Title IV Financial Authorization for Students

Title IV Information

Federal Student Aid (FSA) regulations specify what charges on your student account your federal financial aid can pay. FSA pays tuition, mandatory fees, room, and board without an authorization. You may authorize Dartmouth College to use the funds to pay for other charges on your student account. You may also authorize the college to hold federal aid to pay expenses in a future term and to pay a nominal amount of charges from a prior academic year.

For more information and to provide your authorization(s), log into DartHub and then click on the Title IV Authorizations tile or enter "Title IV Authorizations" in the search box. You may access the online form at any time through DartHub.

Your authorizations remain valid throughout your entire Dartmouth career, unless you rescind them. As required by federal regulation, the College will refund to you excess Title IV funds at the end of each financial aid year whether you have provided an authorization to hold a credit balance or not.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ): Title IV Financial Authorizations for Students

What are Federal Title IV funds?

Title IV funds are federal student aid (FSA) funds administered by the U.S. Department of Education.  Title IV funds include Direct Subsidized/Unsubsidized Loan, Direct Graduate PLUS Loan, Direct PLUS Loan, Federal Pell Grant, Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (SEOG), and Federal Perkins Loan.  It does not include scholarships from the College or other private organizations.

What must Title IV aid pay?

Your Title IV Federal financial aid will automatically pay your current-year institutional charges (i.e. tuition, mandatory fees, room and board).  No further authorization is needed.

What aid is not restricted?

All other aid you are receiving (other than Title IV) will pay any charge on your account.  For example, scholarships or institutional grants and loans will always pay any charge on your student account.

Why might I have an excess of Title IV funds?

An excess of Title IV funds occurs when the total amount of Title IV funds disbursed to your student account exceeds charges for tuition, mandatory fees, and room and board billed by the College on the student account. An excess of Title IV funds does not necessarily mean that you have a credit balance on your overall account. It means that there are no other charges that those funds may pay. You may choose to authorize the College to use your Title IV funds to pay certain other educationally related charges (to avoid the scenario above), hold a credit balance on your account to pay for future charges in the aid year, and to pay up to $200 of educationally related charges from a prior year.

How do I complete the Authorization Questions for Federal Title IV Financial Aid Funds?

Log into DartHub. Then click on the Title IV Financial Authorizations for Students link in your menu.  Your authorizations will be valid from that point on, extending through your entire Dartmouth career, unless you rescind them. This online form replaces a paper form that was completed annually in the financial aid application process. 

How might answering “Yes” to the authorization questions help me?

By answering “Yes” to the questions, Title IV funds will be able to pay other charges on your student account, funds will be able to be held as a credit balance for the aid year, and funds may pay up to $200 of educationally related charges in a prior year.  You may provide authorizations for one, several, or none of these.  The choice is yours.

If I answer “Yes” to the questions, will I still be able to request a refund for the credit balance on my student account?

Yes. Your authorization is permission for the College to apply excess Title IV funds to other charges on your student account, hold a credit balance for future charges in the aid year, and to pay up to $200 of prior year educationally related charges. You may request a refund of excess Title IV funds or any other eligible credit balance on your student account during your enrollment at the College through DartHub.

What if I answer “No” to the Title IV Authorization questions?

If you do not want to grant permission to pay other charges with your Title IV aid, we will release your aid to your student account and it will pay only tuition, mandatory fees, and room and board for the current academic year. You may receive a refund (electronically to your US-based checking or savings account if you have opted in on D-Pay or by check to your permanent address) and may be sent a bill for any charges that could not be paid with your Title IV aid. Receiving a refund does not indicate that there are no pending charges on your account.

Do I have to answer the authorization questions each term or financial aid year?

No. Your authorizations remain valid throughout your entire Dartmouth career, unless you rescind them. As required by federal regulation, the College will refund to you excess Title IV funds at the end of each financial aid year whether you have provided an authorization to hold a credit balance or not.

Is there a deadline?

No.  Any authorization you provide is valid from that point forward, unless you rescind it. You may receive an E-mail at the start of each aid year as a reminder of your options. You may access the online form at any time through DartHub.  For the best possible experience, make your choices before your aid disburses for the next term.

Does having an excess of Title IV funds mean that I have an overall credit balance on my student account?

Not necessarily. An excess of Title IV funds means that your federal financial aid exceeds the charges it is permitted to pay (as defined above). You may login to D-Pay to determine if you have a credit balance or an amount due to the College.

How may I rescind a Title IV authorization?

Send an E-mail to campus.billing@dartmouth.edu. Please note that changes to your authorizations are not retroactive and take effect when they are processed.

What about authorizations for Parent PLUS loans?

At this time, Parent PLUS Loan credit balances are automatically mailed by check to the originator of the loan at the address provided on the loan application.  In certain cases, the originator may have directed overpayments to be applied to the student account at the time the loan application was completed. 

Questions? 

Please contact Campus Billing and DartCard Services. Our office is located in McNutt Hall (1st Floor). We’re open Monday through Friday from 8AM to noon and from 1PM to 4:30PM.  E-mail:  campus.billing@dartmouth.edu. Phone:  603-646-3230.