Grant Repayments Waived for Some Gulf Coast Students

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December 14, 2005

Students who withdrew from higher education institutions because of a major disaster will not be responsible for repaying Title IV grant funds to the Department of Education. The department announced in a Dear Colleague letter (GEN-05-17) that the secretary would exercise her authority under statutes passed in late September to waive the usual rules for return of Title IV funds for students. The waiver does not extend to amounts that institutions are required to return when students withdraw.

The waiver applies to students who withdrew under the following conditions:

the student was residing in, employed in, or attending an institution that is located in a declared disaster area;
the student withdrew because of the impact of the disaster on the student or the institution; and,
the withdrawal occurred within the academic year of the disaster or the following academic year.

The waiver applies to student withdrawals to academic years beginning between July 1, 2005 and June 30, 2006, and to the following year.