Financial Aid Disbursement

	Crediting Financial Aid to My Student Account Balance
	Check Disbursement Policies and Procedures
	Authorization to Use Financial Aid to Pay Account Charges
	Using Financial Aid to Pay Deferred Charges
	Hope Scholarship Changes

Crediting Financial Aid to My Student Account Balance

All approved loans, grants and scholarships will be applied to tuition and fees, resident hall rent and food service plans on your student account. In order to apply aid to student account balance, the student must be registered for the required hours to qualify for the aid (i.e., if the aid awarded requires full time enrollment (as determined by The Office of Student Financial Aid), the student must be registered full time in order to apply the financial aid to tuition and fees, resident hall rent and food service plans). Please note: alternative loans and some scholarships checks which are mailed directly to the University from private sources are not available to apply to charges. Before LOANS are available to apply to tuition and fees, resident hall rent and food service plans the following items must be completed by the student:

An award letter must be returned to The Office of Student Financial Aid. The student must indicate on the award letter the dollar amount of the loan they wish to accept.

Promissory notes must be properly completed, legibly signed and returned to the Student Accounts Department. Promissory notes are mailed to the student’s permanent address after the student has returned the award letter to the Office of Student Financial Aid.

It is University policy to deduct unpaid tuition and fees, resident hall rent and food services charges from available financial aid awards regardless of the due date on the student account.

It is the student’s responsibility to confirm that their student account balance has been paid in full.  Please access your student account at MY STUDENT ACCOUNT.

Students who owe the University any outstanding charges, such as, resident hall rent and food service plans will not receive a check for the HOPE book allowance. The HOPE book allowance will be applied to your student account to cover the unpaid balance.

Changes in the Hope Scholarship regulations will have an impact on the amount credited to your student account and/or your financial aid disbursement. See examples

Financial Aid Disbursement Policies and Procedures

Excess financial aid (loans, grants and scholarships) will be disbursed ten days prior to the start of each term.  For summer term the disbursement will be made no earlier than 10 days prior to the start of the earliest registered session within the summer term. In general, disbursements are made if the student is registered for the REQUIRED number of hours, is not on academic probation, and does not have outstanding financial obligations with the University.  It is University policy to mail checks to the address specified by the student in the OASIS Registration System.  It is the student’s responsibility to update and confirm their address for financial aid check mailing in the OASIS Registration System.

Loan checks and some scholarships coming from outside the University will be disbursed to students as soon as they are received and processed by the University, but no earlier than 10 days prior to the start of the term.  For summer term the disbursement will be made no earlier than 10 days prior to the start of the earliest registered session within the summer term. Please check with your lender or awarding organization to determine when the funds will be mailed/wired to the University.

Changes in the Hope Scholarship regulations will have an impact on the amount credited to your student account and/or your financial aid disbursement. See examples

Authorization to Use Financial Aid to Pay Student Account Charges

Financial aid funds are available to pay tuition and mandatory fees, residence hall rent and food service plans.  With your permission, the University can apply your financial aid award to your student account to pay other charges.  Currently these other charges include: housing damage charges, housing bike lock rental, housing lock change charges, early check-in charges, student SEVIS fee, parking fines, parking permits, late fees, reinstatement fees and returned check charges.

If you wish to allow the University to use your financial aid to pay these charges mentioned above, please access Student Accounts at MY STUDENT ACCOUNT. 

Using Financial Aid to Pay Deferred Charges

Students who have been authorized for a deferment of tuition and fees, residence hall rent, food service plans and/or book charges due to in-process financial aid,  will show a charge on the student account system called deferred charges.   As the financial aid is awarded and completed processing it will be used to pay the deferred charges on the student account.  Any balance remaining after the deferred charges have been satisfied will be disbursed as indicated in the Check Disbursement Policies and Procedures.

HOPE Scholarship Changes:    

In the past students receiving the HOPE Scholarship were awarded the full amount of the tuition and fees assessed by the University of Georgia and a book allowance. Effective summer term 2004 the HOPE Scholarship regulations have changed. The maximum amount of student mandatory fees the HOPE Scholarship will pay is now capped at the fee amounts approved for the 2003-2004 academic year. Tuition is fully paid by the HOPE Scholarship.

The book allowance will remain $150 per semester if the student is enrolled in six (6) or more hours and $75 per semester if the student is enrolled in fewer than six credit hours. Please remember that the entire HOPE Scholarship amount for which the student is eligible is first applied to your student account balance.

Examples of how this will impact your student account and/or check from the HOPE Scholarship are as follow:

Example 1: This student is enrolled in 12 or more hours and his student account charges consist of tuition and mandatory fees.

Example 2: This student is enrolled in 12 or more hours and his student account charges consist of tuition, mandatory fees and a course/lab fee.

Example 3: This student is enrolled in 12 or more hours and his student account charges consist of tuition, mandatory fees, course/lab fee and an on campus housing charge.

Example 4: This student is enrolled in 9 hours and his student account includes tuition and mandatory fees.