Minnesota West’s Return Policy for TA funds
What is your institution's policy on the return of unearned TA funds to the government?
Students who use Tuition Assistance (TA) are expected to remain enrolled in the course throughout the duration of the semester. If a student using TA withdraws from the course, the student may no longer be eligible for the full amount of the benefit that was originally authorized. To remain in compliance with the Department of Defense's policy, Minnesota West Community and Technical College will return any unearned TA funds through at least 60% of the semester on a prorated basis. The amount of unearned TA that is returned is based on the date of withdrawal from the course.
After 60% of the semester has passed, TA will not be evaluated for a return to the DOD.
As an institution, we will bill the DOD after 60% of the semester has passed to reduce the amount of incorrect TA funds being disbursed by the DOD to Minnesota West Community and Technical College We will only bill for the amount the student earned given their enrollment.
What is your institution’s schedule for returning unearned TA to the government?
Bold type identifies the 60% completion point
5- Week Course: withdrawal submitted
| Day 1-7 | 100% return |
| Day 8 | 77% return |
| Day 9 | 74% return |
| Day 10 | 71% return |
| Day 11 | 69% return |
| Day 12 | 66% return |
| Day 13 | 63% return |
| Day 14 | 60% return |
| Day 15 | 57% return |
| Day 16 | 54% return |
| Day 17 | 51% return |
| Day 18 | 49% return |
| Day 19 | 46% return |
| Day 20 | 43% return |
| Day 21 | 40% return |
| Day 22 | 0% return |
Note: The educational institution's week of instruction is counted as 7 days.
8- Week Course: withdrawal submitted
| Before or duing week 1 | 100% return |
| During week 2 | 75% return |
| During weeks 3-4 | 50% return |
| During week 5 | 40% return(60% of course is completed) |
| During weeks 6-8 | 0% return |
16-Week Course: withdrawal submitted
| Before or during weeks 1-2 | 100% return |
| During weeks 3-4 | 75% return |
| During weeks 5-8 | 50% return |
| During weeks 9-10 | 40% return(60% of course is completed) |
| During weeks 11-16 | 0% return |
For courses that have durations differing from those listed above:
Unearned TA funds will be returned on a prorated basis, depending on the length of the course. To determine the amount of TA that needs to be returned, the institution will determine the date the withdrawal was submitted, and then divide that by the number of days in the term to determine the percentage of TA that was earned by the student.
Example: The student enrolled in a course that's duration is 30 days. The withdrawal was submitted on the 14th day. The institution would perform the calculation to determine how much TA was earned by the student's attendance:
(14 divided by 30 equals 46.6%. 47% of the TA authorized was earned by the student, which means 53% of what was authorized will be returned to the DOD)