Federal regulations require financial aid funds to be awarded under the assumption that a student will attend the institution for the entire period in which federal assistance was awarded. When a student withdraws from all courses for any reason, including medical withdrawals, he/she may no longer be eligible for the full amount of funds that he/she was originally scheduled to receive. The return of federal funds is based upon the premise that students earn their financial aid in proportion to the amount of time in which they are enrolled. A prorated schedule is used to determine the amount of federal student aid funds he/she will have earned at the time of the withdrawal. Thus, a student who withdraws in the second week of class has earned less of his/her financial aid than a student who withdraws in the seventh week. Once 60 percent of the semester is completed, a student is considered to have earned all of his/her financial aid and will not be required to return any funds to the federal government. Federal law requires schools to calculate how much federal financial aid a student has earned if that student completely withdraws OR stops attending before completing the semester. Therefore, return of federal funds may result in a balance due to the college. In such case, the entire balance is due to the college immediately.