Refunds
Tuition Adjustments for Drops & Withdraws
If you register for course(s) and subsequently withdraw or drop to part-time status, the adjustment will be made according to Messiah's Tuition Adjustment Schedule. Adjustments for tuition will be determined on the effective date of the drop. Any adjustment of charges will also be made according to Messiah's Adjustment Schedule. Students who drop below full-time or drop below their originally registered credit level may not receive a tuition refund. * Please contact SFS to see how course changes or student status may affect your student account.
Students who wish to withdraw from Messiah University before the end of the semester must do the following steps:
- notify the Registrar's Office
- notify the Student Success and Engagement office,
- arrange for the payment of all bills to secure honorable dismissal OR
- make refund request
Any notification of a withdrawal or request for a refund should be in writing and addressed to the appropriate institutional official. For refund purposes, the date that the Registrar's office signs the notification form will be considered the date of withdrawal. At the end of a fall or spring semester, students who do not plan to return to Messiah should complete a termination of attendance notice available in the Registrar's office.
Student Financial Services uses a weekly proration adjustment schedule to govern how tuition and fees will be adjusted. This weekly proration schedule is calculated on a percentage basis determined by the school week during which the student withdraws from the University.
(Please note: There are no refunds for incomplete courses, independent study, directed study, internship/practical, and online courses. The Student Activity, Student Services, Applied Music, Lab, and other course-related fees are not refunded after the first week. Nursing course-related fees are not refunded unless the major is dropped before the first day of class.)
If a student drops/withdraws from the University, tuition and required fees are assessed according to the Institutional Tuition and Fees Adjustment Schedule as follows:
|
School Week Starts 1st day of the term (1 week = 7 calendar days) |
Amount Student is Responsible For |
Amount Student is Not Responsible For |
|
Week 1 (Day 1 - Day 7) |
0% |
100% |
|
Week 2 (Day 8 - Day 14) |
25% |
75% |
|
Week 3 (Day 15 - Day 21) |
40% |
60% |
|
Week 4 (Day 22 - Day 28) |
50% |
50% |
|
Week 5 (Day 29 - Day 35) |
75% |
25% |
|
After Week 6 (Day 35 and after) |
100% |
0% |
Housing & Room Adjustments
Students withdrawing from the University must move out of the residence hall within 48 hours of submitting withdrawal forms to the Registrar's Office. It is the student's responsibility to coordinate a check-out time with their Residence Director. Failure to check out or move out within the 48-hour window will result in improper check-out fines, in addition to card access and meal plan access being shut off.
- Housing charges are adjusted on a pro-rated basis depending on the official withdrawal date up until the 60% mark of the semester. Adjustments will be uniformly applied to all campus housing charges.
- Spring semester room charges will be adjusted only for students enrolled in approved credit-earning, off-campus coursework/cross-cultural trips.
- Housing charges will be adjusted for students participating in directed and independent studies only if there is an academic requirement that necessitates living off-campus.
- There are no refunds for enrolled students vacating a room after the start of the semester.
Board/ Dining Adjustments
*Please note the Operations Charge is nonrefundable - any unused Dining Dollars will be refunded.
The Financial Aid Office will return Institutional financial aid to withdrawing students during the fall or spring semester as follows:
|
School Week |
Percent Returned |
|
Week 1 (Day 1- Day 7) |
100% |
|
Week 2 (Day 8- Day 14) |
75% |
|
Week 3 (Day 15- Day 21) |
60% |
|
Week 4 (Day 22- Day 28) |
50% |
|
Week 5 (Day 29- Day 35) |
25% |
State grant funds are returned when needed regardless of a credit balance. Adjustment of PA State Grant follows the Tuition Adjustment Policy. If tuition is adjusted, the state grant has to be adjusted.
If a credit balance remains after the return of State Grant funds, the credit balance will be mailed to the student address we have on file.
Student account credit balances of $5.00 or less, if not specifically requested to be refunded within two weeks after the student leaves Messiah, will automatically be cleared and donated to the general scholarship fund. The fees, procedures, and policies listed above supersede those published previously and are subject to change at any time.
The Office of Financial Aid is required by federal statute to recalculate federal financial aid eligibility for students who withdraw, drop out, or take a leave of absence before completing 60% of a semester. To maintain Federal financial aid eligibility during the semester, the student must be attending classes, taking exams, and completing required coursework. The percentage of semester attended is calculated by using the number of days the student attended and the total number of days in the semester. The unearned portion of Federal financial aid funds will be returned to the appropriate aid program(s).
The student will be responsible for any balance due after the return of Federal financial aid funds. Students who stop attending all classes without officially withdrawing are subject to the return of Federal financial aid funds at the end of the semester. The amount returned is based on the withdrawal date or last documented date of attendance determined by Messiah University. The funds will be returned in the following order:
- Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loan
- Federal Direct Subsidized Stafford Loan
- Federal Direct PLUS Loan
- Federal Pell Grant
- Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (SEOG)
- Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education Grant (TEACH)
If a credit balance remains after the return of Federal and State Grant funds, the credit balance will be mailed to the student address we have on file.
Student account credit balances of $1.00 or less, if not specifically requested to be refunded within two weeks after the student leaves Messiah, will automatically be cleared and donated to the general scholarship fund. The fees, procedures, and policies listed above supersede those published previously and are subject to change at any time. Please check our refund policy for more information.
Refunds for students who withdraw voluntarily or involuntarily are determined according to the following policy:
1). The portion of tuition to be refunded to the students who withdraw prior to the end of the work day (5 pm EST) listed will be as follows. The dates and smounts depend upon which part-of-term the student is registerd.
6-Week Early Summer: May 19 - June 29
|
Drop Date |
% refunded |
|
Week 1 |
100% |
|
Week 2 |
75% |
|
Week 3 |
60% |
|
Week 4 |
50% |
|
Week 5 |
25% |
|
Week 6 |
0% |
6-Week Late Summer: July 7 - August 17
|
Drop Date |
% refunded |
|
Week 1 |
100% |
|
Week 2 |
75% |
|
Week 3 |
60% |
|
Week 4 |
50% |
|
Week 5 |
25% |
|
Week 6 |
0% |
12-Week Full Summer: May 19 - August 17
|
Drop Date |
% refunded |
|
Week 1 |
100% |
|
Week 2 |
75% |
|
Week 3 |
60% |
|
Week 4 |
50% |
|
Week 5 |
25% |
|
Week 6-12 |
0% |
2) All requests for drops or withdrawals must be in writing and emailed to the Registrar's Office at summersession@messiah.edu. The date of the email determines the refund date used in 1) above. It is important to note that notifying an instructor does not constitute an official request to drop or withdraw from a course.
Payment for Summer Session: For students not currently enrolled at Messiah University, payment is due at registration time. For current Messiah University students and dual enrolled students, payment is due prior to the beginning of the class start date May 19th. You will be billed through Messiah University Student Financial Services.
Going on Medical Leave
- It is the responsibility of the student to contact the Office of Financial Aid and Student Financial Services individually to discuss the implications of medical leave on his or her financial aid award.
- Students who take medical leave during the first five weeks of the fall or spring semester may be eligible for some tuition adjustment.
- No tuition adjustments will be given for students who are granted medical leave during the final 10 weeks of the fall or spring semester.
- For more information about medical leave please contact the Engel Center.
A student who is suspended or expelled from the university for disciplinary reasons will still follow the Tuition Adjustment Schedule. Withdraws are calculated based on the tuition adjustment schedule as outlined above. For more questions about involuntary withdraws Please contact the Office of Student Success and Engagement.
Credit Balance & Refunds
There are many options for students who have an eligible credit balance. Here are some ways students choose to excess funds.
- Credit Rollover to the next billing semester. (Not applicable for graduating seniors)
- Refund by submitting an Online Refund Request
- Return loans - Students who have large credit balances and took out too much of a loan may ask to return a portion of their loan to their loan servicer to save some debt. Be sure to contact an SFS counselor to see if that is possible for your financial circumstances.
- Purchase books- Students are not required to purchase their books and supplies through the Slingshot system and may opt out of this system. Students can manage account preferences in the Slingshot Campus Bookstore program. Students who need to purchase books and have Title IV funds (Unsubsidized Federal Direct Loans, Subsidized Federal Direct Loans, Federal Perkins Loans, Federal Direct PLUS Loans, Federal Pell Grants, Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (SEOG), TEACH Grant, IRAQ and Afghanistan Service Grant) included in their Financial Aid award may use up to the estimated amount of their credit balance or $730 per semester of those funds to purchase books and supplies at the Messiah University Bookstore."
Direct Deposit- If you have previously signed up for direct deposit for your refunds (most likely if you had student employment). Typically direct deposit refunds are faster to process. Please allow at least 2 weeks for the direct deposit to be received.
Paper Check- If you have not signed up for direct deposit, a paper check will be issued to the current mailing address that you have on file at Messiah. Please allow at least 2 weeks for the check to be received at your Mailing Address. You should receive an email communication when the refund has been processed.
*Requests for replacement refund checks will not be approved until 30 calendar days after the date the check was issued.
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