Cancellation/Refund Policy

The school’s cancellation and refund policies are as follows:

• An applicant who has not visited the school prior to enrollment may cancel without penalty by requesting cancellation within three business days following either the regularly scheduled orientation procedures or following a tour of the school facilities and inspection of equipment where training and services are provided.
• An applicant requesting cancellation within three days after signing an enrollment agreement and making an initial payment is entitled to a refund of all monies paid by the applicant.
• An applicant requesting cancellation more than three days after signing an enrollment agreement and making an initial payment, but prior to entering the school, is entitled to a refund of all monies paid minus the nonrefundable application fee ($25).

Refunds are made in full to the student within forty-five (45) days of the date of withdrawal or thirty (30) days from drop date.  Refunds are determined based on the proration of tuition and percentage of program completed at withdrawal, up until 50% of the program.  If a student withdraws after completing 50% of the program, no refund of tuition is required.

Students receiving financial assistance are subject to an additional refund analysis.  The refund policies for financial aid recipients are as follows:

• The Financial Aid Office is required by federal statute to determine how much financial aid was earned by students who withdraw, drop out, are dismissed, or take a leave of absence prior to completing 60% of a payment period.
• For students who withdraw after 60% point-in-time, there are no unearned funds.  However, a school must still complete a Return Calculation in order to determine whether the student is eligible for a post-withdrawal disbursement.
• A portion of the refund will be returned to the programs from which the student was funded for students who received any Title IV funds.  For current financial aid recipients, a tuition percentage will be determined based on the return of Title IV funds regulations.  This percentage is a result of the percentage of the payment period completed by the student, as outlined below.  The Director of Education determines the house schedule to complete based on the withdrawal date.  For the purpose of the calculating treatment of Title IV funds, the withdrawal date is the last date of attendance.  The Financial Aid Office determines the return of Tile IV aid “earned” by the student and to return the unearned portion to the appropriate aid program.  The refund will be completed 45 days from last date of attendance or 30 days from drop date.

The return of funds policy follows:

1)      Determine the percentage of the payment period completed by the student: Divide the clock hours scheduled to have been completed as of the withdrawal date in the payment period by the total clock hours in the payment period.

Hours scheduled to complete divided by total hours in period equals percentage of payment period.

If the calculated percentage exceeds 60%, then the student has “earned” all Title IV aid for the payment period

2)      Apply the percentage completed to the Title IV aid awarded to determine the students’ eligibility for aid prior to the withdrawal.

Total Aid Disbursed X Percentage Completed= Earned Aid

3)      Determine the amount of unearned aid to be returned to the appropriate Title IV aid program.

Total Disbursed Aid – Earned Aid= Unearned Aid to be Returned

If the aid already disbursed equals the earned aid, no further action is required.  If the aid already disburses is less than the earned aid, a late disbursement will be made to the student.  If the aid already disbursed is greater than the earned aid, the difference must be returned to the appropriate Title IV aid program.

4)      Distribute the responsibility to return the funds between the institution and the student.

The responsibility to repay unearned Title IV funds is shared by the Augusta School of Massage and the student.  The Augusta School of Massage’s share is the lesser of

• The total amount of the unearned Title IV funds; or
• Institutional charges incurred for the billing period multiplied by the percentage of aid that was unearned.

The total disbursed federal financial aid includes that was disbursed, and the aid that could have been disbursed, as of the student’s withdrawal date.

If the type of aid that the student is responsible for returning is a loan then the student is not required to immediately repay the amount as the grace period for the loan, generally six months, is invoked.  If the type of aid that the student is responsible for returning is a grant, then the student may incur a charge on their bill.  Federal funds regulations require that the student only repay one-half of the grant amounts that is earned.  Any refund or repayment obligation will be clearly outlined for the student in writing and will also appear on the students’ account statement.  If the return of funds creates a balance due on the student’s account, the student will be responsible to pay the balance on their account.

Refund Distribution for Financial Aid Recipients Return to Tile IV aid, based on the type of aid disbursed, in the following order

Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loan

Federal Direct Subsidized Stafford Loan

Federal Direct PLUS (Parent) Loan

Federal Pell Grant