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Financial Aid Disbursement

How Aid is Disbursed

Financial aid is awarded and disbursed by semester. There are different disbursement rules for each type of aid. Generally, aid is disbursed after a semester begins and the add/drop period has closed. Application review, verification (if selected), and awarding of aid must be completed before aid can be disbursed. All aid is disbursed directly to a student's account, except for work study payroll checks. Disbursed aid may vary from an announced award, which is based on full-time enrollment, for several reasons, e.g., Pell grants vary on the basis of student's enrollment status; student loans may have up-front fees.

A student must maintain financial aid eligibility for an award to be disbursed. It is important to provide accurate information at the time of application and during the application review, because the development of new or conflicting information throughout the academic year can affect a student's awards retroactively.

Disbursement of Aid

Federal Pell, SEOG, and SSIG grants: Disbursed to the student's account, and the amount may be adjusted for enrollment status.

Student (and Parent) loans: Disbursed to the student's account within days of the end of the add/drop period, the 14th day of the semester, if the student meets the disbursement requirements including being enrolled in at least six (6) credit hours. If the borrower is a new borrower, the first disbursement will be released within three days of the 30-day census date.

All federal loans must be made in two disbursements. If a student borrows for one semester only, the loan proceeds will be disbursed at the beginning and midpoint of the semester.

Work study award: A student must work to earn the work award. Payroll checks are issued bi-monthly directly to the student.

Refund of Financial Aid Credit Balance

When financial aid has been posted to a student's account, charges for tuition, fees, and bookstore expenses will be deducted from the account , then the Business Office will mail any credit balance to the student's address. The address that the credit will be sent to is the address  that the Admissions Office has on file for the student (make sure you update your information in the Admissions Office, if any of your information has changed). If you do not receive your refund in the mail, notify the Business Office at (505) 566-3396.

Withdrawal from All Courses

If a student officially withdraws from SJC or stops attending all her/his courses during a term, there may be financial consequences. The Financial Aid Office must calculate the amount of federal financial aid a student earned, and any remaining disbursed funds must be returned to the financial aid programs. This may result in charges to the student's account.

For more information, see Withdrawals and Return of Title IV funding.