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; usually about four weeks into the semester. 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 San Juan College account first, except work-study payroll checks. The awards are used to pay tuition, course fees, bookstore charges or other charges.  The remaining award monies will be mailed to the student. 

Awards are originally based on full-time enrollment (12 credit hours).  Enrollment in less than 12 credit-hours may result in a reduction of financial aid eligibilty.  Disbursed aid may vary from an announced award for several reasons such as a change to a student's enrollment status, loans fees, or a change to a student's eligibility status.

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 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 are disbursed to the student's SJC account.  The amount may be adjusted based on enrollment status.

Student (and Parent) loans: Disbursed to the student's account 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, if arrived from the bank, will be released within three days of the census date.

In general loans will be disbursed in two installments, typically once in the fall and once in the spring.  If a student borrows for one semester only, the loan proceeds will also be disbursed in two installments, typically at the beginning and midpoint of the semester.

Work-study award payments, or payroll checks are issued twice-monthly directly to the student.  Students must complete and submit approved timesheets to the payroll office to recieve payroll checks.

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 first.  The Business Office will mail any credit balance to the student's listed address with the Admissions and Records Office.  Please ensure the address on file is the current mailing address. 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.