Loan disbursement and exit counselling

Federal loan disbursements

The first disbursement of loans will not be paid until students are registered at Glasgow Caledonian University. In case of any unforeseen events, please ensure you have personal funds in place to cover your living costs for the first four weeks of the academic year.

Following US Department of Education regulations, your loan will be paid to you in two or three equal instalments according to the dates on your loan confirmation letter:

Undergraduate Students: 2 instalments - October and February
PG Taught Students (Sept Starts): 3 instalments - October, February and May
PG Taught Students (Jan Starts): 3 instalments - February, May and August

The disbursement dates provided are estimated.

The actual amount of each disbursement in GBP(£) will be dependent upon the exchange rate used to convert USD($) to GBP(£) on that date. Your loans will also be subject to an origination fee.

The University will deduct your tuition fees for the academic year in equal instalments from each disbursement. If you are in University accommodation, the University will deduct your accommodation fees from each disbursement.

Tuition and accommodation deductions will be made in pounds sterling and the remaining loan amount will be credited to your bank account in US dollars on each of the above disbursement dates. The University cannot know in advance or guarantee the exchange rate used at the point of each disbursement. We will convert the amount received at that day’s exchange rate.

Students must make Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) in order to receive the next disbursement.

Loan Payment & Exchange Rate

We use Convera as our bank for processing your loan payments when the money is released by the US Treasury. Convera will use a mid-exchange rate and other banks may offer better rates. We have no plans to change our payment processing and your loans will be paid according to the rate Convera offer on the day your loan is released.

Loan requirements during your studies

Changes to your course / Exit Counselling/ Loan Repayment

Return to Title IV Calculation. (R2T4)

The Student Funding team will complete a Return to Title IV (R2T4) calculation to calculate the amount of Title IV program assistance that has been earned, using a formula provided by the US Department of Education.

If it is calculated that you have completed more than 60% of your payment period, all the assistance you were due to receive for the payment period is considered to have been earned and no funds need to be returned.

If it is calculated that you have completed less than 60% of your payment period the University may need to return funds to the US Department of Education. Any funds you have already received after your tuition fees were deducted are not to be repaid immediately but will be repaid as outlined in your MPN.

If a student has not received a disbursement of Federal aid funds at the beginning of a disbursement period and subsequently withdraws, the amount of funds that a student has earned will be calculated and the appropriate amount will be disbursed.

The requirements for Title IV program funds when you withdraw are separate from the University’s refund policy for current students. Therefore, you may still owe funds to the University to cover unpaid institutional charges. The University may also attempt to collect any Title IV program funds from you that the University is required to return.

Withdrawal dates for students that officially withdraw will be determined by the completion of a withdrawal form and an agreement between the school and the student of a last date of attendance. Withdrawal dates for students who unofficially withdraw will be the date that schools become aware that a student ceased attendance.

Unearned Federal aid funds will be returned no later than 45 days after determining the withdrawal date.

If it is determined that refund money must be returned to the aid programme, the distribution of funds will be allocated in the following order:

Federal Stafford Unsubsidised
Federal Stafford Subsidised
Federal PLUS

The Student Funding team will inform withdrawn students by email of the amount that the University is obliged to return to the US Federal aid programme, the amount (if any) that needs to be paid to the University by the student, and the amount (if any) that is due to be refunded to the student by the University.