This document establishes the institutional policy and explains the procedures for the disbursement, and return of financial aid as required to comply with federal, state, institutional and other requirements.

The Southern Illinois University Carbondale (SIUC) Financial Aid Office (FAO) is responsible for administering the financial aid programs, determining eligibility, awarding financial aid, and transferring/removing awards to/from the Billing/Receivables (B/R) system. The actual disbursement of financial aid to students is a function and responsibility of the Administration area and the Bursar's Office.

The Bursar's Office is responsible for the B/R system, student and financial aid agency accounts and notifying recipients of financial aid disbursements. Notification is provided within the prescribed 30 days before and after disbursement via the student's monthly Statement of Account. Notification includes the amount and date of the disbursement and the recipient's rights and procedures to cancel all or a portion of loans within 90 days of notification. Accounts Payable and the Bursar's Office handle cash payments and check distribution to students.

General Accounting maintains the official University accounting records and is responsible for requesting, reporting, maintaining and accounting for funds in accordance with federal, state, institutional and other regulations. This includes, but is not limited to, ensuring that the request for cash does not exceed the funds immediately necessary to make disbursements to students and that these disbursements will be made no later than three business days following the date the school receives those funds; determining whether excess cash meets the tolerance criteria and if not, returning these funds to the Department of Education; ensuring that Federal Work-Study drawdowns are timed to correspond with payroll dates; and ensuring that the amount of Federal Pell Grant funds requested does not exceed the authorization amount.

The Financial Aid office informs General Accounting to request Federal Perkins Loan Federal Capital Contribution when the funds on hand are not enough to cover anticipated disbursements. Also, the Financial Aid office is responsible for ensuring that Federal Work-Study (FWS), Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG) and Federal Perkins Loan allocations are expended and, if for any reason the allocation is not expended, releasing these funds to the Department of Education when requested.

Other areas of the University are responsible for providing accurate information used by the Financial Aid office in the awarding of financial aid and by the Administration area and the Bursar's Office financial aid. Academic Affairs, Admissions, Records and Registration, the Graduate School, the School of Law, and the School of Medicine provide information regarding the student's high school graduation, other colleges attended, admission, registration, class level, enrollment status, transcript and grade statistics, and other data related to student records. The colleges and other academic units provide academic-related and other information. Other areas of the University provide information that may be pertinent to disbursement or return of financial aid funds.

SIUC closely monitors all federal, state, institutional, and other regulations, guidelines, policies and procedures to ensure that the financial aid disbursement function is administered effectively and in compliance with all requirements. Students who are not eligible due to ineligible Satisfactory Academic Progress status, unclassified status, defaulted loans, National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS) holds, verification holds, overawards, etc. are not packaged for campus-based aid or student loans until eligible. Students must sign any required statements for Selective Service registration, educational purpose, Anti-Drug Abuse Act, refunds and defaults before the applicable financial aid is disbursed. Under-enrolled and non-enrolled students are not paid applicable financial aid until enrolled for the appropriate number of hours. Grants and loans are not disbursed to students who may have become ineligible after the original awarding process until eligibility is reconfirmed. For student loans with loan periods that include a prior semester(s) enrollment, eligibility is confirmed for both the current and prior semester(s). Eligibility for Federal Work-Study (FWS) is reconfirmed prior to each biweekly payroll. If not eligible, students are paid for time worked, but are switched to regular student employment until their FWS eligibility is reconfirmed. Students are informed when they accept their financial aid that all University charges for the current enrollment period and any past due amounts will be paid by financial aid and instructions are provided for requesting an exception. Financial aid (exclusive of Student Employment paychecks) is not disbursed directly to the student until all University charges are paid.

The Student Information System (SIS), including the Financial Aid Management (FAM) component, in conjunction with in-house-developed computer programs and reports, are utilized to assist in the administration of the financial aid programs. SIUC uses the SIS Billing/Receivables (B/R) component for financial aid paid through the student's University account. Financial Aid Assessment Programs serve as the bridge between the FAM and the B/R components which transfers award/loan information from FAM; calculates award/loan amounts based on the required enrollment per the award; prevents/removes payment for the applicable holds including promissory note receipt, official Federal Methodology, NSLDS, loan default, Satisfactory Academic Progress, verification, Illinois residency, database matches and Selective Service; and sends/removes financial aid awards/loans to/from the student's B/R account. Subcodes are defined to meet award and enrollment requirements for payment. Financial aid that is restricted to paying specific charges is processed in subcode sequence and is paid in charge-priority order until either all applicable charges are fully paid or all applicable aid has been used. Financial aid that is not restricted to paying specific charges is paid in subcode order. The Bursar's Office is responsible for determining when payments create a credit balance on the student's University account and generating refund check(s) to be mailed to the student and/or the parent (for a PLUS loan), beginning one week prior to the beginning of the enrollment period. Refund checks for eligible students are generated at least weekly (twice a week at peak times) throughout the year ensuring that funds are delivered to the student and/or the parent via mail within the required time frame and that the recipient's endorsement on the check confirms that the money was received. SIUC does not currently offer to make disbursements via Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT), nor does SIUC offer to hold the student's or parent excess funds to assist students and/or parents in managing funds.

Federal Direct Loans, Federal Perkins Loans, grants, scholarships and waivers are directly paid to the student's University account through B/R. These awards/loans are credited to B/R with a disbursement date (effective date) that is no earlier than 10 days prior to the beginning of the enrollment period. Refund checks are first produced beginning one week before the beginning of the enrollment period. Students who drop out/withdraw before the beginning of the enrollment period or who, it is determined, have never attended, have all their financial aid for the applicable semester removed and returned to the appropriate financial aid program(s).

Earnings from student employment are not credited directly to a student's University account. The payroll process generates a bi-weekly paycheck from information supplied by the employing departments, the Financial Aid office and Central Payroll and entered into the Human Resource Management System (HRMS). Student employees are encouraged to participate in Electronic Direct Deposit (EDD). However, student employees who are unable to participate in EDD may pick up their paycheck at the Student Center. Students may apply for direct deposit to their bank account and the Payroll Office issues payment accordingly. The Financial Aid office is responsible for the administration of the student employment programs, performing the referrals and personnel functions for student employment, determining Federal Work-Study eligibility and establishing pay rates. The HRMS system, along with in-house-developed computer programs and reports, are utilized to administer the student employment programs. Employing departments hire and supervise student employees, ensure compliance with student employment policies and procedures, and record time worked for payment of earnings. Central Payroll determines payment amounts based on time worked at the applicable pay rate and ensures compliance with both student employment requirements and Internal Revenue Service regulations. Students agree to pay past due Short Term Loans before receiving student employment paychecks.

The University provides financial aid disbursement information in the University catalogs and on the financial aid office web site. The Financial Aid Award Notice provides the amount of financial aid (exclusive of Federal Direct Parent Loans for Undergraduate Students [PLUS]) that a student can expect to receive. Federal Direct PLUS loan recipients receive an application and information packet. Both the Financial Aid Award Letter and the Federal Direct PLUS loan materials informs the student and/or parent about how and when those funds will be paid. Parents are given the option to authorize that any excess Federal Direct PLUS loan proceeds be paid to the student. Students are notified of financial aid credits/debits on their monthly Statement of Account sent by the Bursar's Office. Parents are notified via a letter after PLUS loan proceeds have been credited to the student's account. The Financial Aid office provides disbursement information and dates for disbursement in various publications including financial aid program information materials which are sent in response to all financial aid inquiries.

The Financial Aid office administers a Short Term Loan program specifically to assist students experiencing a delay in receiving financial aid. The Bursars' Office offers an installment payment plan for University charges.

An exception to these disbursement policies can be made by the Accountant, Assistant Director, Associate Director or Director of Financial Aid, or the Bursar based on extenuating circumstances (within program regulations). Students requesting the University to hold funds or students refusing to pay University charges are referred to the Accountant in the Financial Aid Office for special handling.

When a student receives an approved petition for refund of tuition and fees, cancels their registration, disenrolls, drops out, withdraws, reduces enrollment, receives withdraw failing ("WF") and/or withdraw unauthorized ("WU") grades, is suspended or otherwise leaves the University, a refund of institutional charges paid and a return of funds to financial aid programs may be required.

The Office of Records and Registration maintains the records and cancels the registration of students who are academically suspended. The Transitional Programs Office is responsible for processing withdrawals and petitions for refund for the University for on-campus undergraduate students. The Graduate School, the School of Law, the School of Medicine, Continuing Education and Military Programs are responsible for processing withdrawals for their areas. Each area is responsible for determining the last day of class attendance from information provided by the student, the student's family and/or instructors. The Office of Records and Registration enters withdrawal date information in the Student Information System for use in determining refunds.

A refund is the return of funds to the student for University charges that have been paid. Any refund of institutional charges is determined by the University's Refund Policy as approved by the Board of Trustees and published in the University catalog and the University Housing contract. The refund policy can be reviewed by accessing the University Catalog at www.siu.edu/admissions. The University Refund Policies apply to all students regardless of financial aid status. The University refund policy for tuition and fees involves either: 1) a refund of 100% of tuition and fee charges for the semester for students receiving a petition for refund or leaving the University during the full refund period; or 2) a pro-rata refund for students leaving after the full refund period but before 60% of the enrollment period has elapsed; or 3) a 0% refund for students leaving after 60% of the enrollment period has elapsed. University Housing charges and refunds are determined based on contract provisions. Most other University charges such as parking fines, library fines, telephone charges, etc. are not refunded based on withdrawal from school.

Students who receive a pro-rata refund are charged an administrative fee. The Office of Records and Registration calculates the administrative fee and charges the student's University account.

Refunds are processed by crediting the student's University account for the amount of refunded University charges. Crediting a student's University account is the responsibility of Records and Registration for tuition and fee refunds and University Housing for room and board refunds.

The Financial Aid Office uses in-house-developed computer programs and reports to identify students that may require a return of funds to the financial aid programs, and HRMS programs to identify student employees who do not meet the enrollment requirements.

Students are required to be enrolled for a minimum number of credit hours to work in the student employment program. Notice is sent to employers and employees to terminate employment for students not meeting enrollment requirements. Earnings for all hours worked prior to notice of termination are paid to the student employee.

When a student receives a 100% refund of tuition and fees or reduces enrollment below the required minimum, all financial aid credited directly to the student's University account for the applicable semester are removed in total from the student's University account and are returned to the applicable financial aid programs. If the removal of the financial aid results in a balance due, the student owes the University, not the financial aid program. This policy eliminates any financial aid repayment or recoveries for under-enrolled or non-enrolled students. This policy also precludes a student from using a term of financial aid eligibility under the Satisfactory Progress policy and prevents the students from using a term of eligibility in financial aid programs that have a maximum number of terms.

When a student does not receive a refund of tuition and fees, financial aid credited directly to the student's University account will not be removed.

When a student receives a pro-rata refund of tuition and fees, the Financial Aid Assessment programs automatically remove financial aid that is restricted to paying specific University charges when the applicable charges are refunded. The Financial Aid Office makes appropriate manual adjustment(s) for return of non-restricted financial aid.

The manual adjustments for Federal Title IV financial aid (Federal Direct Subsidized Stafford Loan, Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loan, Federal Direct PLUS Loan, Federal Perkins Loan, Federal Pell Grant and Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant) are based on federal regulations. The manual adjustments for Non-Federal Title IV financial aid are based upon institutional policy.

Whenever a student who has received or is eligible to receive Title IV funds officially or unofficially withdraws, it must be determined if unearned federal funds must be returned to federal programs.

The Federal Title IV return of funds is based on the amount of federal aid the student earned and is determined using the following formula:

A notification of the availability of a post-withdrawal disbursement is required if the student has earned Title IV aid that has not been disbursed. A post-withdrawal disbursement will automatically be made if the post-withdrawal disbursement is for either a Federal Pell Grant or a Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant. If the post-withdrawal disbursement is for a Federal loan program, the student and/or parent will be notified in writing that they are eligible for a post-withdrawal disbursement and the amount of the post-withdrawal disbursement. The student and/or parent has 14 days to notify the University that they want the post-withdrawal disbursement to be made. All post-withdrawal disbursements will be credited to the student's University account.

The University must return to the federal financial aid programs the lesser of the Amount of Title IV Aid to be Returned by the University as calculated in Step 4 or the Amount of Title IV Aid to be Returned as calculated in Step 3. The University returns their share to the federal programs in the following order:

• Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loan
• Federal Direct Subsidized Stafford Loan
• Federal Perkins Loan
• Federal Direct Graduate PLUS Loan
• Federal Direct Parent PLUS Loan
• Federal Pell Grant
• Federal ACG Grant
• Federal SMART Grant
• Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant

The amount of Federal Title IV aid to be returned by the University is removed from the student's University account and returned to the applicable financial aid programs.

The student returns their share in the following order:

• Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loan
• Federal Direct Subsidized Stafford Loan
• Federal Perkins Loan
• Federal Direct Graduate PLUS Loan
• Federal Direct Parent PLUS Loan
• Federal Pell Grant
• Federal ACG Grant
• Federal SMART Grant
• Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant

If the student and/or parent owes a return of Federal Title IV aid to one of the federal loan programs, they may repay the amount in accordance with the terms of the promissory note. If the student owes a return of Federal Title IV aid to one of the federal grant programs, the amount that is owed is reduced by fifty percent as allowed by the grant protection provision. The amount of Federal Title IV grant funds to be returned by the student is removed from the student's University account and returned to the applicable financial aid programs.

The return of Non-Federal Title IV funds is based upon University policy and is determined using the following formula:

The University returns the amount of Non-Federal Title IV aid in the following order:

• Student-to-Student Grant Program
• Illinois Incentive for Access Grant Program
• Other State of Illinois Programs
• Other Institutional Grant Programs
• Private Scholarship Programs

The amount of Non-Federal Title IV aid to be returned is removed from the student's University account and returned to the applicable financial aid programs.

The Financial Aid Office will notify the student and/or parent of the amount of financial aid that has been removed from the student's University account and returned to the financial aid programs. Return of funds to financial aid programs are usually processed at least weekly and always within thirty days from the date the withdrawal was processed.