Financial Aid Fee Deferment

What is a Financial Aid Fee Deferment?

A Financial Aid Fee Deferment permits eligible students to postpone payment of class registration fees.  Deferments are issued based on the expectation that tuition and mandatory fees will be paid by financial aid.  This deferment protects your classes from enrollment cancellation and defers the required payment of tuition and mandatory fees until the student’s financial aid disbursement is received at CSULB.

The financial aid fee deferment does not automatically pay your fees; it only delays the payment.

Fee Deferments are only temporary credits and do not relieve you of the obligation to pay.  Deferments made in anticipation of financial aid are not promises of aid; if you do not complete the financial aid process, or are found to be ineligible for financial aid, your fee deferment will be cancelled.  If this happens you will be responsible for paying the full account balance by the payment deadline.

How do I qualify for a Financial Aid Fee Deferment?

You will qualify for a Financial Aid Fee Deferment if you meet the following criteria:

• You are currently enrolled as a degree-seeking student at CSULB (Undergraduate, Graduate, or Teaching Credential).
• You have filed a 2011-12 FAFSA and listed CSULB as one of the recipients.
• Your most recent Student Aid Report (SAR) must have a valid EFC (or status of “Official”). If you receive a SAR with a status of “Rejected”, noted items must be corrected before you will be considered for a fee deferment.
• You must have a minimum financial aid eligibility of $4,800 for the 2011-12 academic year, as determined by the Expected Family Contribution (EFC) on your most recent SAR.

OR

• You borrowed a Federal Stafford Subsidized, Unsubsidized or PLUS Loan for the 2010-11 academic year.
• Meet all other eligibility requirements for financial aid.

PLEASE NOTE: Applying late for financial aid may jeopardize eligibility for a fee deferment.

CSULB’s Office of Financial Aid reviews student eligibility on a continuing basis. If you qualify, a fee deferment will be automatically placed on your account. It is your responsibility to ensure you complete all necessary steps and/or meet any deadlines required to maintain your eligibility for the fee deferment. Failure to do so will result in the expiration of your fee deferment, and payment of your registration fee will be required by the payment due date.

How do I maintain eligibility for the Fee Deferment?

Fee Deferments are only temporary credits and are made in anticipation of financial aid.

To maintain your eligibility for the Fee Deferment you must:

• Submit all requested financial aid documents to our office no later than July 20, 2011.  Documents must be received in our office by July 20, 2011 – not postmarked.  Be sure to check your To Do List on MyCSULB on a frequent basis to ensure you have no outstanding documents.
• Meet CSULB Financial Aid Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) standards
• If you do not meet CSULB’s SAP standards, and are SAP disqualified, your appeal must be received in our office (not postmarked) no later than July 15, 2011.

If you do not meet the above criteria, your fee deferment will expire and you will be responsible for paying all of your tuition and mandatory fees and meeting the fee payment deadlines in effect at that time.  Failure to meet the payment deadlines will subject you to disenrollment from classes.

What happens if I miss a Document Submission Deadline?

The following document submission deadlines for the 2011-12 academic year have an impact on maintaining your fee deferment eligibility:

• SAP Appeals: For those students who are SAP disqualified and want to submit an appeal requesting continued financial aid eligibility, the SAP Appeal must be received in our office (not postmarked) no later than July 15, 2011.
• Financial Aid Documents: Any documents that are required to complete your financial aid file must be received in our office (not postmarked) no later than July 20, 2011.

If you fail to meet either of the above deadlines, your fee deferment will expire and you will be responsible for paying your tuition and mandatory fees by the fee payment deadline for the Fall semester (August 17, 2011).

Are there Fee Deferments for the Spring Semester?

No. Financial Aid Fee Deferments are assigned only for the Fall semester. For the Spring semester, your accepted financial aid awards are considered to be anticipated aid – and will postpone the payment of your Spring tuition and mandatory fees until the aid disburses.

What are the conditions of a Fee Deferment?

Students utilizing a fee deferment to postpone payment of registration tuition and mandatory fees agree to the following conditions:

• To have university tuition and fees paid out of their financial aid awards.
• To complete their financial aid file prior to the document submission deadline (July 20, 2011 for Fall 2011 semester).
• To be responsible for paying any balance due for tuition and mandatory fees by the CSULB payment due date of August 17, 2011 if they do not submit all requested documents by July 20 or if they fail to meet Satisfactory Academic Progress.

Timeline/Important Dates

Date	Event
March 2, 2011	CSULB FAFSA Priority Filing Deadline
March 30,  2011	Financial Aid begins issuing Financial Aid Fee Deferments for Fall 2011 (eligible students notified via email)
April 4, 2011	Registration for Fall 2011 begins
June 15, 2011	Spring Grades posted
June 17, 2011	Students reviewed for Satisfactory Academic Progress (only students whose FAFSA has been filed can be reviewed for SAP)
July 15, 2011	Deadline for submitting SAP Appeal (must be received in office by this date – not postmarked) Fee deferment will be cancelled if SAP Appeal not received
July 20, 2011	Deadline to submit any missing documents to complete Financial Aid file.  Documents must be received in-office by this date – not postmarked. Fee deferment will be cancelled if documents are not received
August 17, 2011	Fall 2011 Fee payment Deadline
August 19, 2011	Financial Aid 1st disbursement to CSULB (funds will be credited towards tuition and mandatory fees on this date – not issued as refunds)
August 24, 2011	First refunds for Fall 2011 issued via eRefund
August  29, 2011	First day of classes for Fall 2011.