Changes to your enrolment at Oxford (including suspension and withdrawal)
If you withdraw from your programme, suspend status, drop below half-time enrolment, or otherwise become ineligible for US federal loans, you must inform the US Loans Team (us.loans@admin.ox.ac.uk) immediately. Please do not wait for the change to be approved by your college or department before contacting us.
Under US federal law, the University is required to report any changes to your enrolment within tight timescales and, if necessary, to complete a Return to Title IV (R2T4) calculation and arrange for any ‘unearned’ loan funds to be returned to the US Department of Education. You may also have to return unearned funds and we will provide advice on this.
Full information is available in the Return to Title IV Policy on our Consumer Information web page, but the key facts are summarised below.
Key facts:
- The US Loans Team will calculate the amount of Title IV program assistance that has been earned, using a formula provided by the US Department of Education.
- Once the student has completed more than 60% of the payment period, all the assistance that the student was scheduled to receive for that period is considered to have been earned. As an example, if the student completes 30% of the payment period, he or she has earned 30% of the assistance they were originally scheduled to receive within that loan period. If the student has completed 60% of the payment period, he or she has earned 100% of the assistance they were scheduled to receive.
- If the student received more assistance than was earned, the excess funds must be returned to the US Department of Education by the University and/or the student. If the student received (or the University received on the student’s behalf) less assistance than the amount earned, the student may be able to receive those additional funds as a post-withdrawal disbursement.
- The requirements for Title IV program funds when students withdraw are separate from the University’s refund policy. Therefore, the student may still owe funds to the University to cover unpaid institutional charges. The University may attempt to collect from the student any Title IV program funds that the University is required to return.
- Under specific conditions, a leave of absence (suspension of studies) for less than 180 days in a 12 month period may qualify as an ‘approved’ leave of absence. A student granted an ‘approved’ LOA is not considered to have withdrawn, and no Return calculation is required. During the LOA, the University will not charge the student any additional institutional charges, the student's financial need will not increase, and therefore, the student will not be eligible for any disbursements of Federal Student Aid. A student who is granted an approved LOA maintains in-school status for Title IV loan repayment purposes.
- Students who do not attend even initial lectures or seminars are ineligible to receive any Title IV funds and all loan proceeds will be returned to the US Department of Education. The student will be liable for any fees or outstanding balances owed to the college or University.