Disbursement

Disbursement means the Financial Aid Office has applied funds from your financial aid award (such as grants and student loans) to any tuition, fees, or book charges owed on your student customer account.

It does not, as many people believe, mean that you are being refunded any credit balance from your financial aid. It simply means the funds are rolling over from the financial aid side to your student account side.

If you see information in Workday or on the Financial Aid Calendar that says “Disbursement Date”, this is the date the funds will roll over to your account. It is not the date the money is being deposited into your personal bank account (if you have Direct Deposit) or mailed to you in a check.

Refunds

If there is any money left over once your disbursement pays your tuition, fees, and/or books and supplies charged at the bookstore, you will receive the remainder of that money in the form of a refund according to a specified schedule.

Refunds typically get deposited into the student’s personal bank account (if they have set up Direct Deposit) or sent as a paper check via the postal service (to the address they have on file with Admissions) approximately a week after the census date.

Remember, after the census date, the Financial Aid Office and the Student Financials Office are double-checking that students are still eligible for their financial aid monies (per federal regulations) by ensuring the student's professors have verified their attendance as well as confirming the number of hours the student is enrolled in.

Important Dates

You can see all the important dates for financial aid on the Financial Aid Calendar here.