Disbursement of Funds and Credit Balances
If you have applied for Federal Student Aid (FSA) and all the requirements have been met, and you have received a Financial Aid Award Letter; your awards should be disbursed to your account within 14 days of the first day of your term or (if aid is awarded after the first day of the term) of the Business Office invoice once aid has been awarded. If you have an excess of financial aid above your direct costs, you will be mailed a paper “credit balance”* check.
*A credit balance in your student account is created when you have financial aid remaining after all eligible charges to your student account are paid in full. Once all charges have been paid, Williamson sends any money left over in your student account to you.
**A credit balance will almost always be issued to the student except: 1) to a fully sponsored student, where tuition is billed directly to the sponsor and 2)in the case of Federal Parent PLUS loans – where the credit balance will be issued to the person who applied for the loan. Otherwise, when funds are placed on the student account, they belong solely to the student.
If you cancel or withdraw from classes, your financial aid may be adjusted and you may owe some or all of your credit balance back to the University.
Credit balances may be related to payments from several sources, including: personal funds; Title IV Federal Student Aid; and non-federal aid funds – such as private loans, outside scholarships, and other external awards.
The College’s policies and procedures for handling student account credit balances will adhere to federal and other regulatory requirements, as applicable, and vary depending on whether a credit balance is related to federal aid funds or not.
The College will credit Title IV federal aid funds to a student’s account only against allowable institutional charges, which are:
- Current charges for tuition and fees
- Prior-year charges, up to and not exceeding $200, with written authorization
Written Authorization:
Students (or parent loan borrowers) must provide student authorization to the Business Office before the College can perform the following actions with respect to credit balances related to Title IV federal aid funds:
- Authorizing the use of FWS wages to pay educationally related charges;
- Apply funds awarded for the current year to prior term charges, up to $200;
- Disbursing FWS wages by Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) to student’s bank account.
First time, first year students will not receive Federal Direct Loan proceeds until completing the first 30 days of the first term.
Cancellation Policy
You have a right to cancel all or part of the grant(s) and/or loan disbursement(s) you were awarded. In order to cancel any or all of your Federal Student Aid, you must confirm in writing the FSA award(s) and amounts(s) and send the request to the Business Office within 14 days of the first day of your term or (if aid is awarded after the first day of the term) of the Business Office invoice once aid has been awarded. You will be responsible for any unpaid balance on your Williamson College account.
