Refunds and Deadlines

If you drop a class within the drop period or if you have excess financial aid, you may receive a refund.

At the beginning of each term, there is a refund period. Students who withdraw from the university during that period will receive a pro-rated assessment of tuition and fees.

If you drop one or more classes during the refund period, your fees will be recalculated based on your liable credit hours. If your recalculated total liable credit hours are in the banded rate, no refund is calculated.

See Specific Dates and Percentages

Before dropping a class, you will want to be sure it will not affect any financial aid you are receiving, as explained in the paragraphs below.

When a Title IV financial aid recipient withdraws from all classes, the percentage of the period completed, based on class days will be calculated. The federal government mandates that students who withdraw may only keep the financial aid they have earned up until the time of withdrawal.

Process for Return of Title IV Funds

Note: These regulations apply only to full withdrawals. All partial withdrawals are refunded by the percentages designated.

All state financial aid is recalculated through the end of the fourth week of classes. If a student drops below 12 hours, they may lose their entire award. The student will be billed for any lost aid amount.

Obtaining Your Refund

  • You may drop one or more classes online in Student Scheduling Assistant in myPNW to formally withdraw from a course. Otherwise, you may receive a failing grade in the course for non-attendance. Refer to the Refund and Withdrawal Schedule for last days to drop for the current semester.
  • If you are considering withdrawing from all your courses, follow the guidance on the Full Withdrawal web page.

Note: Simply not attending one or more classes does not constitute a formal withdrawal from a course.

Excess disbursements are refunded in one of two ways:

  • Check
    All checks will be printed at Purdue West Lafayette and mailed directly to the student’s address on record.
  • Direct Deposit
    This is the safest and quickest way to have your excess funds deposited. They are put directly into the U.S. checking or savings account that you designate. An e-mail notice will be sent indicating that a direct deposit of your excess funds has been made.

Note: Students who receive Title IV financial aid and do not attend classes for which they are enrolled will be responsible for the repayment of their financial aid.

Unless a parent designates that Parent PLUS loans should be refunded to the student, excess disbursements of Parent PLUS loans are refunded in one of two ways:

  • Check
    Parent PLUS checks will be printed at Purdue West Lafayette and mailed directly to the parent’s address.
  • Direct Deposit
    If your student has set you up as an Authorized User, then your refund may be directly deposited into the savings or checking account you designate.

We Now Offer Tuition Insurance

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Purdue University Northwest has proudly partnered with GradGuard™ to offer Tuition Insurance from Allianz Global Assistance.

The Tuition Protection plan is like an extension of our refund policy. It can reimburse up to 100% of your non-refundable school costs after a mid-semester withdrawal for a covered illness, injury, psychological condition, and more—protecting your investment in higher education.

To get a quote or learn more about the Tuition Protection Plan, call 866-724-4384 or go to www.GradGuard.com/tuition/pnw