Student Financial Services

Receiving Your Aid

Award Notification and Enrollment Status

• Once your file has been processed and your eligibility for aid determined, you will be sent an email letting you know your award is ready to view in the Student Portal.

• We generally award students assuming they will be attending school full-time, which is 12 or more credits each quarter.

• You are NOT required to attend school full-time. Most financial aid awards can be adjusted for part-time enrollment.

• Full-time: 12 or more credits

• ¾ time: 9 – 11 credits

• ½ time: 6 – 8 credits

• Less than ½ time: 1 – 5 credits

• Loans, workstudy and tuition waivers require a minimum of six credits each quarter and the Washington State Need grant has limited funds available for enrollment of 3 – 5 credits.

• If you are receiving funds or services from an outside agency, you may be required to enroll for a minimum number of credits each quarter. Check first before you decide to attend school part-time.

• If you wish to attend school part-time you must complete and submit an Information Change Form to our office at the time you enroll for the upcoming quarter and before your funds are used to pay tuition and/or sent to you by check.  This is so your financial aid grants can be adjusted to part-time enrollment. Loans and workstudy awards are not reduced if you choose to attend school part-time.

• You are required to finalize your class schedule by the fifth day of each quarter. This is our Federal Census date and we cannot make adjustments to aid, either for increasing or decreasing awards, after the fifth day of the quarter – NO EXCEPTIONS!

How We Disburse Funds to You

• Once an award has been made we will first pay any outstanding balance that may be due for tuition, fees, and campus housing.
• If you have a balance due it will be paid automatically using your awarded funds.
• We do not pay tuition using financial aid funds prior to the tuition due date.
• We cannot pay tuition with loan funds until we have received those funds from the Department of Education.
• If there is a balance left over from your award once tuition, fees, and any campus housing costs have been paid, it will be mailed to you by check. You may NOT pick up your check on campus unless you have a very unusual situation which prevents you from receiving mail. Make sure your mailing address is current with the Enrollment Services Office by changing it on the website or by submitting an Information Change Form if you have moved.
• After your check has been calculated, you will be responsible to pay for any additional costs that may result due to a change in your class schedule or other circumstances.
• If you or another agency paid your tuition, we will disburse your full aid directly to you in the form of a check.
• For students who have been awarded prior to the start of the quarter, we usually mail checks a couple of days before fall, winter and spring quarters begin. For summer quarter we cannot pay tuition or calculate checks prior to July 1. This usually means students will receive their summer funds a day or two after the quarter begins. You should plan for this and may need to purchase your books for summer before you receive your aid.