Interim corrective actions: These cases involved situations where students dropped courses before
withdrawing (officially or unofficially) from all courses. UW-River Falls did not have a system in place
to review course participation for courses which students dropped prior to withdrawal, although i...
Interim corrective actions: These cases involved situations where students dropped courses before
withdrawing (officially or unofficially) from all courses. UW-River Falls did not have a system in place
to review course participation for courses which students dropped prior to withdrawal, although it has
procedures in place to review course participation for enrolled courses at the time of withdrawal and when
students are assigned failing grades.
For Fall Semester 2024:
Existing procedures:
1. Official withdrawals: Students officially withdrawing from the University must complete an
electronic form which collects instructor verification of course participation. The Financial Aid
office receives this form once it has been processed by the Registrar’s office. Students reported as
not having participated in courses have their financial aid adjusted prior to calculating a return to
Title IV funds.
2. Unofficial withdrawals: Instructors assigning failing grades to students must report student’s
course participation or non-participation and, if available, a last date of course participation.
Following the grading deadline, a report listing all students who never participated in classes is
run and students found to have failed courses due to non-participation have their financial aid
adjusted prior to calculating a return to Title IV funds.
Additional procedure instituted:
3. Learning management system review: Students who withdraw (officially or unofficially) and who
dropped courses prior to withdrawing had their dropped courses reviewed in the Learning
Management System (LMS). Students who submitted assignments as recorded in the system were
determined to have begun participation in the course. Students who submitted no assignments
were determined to not have participated in the course and financial aid was adjusted prior to
calculating a return to Title IV funds.
For Spring Semester 2025:
Existing procedures:
1. Procedures 1,2, and 3 from Fall Semester 2024 continue to be employed for Spring semester
2025.
Additional procedures:
2. Expanding the LMS review to Pell grant students with dropped courses: Students with disbursed
Pell Grants who drop courses after the Pell grant census date now have these courses reviewed to
determine if the student began attendance before dropping the course, using the same procedure
as #3 above.Instructor course participation verification: After the 3rd week of classes for Spring 2025, UWRiver Fall requested that instructors report students who had not begun participation in their
courses. This report is currently being reviewed and students with Pell grants will be evaluated to
determine if an adjustment to the student’s enrollment intensity is needed to ensure that the
disbursed Pell grant is accurate. Student who have begun participation in no enrolled courses will
be reviewed for possible return of all Title IV funds.
Future additional corrective actions:
1. UW-River Falls will pursue making course participation verification by instructors during the
first month of the semester an administrative policy and develop formal procedures for surveying
instructors and reporting students found to not have begun participation in a course or courses to
the Financial Aid office for adjustments to their disbursed Title IV aid.
2. UW-River Falls will pursue adding an instructor course participation step to the course drop form
currently in use by the Registrar’s office.
Anticipated Completion Date: Interim actions were implemented in September 2024 and February
2025. Permanent action expected by Spring 2026.
Person(s) responsible for corrective action:
Cindy Holbrook, Executive Director of Enrollment Management
Cindy.Holbrook@uwrf.edu 715-425-3500
Robert Bode, Director of Financial Aid and Military/Veterans Resource Center
Robert.Bode@uwrf.edu 715-425-3141
Kelly Browning, University Registrar
Kelly.Browning@uwrf.edu 715-425-3342
Responsible Unit
Division of Enrollment Mangagement