Refund of Institutional Tuition Charges
Cancellation must be made in writing or by electronic mail.
Students can terminate or cancel for any reason prior to the semester starting date and will receive a full refund excluding the pre-registration fee and payment plan enrollment fees, if applicable.
In the event a student drops one or more classes, withdraws, or is administratively dismissed from the University for disciplinary or for financial reasons after registration is completed and prior to the end of a semester of enrollment, the student’s eligibility for a refund of appropriate institutional tuition charges will be prorated as indicated.
A student must complete a Change of Schedule form (obtained from the Office of the Registrar) for dropping one or more classes.
Any situation in which all classes are dropped is considered to be a withdrawal from the University. The student initiates this process by completing a withdrawal form (can be found online) and submitting this to the Registrar’s Office.
Should the student fail to complete this process, all semester charges will become immediately due and payable (refer to “Withdrawal from the University”).
The official withdrawal process begins in the Office of the Registrar. A withdrawal form must be completed and all the necessary signatures obtained. Oral requests do not constitute official notification.
ficial notification. The University’s official date of withdrawal used to compute the refund is based on the date the withdrawal form is recorded by the Registrar. Applicable institutional charges for fall and spring semesters will be refunded according to the following schedule:
| During the first week of the semester | 100% |
| During the second week of the semester | 75% |
| During the third week of the semester | 50% |
| During the fourth week of the semester | 25% |
| After the fourth week of the semester | 0% |
No refund of institutional charges will be made after the fourth week of the semester.
Specific dates affecting the schedule of refunds appear on the Registration Policies page of the electronic class schedule, WebAdvisor, which is available on the LMU web site by selecting the Current Students and Faculty link; and/or the Office of Student Services, the Office of the Registrar and the Office of Finance. If it is determined that a refund is due the student, refunds will be disbursed within 30 days of the withdrawal date.
Refund schedules pertaining to summer are adjusted to the varying length of the terms. They are also available in WebAdvisor by selecting the given term.
Should a student at the Tampa, Florida off-campus site choose to cancel an enrollment agreement, such cancellation must be given in writing or by e-mail. If registration has been completed at the time of cancellation, an official withdrawal form must also be completed, and the refund schedule above will apply.
Refund of Credit Balance
In the event a combination of grants, scholarships, and/or payments results in a credit balance on the student’s account, the Student Accounts Office will refund the credit balance to the student.
All institutional aid must be applied toward tuition, fees, and on-campus room and board expenses. Institutional aid cannot be used to pay for student health insurance fees. All federal, state and institutional grants are credited to the student’s account first, and any institutional grants or scholarships are applied to the balance of the student’s aid eligibility for the semester. No cash refunds are made from institutional funds.
Official Withdrawal
Any completed student withdrawal will be reviewed for the official withdrawal date, set forth by the Registrar. The Registrar uses the date the student communicates their intent to withdraw or begins the institution’s withdrawal process, as the official withdrawal date. If this date falls after the first day of classes, there will be a Return of Title IV (R2T4) calculation done to determine financial aid earned. If a withdrawal is completed prior to the FA disbursement date, and there is aid earned, the aid would be seen as a post withdrawal disbursement and LMU would obtain permission from the student/parent prior to disbursing earned aid. If a withdrawal is completed on or after the FA disbursement date, the aid is adjusted based on the pro rata of the R2T4 calculation given back to us by the FAA Access Return to Title IV Worksheet provided by the Department of Education (DOE). Adjustments are made and refunds sent back to the appropriate program(s), with the DOE, at the time of processing the withdrawal form. If the student is present at the time of processing the withdrawal form, financial aid staff does a counseling session to explain how the calculation is determined and how it affects their responsibility to repay, if applicable. If the student is not present at the time of processing the withdrawal form, the financial aid office notifies of the adjustment made and any responsibilities that lay with the student, at that time. It is stated and understood that after the 60% point of the term a student has earned 100% of aid and in most cases there will not be pending aid, at this point; however, we do an R2T4 calculation to determine a post withdrawal disbursement, if pending aid is present and all conditions are met. If it is determined that a refund is due the student, refunds will be disbursed within 30 days of the withdrawal date.
Unofficial Withdrawals
Any student who ceases attending classes before the end of the semester, mini-term, or summer term without completing the official withdrawal from the University, automatically receives the grade “F” for such course(s), so noted on the student’s academic transcript. Unofficial Withdrawals are reviewed after grades post for each term. Any student earning all F’s is considered an Unofficial Withdrawal. We provide a notification letter to the student asking them to confirm attendance past the 60% point of the term and a timeline in which to provide that documentation. Adequate attendance documentation can be an email statement directly from the instructors stating the student attended past the 60% date, hard copy print outs of online coursework submitted after the 60% date or hard copy tests submitted after the 60% point. If the attendance documentation is not provided, we notify the student, again, via email reminding them of this opportunity. If we do not receive a response, LMU will do an R2T4 calculation, thru FAA Access, using the 50% point of the term as the withdrawal date. Adjustments are made and refunds sent back to the appropriate program(s), with the DOE, at the time of processing the Unofficial Withdrawal student record(s). We then notify the student, via USPS, of the adjustments made via the results of the R2T4 calculation, and we explain why the calculation had to be done and what financial responsibilities lay with the student.
Student Leave of Absence Protocol
- Only students who are in good academic standing may apply for a leave of absence. All students seeking a leave of absence are strongly encouraged to speak with their academic advisor prior to requesting a leave of absence.
- Students requesting a leave of absence must submit the LMU Application for Leave of Absence form to the appropriate administrators. The Vice President of Academic Affairs (VPAA) is the approving administrator for Undergraduate and Graduate students. Students in the LUM-DCOM, LMU-DSOL and LMU-CVM will be assisted by the VP-Dean of their respective LMU college as explained in the student handbook and/or catalog for those professional programs.
- Applications for a leave of absence will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis and may be granted for illness (personal or familial), military service, or maternity leave. Students who are not passing their current in-progress coursework will not be granted a leave of absence. In order to ensure student success, a student having a medical issue early in the semester should talk to their advisor or Dean about taking a leave as soon as possible. LMU will do everything they can to work with the student to ensure that the medical issue does not impact the student’s academic record. Students must understand that once they take an exam or submit an assignment the grade cannot be altered retroactively because of the medical issue. If a leave is granted it will have no bearing on coursework that has been completed
- Supporting documentation from a physician must be provided with an application for leave based upon illness or maternity. Supporting documentation from the military must be provided with an application for leave based upon military service.
- A leave of absence may be granted for a maximum period of 180 consecutive days (including summers). Undergraduate students who are granted a leave of absence may not enroll in academic courses at another institution during the leave period. In granting a leave, the approving administrator will determine the appropriate period and may impose other appropriate conditions and limitations which will be outlined in the Notice of Approval. The official date of the Leave of Absence will be the date of receipt of the student’s Application for Leave of Absence form.
- This Policy is not intended to directly govern the effects that a leave of absence might have on a leave-taking student's eligibility for any form of student financial aid, whether or not administered by the University. An applicant for leave who anticipates seeking or receiving any form of financial aid must meet with Financial Aid for advising on the effect a leave will have on the applicant’s financial aid eligibility.
- A student who seeks to return from a leave of absence must notify the approving administrator in writing at least one month prior to the start of the semester in which the student seeks to return. A student seeking to return from a leave of absence based upon illness or maternity must have a licensed physician certify in writing that the student is released to return to school. Any student who fails to comply with the conditions and limitations described in the Notice of Approval will become ineligible to register for subsequent semesters and will be required to apply for readmission to the University.
Summer Withdrawal
The official withdrawal process, as set forth by our Registrar’s office, is required for withdrawing from a summer semester. Upon receiving a Withdrawal Form for summer, the Financial Aid office would use the actual start and end dates of the enrolled classes in the R2T4 calculation. At the end of the summer semester, Financial Aid reviews for Unofficial Withdrawals.