Page Contents

• University Disbursements Releases Students' Funds
• Methods of Receiving Financial Aid Funds
  • eRefund (direct deposit)
  • Mailed check
• When Disbursement Begins
  • When
  • Parent PLUS Loan disbursements
  • CSU Visitor Program participants
  • Study Abroad participants
• Conditions for Disbursement
• Financial Aid Holds
• Financial Aid Registration Fee Deferment
  • Description of financial aid registration fee deferment
  • Qualifications for registration fee deferment
  • How to receive a registration fee deferment
• University Housing Payment Postponement
  • Tracking University Housing costs
• Dropping Units or Withdrawing After Disbursement
  • The number of units enrolled affects disbursement
  • If you drop to less than 6 units or withdraw from all classes
  • Refunds

Disbursement is the process through which financial aid is released and distributed to eligible students and their parents. 

University Disbursements Releases Students' Funds

University Disbursements manages the release of all financial aid and scholarship funds (direct deposit and mailed checks).

Your student can check his/her account online anytime at Student Account Services.

University Disbursements Office will send your student an e-mail when they—

• pay your student's university charges of registration fees (and housing) from their funds,
• directly deposit funds to your student's bank account (the quickest way for your student to get his/her funds),
• mail a check (if your student is not signed up for direct deposit) to the address indicated in his/her SDSU WebPortal account (checks are mailed after classes begin)

Methods of Receiving Financial Aid Funds

eRefund (Direct Deposit):

The fastest and safest way for your student to receive financial aid funds is through University Disbursements direct deposit program.

Direct deposits begin the Thursday before classes start and continue to be processed twice a week.

Mailed check:

If your student did not sign up for eRefund (Direct Deposit), a check will be mailed to the address he/she has on record through the WebPortal with the Office of the Registrar.  Checks are mailed once a week beginning after classes start.

Avoid delays! Advise your student to update his/her mailing address through the SDSU WebPortal.

When Disbursement Begins

Financial aid awards are disbursed twice during the year: the fall and spring semesters.

When:

For students who have signed up for direct deposit online at Student Account Services, disbursement begins the Thursday before classes start each semester, if all conditions are met.  All other disbursements are mailed after classes start.

Disbursements continue throughout the semester as new awards are processed or changes to awards occur.

Students are encouraged to complete the application process early and to sign up for eRefund (direct deposit).

Parent PLUS Loan disbursements:

If all conditions are met, the earliest disbursement will happen is the first week of classes and will continue throughout the semester as Parent PLUS Loans are processed. 

To ensure disbursement when classes begin, parents are encouraged to complete the Parent PLUS Loan process early.

CSU Visitor Program participants:

If your student is participating in the CSU Visitor Program, his/her checks will be mailed to the program coordinator at the school being attended.

Study Abroad participants:

Funds will be disbursed (mailed or direct deposited) to a local address once classes begin at the host campus and University Disbursements receives enrollment confirmation.

Conditions For Disbursement

Before the Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships (OFAS) sends your student's record to University Disbursements to release award funds, the following conditions must be met—

• Your student must be awarded financial aid
• All financial aid holds must be cleared
• Your student must be enrolled in at least 6 units

When the above conditions are met, the OFAS forwards your student's record to University Disbursements. 

If any registration fee deferments and/or housing payment postponements were applied to your student’s account, the amounts will be deducted from the award amount. 

After all charges and fees have been subtracted from the award, the remaining amount is referred to as a “refund” on your student's account through Student Account Services.

Financial Aid Holds

A financial aid hold may be placed on your student's award if the OFAS needs additional information or documentation from you and your student.

Should we need more information, we will send your student an e-mail (or paper) notice containing instructions on how to log on to AidLink to view the hold(s) and the action needed to to clear it/them.

Financial aid holds can affect the evaluation of your financial aid eligibility and delay disbursement of your aid funds.

Financial Aid Registration Fee Deferment

Each semester students must pay their registration fees prior to registering for classes, unless they qualify for a financial aid registration fee deferment.

Description of financial aid fee registration deferment:

A financial aid registration fee deferment is—

• a way your student may postpone payment of his/her registration fees and tuition until financial aid funds are available for disbursement, and
• authorization to the university Cashiers to deduct deferred fee payments from your student's financial aid when it becomes available.

Parking, photo ID, and late registration fees are not covered by a financial aid registration fee deferment.

Qualifications for a registration fee deferment:

To find out if he/she is eligible for registration fee deferment, tell your student to log on to AidLink, and look under "Fee Deferment."

Your student's financial aid eligibility must be equal to or greater than full-time registration fees to qualify for a financial aid registration fee deferment. 

If your student's aid is not available for any reason, or will not cover the entire amount of the registration fees and tuition, he/she will receive an electronic billing statement from the University Cashiers Office after the deadline for adding and dropping a class.

How to receive a registration fee deferment:

• For qualified aid applicants, a registration fee deferment is automatic - no forms are required.
• Your student will be able to register online at the SDSU WebPortal for classes on the date indicated. 

For information about registration payment options, refer to the "Fee Payment Options" link in the Class Schedule available on the Office of the Registrar's Web site.
 

University Housing Payment Postponement

If your student is receiving financial aid (grants, loans, or scholarships), the university will use these funds to pay any outstanding institutional charges, including housing fees.  This means that at the beginning of each semester, any remaining costs above your student's initial payment, will be deducted from his/her aid disbursement.  If your student's aid disbursement is not enough to cover the total costs for the semester, your student will be responsible for making the remaining payments when they are due.

• Your student must use his/her own funds to pay the $800 initial payment required by the Office of Housing Administration.
• Subsequent housing and meal costs will be deducted from your student's financial aid disbursement at the beginning of the semester.
• If the amount of financial aid he/she receives is not sufficient to cover all housing costs, your student will receive an electronic billing statement from University Cashiers.
• If financial aid becomes available, it will be applied to any outstanding bills from the current semester.

If your student is a new undergraduate student, from a family with very low income, and has applied for financial aid, we will notify him/her if eligible to postpone all or a portion of the initial housing payment.

Tracking university housing costs

It is your student's responsibility to log on to the University Cashiers Student Account Services Web page for an accurate accounting of the amount of financial aid disbursed and applied toward his/her university housing costs.

Dropping Units or Withdrawing After Disbursement

The number of units enrolled affects disbursement amounts

Disbursement is based on the number of units in which your student is enrolled at the time aid is ready to be released. For example—

• If your student is enrolled in 9 units, he/she will receive only 3/4 of the Pell Grant.

• If your student adds 3 units, he/she will receive the balance of the Pell Grant, and any other funds at the next scheduled disbursement.
• Some aid programs require that students enroll full time (Academic Competitiveness Grant, Educational Opportunity Program Grant, and SMART Grant).

If your student drops units after all of the aid funds have been disbursed, he/she may have received funds for which he/she was not entitled. If this is the case your student will receive—

• An award adjustment notice from the OFAS.
• A billing statement from University Cashiers for any overpayment. (See Enrollment.)

Overpayments must be repaid before further aid will be disbursed to your student. If your student has any questions, instruct him/her to go to the Student Financial Services Web site where one will find many options to explore, or contact University Disbursements.  If his/her repayment is past due, contact University Collections. 

If your student drops to less than 6 units or withdraws from all classes

Your student may qualify for a refund of registration fees and/or nonresident tuition.

If your student stopped attending classes or is planning to withdraw from the university, see Withdrawing from SDSU.

Refunds 

Federal regulations under Title IV require the university to determine if a refund must be made to the student or if disbursed financial aid must be returned to the federal government accounts. 

The Class Schedule "Money Matters" section contains information regarding refunds for Title IV financial aid recipients.

It is important that your student be aware of SDSU's refund policy and how it affects financial aid.