Bursar's Office

Withdrawal and Refund Calculations

Withdrawal and Refund Calculations

Within the first week of a term, a student may drop classes via the student portal without having to obtain the signature of a faculty member. No grade of W will appear on the student’s transcript as a result of dropping classes during this week, and the classes will be dropped as a “never attended."

In the event that a student wishes to withdraw from a course or courses or from the university altogether, the following conditions apply with respect to the refund of charges.

  • Any student who withdraws from the university prior to the start of the second week of a term is eligible for a refund of charges for that term except the initial enrollment fee, book vouchers, books, and other course materials. The refund of residential charges will be pro-rated.
  • Any student who withdraws from all of his or her courses after the start of the second week of the term is eligible for a refund of the tuition charges (including course-overload charges) for those courses, according to the schedule below.

Refunds for 16 Week Courses

Time of Withdrawal Tuition Refund
Through week 1 of term (By Sunday 11:59 p.m. CST, Week 1) 100%
During week 2 of term (By Sunday 11:59 p.m. CST, Week 2) 75%
During week 3 of term (By Sunday 11:59 p.m. CST, Week 3) 50%
During week 4 of term (By Sunday 11:59 p.m. CST, Week 4) 25%
After week 4 of term No refund

Refunds for 8 Week Courses

Time of Withdrawal Tuition Refund
Through week 1 of term (By Sunday 11:59 p.m. CST, Week 1) 100%
During week 2 of term (By Sunday 11:59 p.m. CST, Week 2) 50%
During week 3 of term (By Sunday 11:59 p.m. CST, Week 3) 25%
After week 3 of term No refund

Refunds for Summer 12 Week Courses

Time of Withdrawal Tuition Refund
Through week 1 of term (By Sunday 11:59 p.m. CST, Week 1) 100%
During week 2 of term (By Sunday 11:59 p.m. CST, Week 2) 75%
During week 3 of term (By Sunday 11:59 p.m. CST, Week 3) 50%
During week 4 of term (By Sunday 11:59 p.m. CST, Week 4) 25%
After week 4 of term No refund

Refunds for Summer 4 & 6 Week Courses

Time of Withdrawal Tuition Refund
Through week 1 of term (By Sunday 11:59 p.m. CST, Week 1) 100%
During week 2 of term (By Sunday 11:59 p.m. CST, Week 2) 50%
After week 2 of term No refund
  • Any part-time semester student (enrolled in 11 or fewer credit hours) who withdraws from one or more courses after a term has begun is eligible for a refund of the tuition charges for those courses according to the schedule in the table above.
  • Full-time undergraduate semester students (enrolled in 12 to 18 credit hours) whose full-time academic status is not affected by the withdrawal from a course or courses they have already attended are not eligible for any refund of tuition for the withdrawal from those courses.
  • Full-time undergraduate traditional students (enrolled in 12- 18 credit hours), who withdraw from a class or classes after the first week of school and then replaces the withdrawn courses with any additional courses, will not incur additional tuition charges as long as enrollment does not exceed 18 credit hours.
  • Traditional undergrad students enrolled in classes exceeding 18 credit hours, will be charged a “per hourly” rate.  If a withdrawal is processed and there are courses that incurred a “per hourly” rate, then only those hours will be adjusted according to the schedule above.
  • Any student wishing to completely withdraw from Lindenwood University after week one of classes should submit a completed withdrawal form, signed by the student’s advisor or the Student and Academic Support Office (SASS) to the Office of Academic Services.

Notes:

(1) Calculations of the return of Title IV aid for withdrawals occurring during the first two weeks of a term will be based on the last date of attendance for the term in which the student withdraws. Students who initiate a withdrawal from the university after the first two weeks of the term will be eligible for a refund of Title IV aid based on the date that the withdrawal form was submitted to Academic Services. A student who remains enrolled beyond the 60 percent point of the term will not be entitled to a return of Title IV aid.

(2) Any student who earns the grade of AF in all coursework within a term will be considered unofficially withdrawn for that term and will be subject to a Title IV refund calculation. Based on this calculation, a portion of Title IV aid may be unearned and required to be returned to the appropriate agency.

(3) Once a housing contract is submitted and housing is assigned, students are legally responsible for all food and housing charges. If a student voluntarily withdraws from classes or if a student is dismissed from University for any reason, including for a violation of any University policy, the student will not be entitled to any refund.

VA Post 9/11 GI Bill® Withdraw Calculations:

On January 5, 2021, the President signed the Johnny Isakson and David P. Roe, M.D. Veterans Health Care and Benefits Improvement Act of 2020 into law (Public Law 116-315). The new law requires schools and training providers to be financially responsible, instead of the student, for benefits paid directly to an educational institution. This applies to tuition and fee payments and Yellow Ribbon program payments under the Post-9/11 GI Bill® (including under the Edith Nourse Rogers STEM Scholarship), and to advance payment of benefits under the various GI Bill® programs.

However, in accordance with section 1019 of Public Law 116-315, VA will not collect these debts from you. Rather, VA will collect these amounts from your school. In turn, your school may require you to pay any outstanding balance for tuition and other charges or penalties and may contact you regarding this debt.* It is important that you work with your school to resolve this matter.

* Note: Once tuition amount is determined by the VA the school will communicate what is due. Therefore with this change, the VA is now making the school and student responsible for the debt that is owed.

Tuition Appeals

At Lindenwood University, we understand that circumstances may arise which require students to seek an appeal for their tuition. We have established a Tuition Appeal Policy to carefully review and consider such requests. It's important to note that appeals must meet specific requirements to be considered for reimbursement.

Appeals for consecutive semesters are not considered. If you received Financial Aid for the term you're appealing, submitting an appeal may affect your Financial Aid and result in a balance. Discuss these implications with Student Financial Services before proceeding.

Recipients of Veteran's Benefits should consult with certifying officials before initiating an appeal.

Valid reasons for appeals include significant illness or injury, death of a family member, or unforeseen employment or schedule changes.

Appeals are not approved for reasons such as policy misinterpretation, dissatisfaction with instructors, or personal errors in judgment.

Submit completed appeal form and required documentation via email to businessofficeappeals@lindenwood.edu.

Appeals do not exempt accounts from collections or penalties. Allow 30-60 days for your appeal to be processed. All committee decisions are final.

Refund Distribution of Financial Aid

After the amount of the refund has been calculated, the Student Financial Services Office will determine the Title IV refund amounts according to the calculation schedule approved by the U.S. Department of Education. Refunds to specific Title IV programs will be made to the following programs in the order outlined:

  1. Outstanding balances on FFEL Program Loans (Unsubsidized Stafford, Subsidized Stafford)
  2. PLUS
  3. Federal Pell Grant awards
  4. Federal SEOG awards
  5. Other Title IV student assistance
  6. Other federal, state, private, or institutional aid
  7. The student

No Title IV program may receive a portion of the federal refund amount if that program was not part of the student’s original package.

Cash Disbursements

When a student officially or unofficially withdraws from school and has received a cash disbursement for educational expenses that exceeds non-institutional costs of education up to that time, the student owes the excess amount to the Title IV program(s) that helped meet the student’s educational costs. Lindenwood University will follow the same procedures used in the refund policy to determine which Title IV program(s) will receive the student-owed repayment. The university will notify, bill, and collect the amount owed the Title IV program(s) from the student.