Refund/Debt

Refund and Debt Process

Morgan State University reconciles Third Party Agreements every month for the current term and by request from the sponsor. Return of Funds are processed, if applicable, via the State of Maryland's Office of the Treasury. All Return of Funds items are processed as paper checks sent via US Mail. For an estimated delivery please allow 4-6 weeks.

Reasons for the Return of Funds:

• Students who officially drop classes during the Schedule Adjustment Period;  University Withdrawal Policy 
• Agency overpaid invoice/Agency Budget Adjustment for the student based on additional aid  
• Administrative withdrawal has been granted by the University 
• Student course or total withdrawal (VA Mitigating Circumstances) See DoD Return of Funds Policy

*NOTE: 

Third-party agreements associated with Military Funding from the Department of Defense are reviewed in conjunction with the Office of the Registrar’s Veterans Engagement Services and are subject to guidelines set forth by the Department of Defense. Students using Military TA are briefed on the process during their intake process. Should a soldier/student need to withdraw for military obligations, they must report to the Office of Veteran Services. 

Department of Veterans Affairs - Debt Process

All initial debts that are created due to overpaid funds received by the school on behalf of any entitled servicemember, their spouse, or dependent stemming from the Department of Veterans Affairs or the Department of Defense funding are subject to this process. The Morgan State University Bursar’s Office in collaboration with the Office of the Registrar’s - Veterans Engagement Services team shares all documentation identifying funds that have been paid out to the school and must be returned following the above third-party agreement. 

Debt creation specific to the Department of Veterans Affairs funding will also follow the protocol established between the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Debt Management Center. This center is responsible for initiating all debt collection and transmittal services on behalf of the Department of Veterans Affairs. Any VA debt notifications forwarded to the Department of Veterans Affairs as a result of the certification process will be initiated within 30 days after the receipt of the original debt notification in the Enrollment Manager system. The Department of Veterans Affairs will transmit that information to the Debt Management Center for collection and resolution. Dept Management sends all debt communication to the institution within 30 days of the initial transfer to the Debt management team from the Department of Veterans Affairs. Subsequent notices are transmitted every 30 days up to 3 notices pending receipt of payment. Institutions are permitted to submit debt payment extensions. During this extension and investigation period, the debt process is halted and no further action will be taken until the issue is resolved. 

Institutions that do not initiate the extension process are requested to submit payment for all outstanding debts to Debt Management using the remittance documentation received. In approximately 7-14 business days after the debt has been paid or at any point in the process, a PAID IN FULL notice will be sent to the school's SCO. This notice shows the debt has been paid and that the school has no pending debts. 

NOTE: There are two different paid-in-full letters. The first is a regular debt paid in full in advance of the Treasury Offset Program (TOP) process, and the other is paid through the Treasury Offset Program (TOP) process.

Extensions prevent the debt from going to the Treasury Offset Program (TOP), however, the SCO must continue communication with Debt Management while the extension is in place. Once the extension is lifted, the expectation is that the payment concerns will be resolved and one of the following will occur. 1: debt is paid or 2: debt is rescinded by the VA. 

If no extensions are requested by the institution's School Certifying Official and the institution has received all three debt notices, all outstanding debts will be automatically transferred to the Treasury Offset Program. The Treasury Offset Program will pull any outstanding funds from any State agency in the general pool to satisfy the debt.

NOTE: Schools are responsible for recouping these agencies any paid funds pulled by the Department of Veterans Affairs to satisfy this debt.