Financial Aid Office

 Return of Title IV Funds due to withdrawal from the Academy (Federal Requirement)

Policy: Upon a financial aid recipient’s withdrawal from the Academy, Cal Maritime is required by the federal government to calculate, collect, and return a portion of federal financial aid grant or loan funds received by the student if the student has not completed 60% of the number of days in the complete courses taken.

The portion of the financial aid to be returned is determined by the percentage of financial aid not earned by the student. The percentage of unearned aid is calculated using this formula: divide the total number of calendar days in the semester not completed by the student by the total number of calendar days in the semester.

Again, if the student completes 60% of the calendar days in the semester before the withdrawal, the calculation will show that no funds need to be returned.

Please note: if the student withdraws without notifying the Academy, the withdrawal date is the midpoint of the semester. This means that some of the funds received will have to be repaid.

Unearned funds are credited to outstanding federal loan balances and grant programs in the following priority order:

          Unsubsidized Stafford Loans

          Subsidized Stafford Loans

          Perkins Loans

          PLUS Loans

          Pell Grant

          FSEOG

          Other Title IV aid for which return is required

If the student owes unearned financial aid, the student has 45 days to enter into a repayment agreement with Cal Maritime of the US Department of Education.

Cal Maritime does not have the authority to waive or write off the required repayment, regardless of the reason for the withdrawal, including extenuating circumstances such as illness, accident, or grievous personal loss.

When a student leaves CMA during a term, the State University Grant and some scholarships may be prorated.