student at the point the student ceases enrollment. At the point a student receiving Title IV funds officially withdraws or is unofficially withdrawn, the Financial Aid Office completes the return of Title IV aid calculation and determines the student’s portion of the funds to be returned.
The Financial Aid Office notifies the student of the amount to be refunded to the federal government. The student may select one of the following repayment options:
- The student may pay HMC the full amount of funds owing and HMC will return the funds to the appropriate programs
- The student may contact the U.S. Department of Education to establish a payment
For the student to remain eligible for Title IV funds, repayment must be made within 45 days of the student’s notification of funds owing.
Students whose circumstances require that they withdraw are encouraged to contact the Financial Aid Office before doing so. Financial aid staff can explain the consequences of withdrawing. They can provide refund examples and further explain the policy.
