Student Refunds

Students may be eligible for a refund if the Financial aid award or a student payment exceeds the semester charges. Please see Student Refunds for additional information.

Students may be eligible for a refund due to an official withdrawal from the University. Please see the Withdrawal & Refund Policy for additional information.

Information about refunds

The University’s preferred refund method is direct deposit. Please take this opportunity to sign up for direct deposit so that future refunds will be automatically deposited into your preferred bank account. All students who wish to enroll for direct deposit can log into COIN via the myUMassD portal to designate the bank account into which their refund will be deposited. A job aid to assist with the process can be found at COIN for Students.

• In compliance with federal regulations, automatic refunds will be processed for all Federal Financial Aid recipients whose total federal funds exceed allowable semester expenses. Allowable expenses for the current semester include, and are limited to, tuition, fees, and room and board. This does include Parent Plus Loans when the parent approved that the credit be refunded to the student. Refunds cannot be issued to anyone other than the student.
• Federal (Title IV) aid includes: Federal Pell Grant, Federal Supplemental Education Opportunity Grant (SEOG), Federal PLUS loan, Federal Graduate PLUS Loan, Federal Teach Grant, Federal Direct Subsidized Loan and Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loan.
• Credits that stem from direct payments and payment plans, outside scholarships, sponsor payments* are not automatically refunded. Students can send an email that includes the student’s full name and student ID number to request a refund to Student Service Center (SSC).
  • *If it is determined that your refund must be made co-payable to an outside sponsor, lender or other third party, your refund will be processed as a check and will be sent to the appropriate agency.
• Please note that you may receive a refund even if charges are still due on your student account. Since federal regulations prohibit the University from using excess federal funds for non-allowable charges (including medical insurance, late fees, fines, and prior balances) a federal refund may result in an outstanding balance. Please check your student account(s), which include UMass Dartmouth/COIN and the Entrata Housing portal for first year students, to ensure the balance is paid for the semester to prevent holds.
• Refunds are issued for the full credit balance as we allow students to manage their own finances.

Returning Federal Financial Aid to the Department of Education

• A school must return to the Department any Title IV funds that it attempts to disburse directly to the student or parent that are not received by the parent or student.
• If a refund sent through direct deposit to a student’s or parent’s financial account is rejected, or a check to a student or parent is returned or is uncashed, UMassD will contact the student/parent to provide guidance to resolve the issue and can assist with issuing a new refund.
• In the event UMassD cannot locate the student or parent or we do not receive timely replies to our inquiries from the student or parent, we must cease all attempts to disburse the funds and return these funds to the Department of Education within 240 days of the date the refund was originally issued.
• Funds that are returned to the Department of Education are used to reduce the student’s or parent’s overall loan balance.

It is very important that students and parent monitor COIN to watch for refunds and take the necessary steps to confirm receipt of a direct deposit refund or confirm receipt of and cash all refund checks.

More information on refund eligibility after completing a withdrawal is found here on the Bursar's site for withdrawals and refunds.

Financial aid recipients are reminded that financial aid awards may be adjusted or cancelled due to dropping classes or withdrawal from the university per federal, state, and university guidelines. More information on possible adjustments to financial aid as a result of a withdrawal is found on the Financial Aid site for withdrawals.

Note: Adjustments to financial aid after a student has received a refund may require the student to repay all or some of the refund amount back to the university. A balance due to the university may create a registration hold and may lead to collection activities. More information on balance due holds is found on the Bursar's site.