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Disbursements and Refunds

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Disbursements and Refunds

Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) is required for all financial aid.

Definitions

Disbursement: When financial aid funds are credited to the student’s account to pay for outstanding charges.

Refund: If financial aid funds exceed outstanding charges at the time of disbursement, a refund of the difference is owed to the student and issued as a physical check or direct deposit, if applicable.

Procedures

Grants, waivers, and loans are generally disbursed to your student account no earlier than 10 days before the first day of instruction, based on your enrollment level at that time, as long as all requirements are met. For first time borrowers, loan funds will be released 30 days after the first day of instruction, as required by federal regulations.

Scholarships from external agencies will be disbursed when the funds are received by the Financial Aid Office. Any questions about scholarships from external agencies should be directed to the agency.

Funds are processed electronically and applied to your student account towards your outstanding tuition and fee charges. If you have excess financial aid funds, the Cashier’s Office will process a refund. To be eligible for direct deposit, you must sign up in your MyUH portal prior to the date of disbursement.

Title IV Authorization

Unless authorized, Federal Pell Grants, Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (SEOG), and Federal Direct Loans can only be disbursed toward tuition, fees, and dorm charges. Other charges on the student account, such as fees for late registration, adding or dropping classes, library or parking fines, and/or digital course materials (IDAP) must be paid separately by the student.

To allow federal financial aid to pay for all charges on your student account, you may complete a Title IV Authorization according to the steps below:

  1. Log into your MyUH portal.
  2. Click on the View My Financial Aid Information tile.
  3. Select the appropriate campus and aid year.
  4. On the Financial Aid tab, under My Award Information, click on the Award by Aid Year link.
  5. Select the Resources/Additional Information tab.
  6. Under the Federal Title IV Authorization/Cancellation heading, use the dropdown menu to select Yes or No.
    1. If you select Yes, all charges posted to your account after the date of acceptance can be covered by federal financial aid, including charges for the current semester and up to $200 from a prior semester. Any excess funds will be refunded to you as indicated previously.
    2. If you select No or do not answer, federal financial aid can only be disbursed toward tuition, fees, and dorm charges.

You do not need to complete this authorization every year, however if you would like to change your answer, you may email hawccfao@hawaii.edu.