ATTENTION ALL FINANCIAL AID RECIPIENTS

Institutional regulations require that students who are receiving federal financial aid (grants, loans & work-study) AND are registered for any class as of the start of the semester may be charged for those classes.  Therefore, to avoid owing money to the University, you must drop ALL classes prior to the beginning of the semester if you do not plan to attend.

In the past, students who were registered for classes but who had not satisfied their fees were purged by the University during the second week of classes.  These students had all associated charges removed.  However, due to regulations, students who do not drop their own classes before the first day of the semester (i.e., students who wait for the purge to drop their classes) will now be charged for those classes up to the point those classes are purged.

Additionally, the University is required to determine if you were eligible to receive any of your federal financial aid for the time you were registered.  If you were eligible, the University must determine how much aid you would have received and how much must be returned to the federal government.  This calculation is known as the "Return to Title IV" process.  If you plan to attend another school for the fall semester, this Return to Title IV could affect the amount of aid you might receive at the other school.  To prevent any problems with your aid at another school, you must make sure you have dropped all your classes before the start of the semester at any institution you do not plan to attend.

Previously, you might have attended your classes a time or two before deciding to drop all your classes (or having the system purge your classes). If you attend any classes after the semester begins, you WILL BE charged for those classes.  This charge will occur even if you are later purged from all your classes.

If you are currently registered for classes for a semester and you have decided to not attend the semester, the ONLY way to guarantee that you will not have any charges for your classes is to go online and drop all classes BEFORE the start of the semester.

If you have any questions about how to drop all your classes, call the Registrar's Office Help Line at 901.678.2810.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q:) I'm only dropping one of my classes, do I need to do that before the start of the semester?

A:)  No.  This new regulation only applies to individuals who are dropping ALL their classes and are not planning to attend the University of Memphis at all for the semester.

Q:) I was enrolled for fall classes but never got around to dropping them.  I never actually attended any of my classes.  Am I really going to have to pay for them?

A:)  You might.  If you were enrolled in a class but never attended, you may need to provide documentation of that non-enrollment.  If you wait to have the system "purge" you from all classes, you will be required to contact each faculty member and have them send the Financial Aid Office an e-mail stating that you never attended their classes.  However, should any record show that you did attend (even for one day), or the faculty member does not have documentation of your non-attendance, you will be charged.

Q:) I decided at the last minute to attend another college for this fall.  You said this Return to Title IV process could affect my aid at that school.  How?

A:)  Let's say you attended classes here at the University of Memphis for the first week then decided to go elsewhere.  You didn't make arrangements with our Bursar's Office to pay, so you were purged for non-payment.  Because you were here for a week, we now must determine your charges for that week.  In addition, we must determine how much of your federal financial aid you were eligible to receive for that week.  If you are trying to receive financial aid at the other college, they may now have to adjust the aid they have given you because you have used some of it here at Memphis.  To prevent this from occurring, you must make sure you have dropped your classes prior to the start of the semester.

Q:)  You stated that this applies if I am receiving any federal financial aid - exactly what aid programs do you mean?

A:)  The major federal aid programs involving most students are - Federal Pell Grant, SEOG (Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant), Federal TEACH Grant, Federal Perkins Loan, Federal Subsidized Direct Loan, Federal Unsubsidized Direct Loan, Federal PLUS Loan, Federal GRAD PLUS Loan, and the Federal Work-Study Program.

Q:) I'm not sure if I understand all of this, is there someone I can talk to about the process?

A:)  The main thing to remember is that if you are registered for classes at the beginning of a semester, you will be charged for those classes.

If you have any questions about how to drop your classes, call the Registrar's Office at 901.678.2810.

If you have any questions regarding your bill, call the Bursar's Office at 901.678.5579.

And should you have any questions regarding your financial aid, you can visit the Financial Aid Office (located at 103 Wilder Tower); call us at 901.678.4825; or send us an e-mail at: mailto:finaid@memphis.edu