Leave of Absence & Withdrawal

• Leave of Absence – leaving the College by dropping all classes for the semester with the Registrar’s Office and providing an intended date of return to Pitzer.
• Official Withdrawal – leaving the College by dropping all classes for the semester with the Registrar’s Office with no intent to return to Pitzer.
• Unofficial Withdrawal – receiving all unearned grades for the semester and not notifying the Registrar’s Office of the intent to withdraw.

If a student intends to withdraw from all courses during a semester, they must contact the Registrar’s Office. The Registrar will provide either a Leave of Absence Form or a Withdrawal Form. Both forms require the student to contact the Office of Financial Aid as part of the Leave/Withdrawal process.

Students who take a leave of absence or withdraw from the College and have borrowed a Federal Direct Loan, Federal Perkins Loan or a Pitzer College Loan must complete an Exit Counseling session prior to leaving campus.

Financial aid recipients who withdraw from courses during the first ten days of each semester may have their financial aid revised for the semester IF their overall enrollment status changes (i.e. changing from full-time to part-time, etc.).

After the ‘add/drop’ deadline (the tenth day of the semester), enrollment status and financial aid awards are “locked.” If the enrollment status changes before ‘add/drop’, the student’s financial aid award will be adjusted and a revised aid letter will be posted to the student’s portal. Course adjustments after the ‘add/drop’ deadline do not result in changes to the financial aid award for the semester. It is important to contact the Office of Financial Aid prior to withdrawing/adding courses to understand how possible changes could impact their award for the semester.

Students who receive Title IV federal student aid are subject to federal Return of Title IV Funds (R2T4) regulations. Title IV federal student aid is awarded with the expectation that the student will attend classes for the entire semester and “earn” the award. When a student stops attending classes prior to the end of the semester, the student may no longer be eligible for the full amount of federal funds the student was originally scheduled to receive.

The withdrawal date used for R2T4 calculations is the date indicated on the official withdrawal record. If there are multiple dates on the form, the earliest date is used. This earliest date is considered to be the student’s notification of their intent to withdraw. If the student withdraws without notifying the Registrar’s Office (unofficial withdrawal), the 50% point in the semester or the last date of academic related activity will be used as the student’s last date of attendance. Students who withdraw from all classes on or before the semester is 60% complete, must have any “unearned” Title IV federal student aid be returned to the U.S. Treasury, even if the student is not entitled to a refund of tuition. Students who withdraw from all classes at the 60% period, earn all financial aid awarded for the term.

To determine the withdrawal date for an unofficial withdrawal, the last date of an academic-related activity may be used. Academically related activities include, but are not limited to, attending a class where there is an opportunity for direct interaction between the instructor and students.

Recognized as Academically Related

• Exams, quizzes or tutorials
• Computer-assisted instruction
• Completion of an academic assignment, paper or project
• Participating in an online discussion about academic matters
• Initiating contact with a faculty member to ask a question about the academic subject

 Not Considered Academically Related

• Student’s self-certification of attendance that is not supported by school documentation
• Living in Pitzer College housing
• Participating in the school’s meal plan
• Participating in academic counseling or advising

The Registrar’s Office sends email notifications to select offices once an official withdrawal is processed. This notification provides the last date of attendance for the student. The Office of Financial Aid will then determine if the student’s days of attendance in the term result in the student earning all of the aid awarded for the term. If not all aid is earned, the Office of Financial Aid will calculate the amount to be returned to the federal aid programs. Award adjustments are processed for students who do not earn 100% of the disbursed aid. Revised awards are then posted to the student’s account.

The following formula is used to determine the percentage of earned aid vs. unearned aid:

• The percent earned is equal to the number of calendar days enrolled, including the withdrawal date, divided by the total calendar days in the payment period (less any scheduled breaks that are at least 5 days long).
• The payment period is the entire semester. The percent unearned is equal to 100% minus the percent earned.
• If the percent earned exceeds 60% the student is considered to have earned 100% of the aid disbursed for the term.

The amount of Title IV aid earned by the student is determined by multiplying the percentage of Title IV aid earned by the total of Title IV program aid disbursed, plus the Title IV aid that could have been disbursed to the student or on the student’s behalf. If the R2T4 calculation results in a credit balance on the students account, the credit balance will be disbursed as soon as possible and no later than 14 days after the R2T4 calculation.

Calculation Example #1:

• Fall Semester 2026: Start Date 8-31-2026 – End Date 12-11-2026 – total days in semester: 102
• Student withdraws from all courses on 10-16-2026 – total days enrolled: 47
• Enrolled days: 47 divided by the total days in semester: 102 = 46.1% of federal financial aid earned

 Calculation Example #2:

• Fall Semester 2026: Start Date 8-31-2026 – End Date 12-11-2026 – total days in semester: 102
• Student withdraws from all courses 11-13-2026 – total days enrolled: 75
• Enrolled days: 75 divided by the total days in semester: 102 = 73.5%. Since this percentage exceeds 60%, 100% of federal financial aid earned

Pitzer is required to return funds for students who have received more Title IV aid than was earned. The funds must be returned to the same federal program and must not exceed the amount of the initial disbursement. Funds must be returned as soon as possible but  no later than 45 days after determining the student has withdrawn. The order of return of funds is as follows:

• Unsubsidized Federal Direct Loan (other than Direct PLUS Loans)
• Subsidized Federal Direct Loan
• Federal Direct PLUS Loan
• Federal Pell Grant
• Federal SEOG

Institutional funds are prorated based on the Pitzer Refund policy. The Pitzer Tuition Refund policy is based on the R2T4 policy. Students earn a percentage of institutional dollars at the same rate they earned federal student aid based on the number of days enrolled in the semester.

Post-Withdrawal Disbursements (PWD)

In compliance with federal regulations, the Office of Financial Aid will determine if all eligible aid has been disbursed as of the withdrawal date. If not and the student meets the federal criteria for a post-withdrawal, the student will be notified of their eligibility within 30 days of determining the student’s date of withdrawal. A PWD will first be used toward any outstanding charges before any funds are returned to the student.

If the student has an outstanding balance on their account for current award year tuition/fees charges, Pitzer College may automatically credit a PWD of funds to the student’s account. Otherwise, Pitzer College must obtain the student’s written authorization before crediting the PWD for other educationally related institutional charges.  

• Grant Funds: If the student does not have an outstanding balance on their account or the amount of the post-withdrawal disbursement is greater than the balance, Pitzer must directly deliver any grant portion of the post-withdrawal disbursement to the student within 45 days of the date of our determination the student withdrew. 
• Loan Funds: If the post-withdrawal disbursement includes loan funds, Pitzer may not credit the students account and the student (or the borrower) may not receive the proceeds as a direct disbursement without first notifying the borrower and confirming they still wish to receive the loan disbursement. Pitzer must send the notification within 30 days of our determination that student withdrew and allow the borrower at least 14 days to respond. The student may choose to decline some or all the loan proceeds to reduce indebtedness. If no response is received within 14 days of notification, the loan will be cancelled. 

Student Notification of Return to Title IV Funds

A notification letter outlining the amount of aid returned to the federal and institutional program(s) will be mailed to the student’s permanent address for students who officially withdraw from the College. Students who withdraw in a term and take a Leave of Absence will be notified via their campus email address. Pitzer College will return funds on the student’s behalf to the appropriate federal and institutional aid program(s). The student is responsible for all charges and overpayments to their Pitzer student account that result from a Return of Title IV calculation.