CalPoly - Student Accounts

Question#1:

How do we know when registration fees need to be paid?

Fee Payment Information

This page includes...

Housing fee information
Registration rotation link
On line payment link (check or credit card)
Parking fee information link
Meal plan link

Want to make a registration fee payment?

Important information for parents of continuing students: To help protect the privacy of its student population, Cal Poly no longer uses the student's Social Security Number as the student's Cal Poly account number. During the summer of 2006, Cal Poly assigned all its continuing students new student I.D. numbers (referred to as an Empl ID). Each continuing student was advised (via email) to go to the Personal Info tab on their Cal Poly portal to find out what their newly assigned I.D. number is.

To make a payment on the student account - whether it be on line, by phone, or by mail - the Empl ID number needs to be used to adequately apply the payment.

Students entering Cal Poly fall 2006 or later will be assigned their Empl ID upon admission.

On line payment link - make payment through your checking account (this is a free service!), or by credit card (Visa not accepted; a small transaction fee will be assessed).

Mailing in a check: It takes approximately 7 to 10 working days for a mailed payment to get to campus and be processed. Given this expected time delay - and the possibility of disenrollment due to non-payment of fees (please review the Registration Fee Payment Policy link above), Cal Poly strongly recommends that payments be made through our on line payment options (eCheck or credit card).

If you need help navigating the on line payment system, please do not hesitate to contact our Cashier's Office staff: (805) 756-2256. We are here to help!

If you still wish to mail in your registration fee payment, please use the following information...

Make check payable to Cal Poly

Mail to:
Cal Poly
State Cashier's Office
Admin. 131 E
San Luis Obispo, CA 93407
(Please reference the Empl I.D. and student's first and last name clearly)

Question #2:

Does Cal Poly send bills when fees, housing and meals are due?

Cal Poly does NOT send bills. It is the student's responsibility to be aware of due dates for registration fees, housing, and meal plans. Please refer to the Fee Payment Schedule for general information (amounts and important links). Please take a moment to read through this information, as it is extremely informative.

Registration fee payment policy
To find out when registration fees are charged to the student's Cal Poly account, and when/how students are expected to pay.

Registration fee payment information for students receiving grants, scholarships, or student loans.

EMAIL REMINDERS - Cal Poly will attempt to notify students of their need to pay registration fees via email. Emails will also inform students that if they do not pay their registration fees they will be subject to disenrollment. A Reminder email is sent around the 4th week of every quarter to those students with a balance due.

Housing and meal plans - Coupons with due date and amount information are included with the housing and meal plan contracts. It is important to make note of these due dates as mailed notices are NOT sent.

Question #3:

Do we need to pay registration fees in advance if our student is going to receive financial aid?

Registration fees are automatically deferred for each quarter a student will be receiving a financial aid disbursement. This includes grants, student loans, and some scholarships. The registration fees are deducted from the financial aid when it comes in and any remaining financial aid is disbursed to the student as early as the first day of school, providing all requirements and paperwork are in place. The methods used for disbursing remaining aid to the student are either ACH (electronic direct deposit into the student's personal bank account of choice) or a paper check mailed to the student's current mailing address.

Because students sometimes forget to update their address information, Cal Poly strongly recommends that students sign up for direct deposit to avoid possible delays caused by mailing time and/or address problems.

IMPORTANT - PLEASE READ CAREFULLY:
Financial aid is usually disbursed in increments of 1/3 per quarter (fall, winter, spring). However, students who have made arrangements to have financial aid disbursed in a specific quarter only will be required to pay their registration fees within 48 hours of registering for the quarters in which financial aid will not be disbursed - as outlined in the Registration Fee Payment Policy.

EXAMPLE:

The only financial aid our example student is receiving is one outside scholarship in the amount of $1,000.00. Arrangements have been made (between the Financial Aid Office and the student) for the entire $1,000.00 scholarship to be disbursed to the student in fall quarter.

Given the example situation above, the following will occur:

The student will register for fall quarter.
The Cal Poly computer system will charge the student for registration fees accordingly.
Once the student has registered for the required amount of units, and the scholarship have been received by Cal Poly (from the donor), the scholarship funds of $1,000.00 will be applied to the registration fees charged on the student's Cal Poly account (transactions can be viewed via the student portal).
After the scholarship funds have been applied to the registration fees due, the student will be required to pay the difference before trying to register for the next quarter (winter quarter).
The student - having paid the remaining balance from fall quarter, and NOT receiving ANY financial aid funds for winter quarter - will register for winter quarter and pay for winter registration fees within 48 hours of registering (student can access charge information and on line payment links through the Cal Poly student portal).
students who are NOT receiving financial aid in a given quarter are subject to the Registration Fee Payment Policy terms for non-financial aid students - which include automatic disenrollment if fees are not paid by the indicated deadline.

Registration Fee Payment Policy

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Question #4:

What if we are unable to pay the registration fees in full and our student is not eligible to receive financial aid?

Beginning fall quarter, 2006, students can register before paying their registration fees. However, students who do not make payment according to the registration fee payment policy (link below) are subject to disenrollment (please read through the policy for details).

Registration Fee Payment Policy

On line payment link - make payment through your checking account (this is a free service!), or by credit card (Visa not accepted; a small transaction fee will be assessed).

If you need help navigating the on line payment system, please do not hesitate to contact our Cashier's Office staff: (805) 756-2256. We are here to help!

If you still wish to mail in your registration fee payment, please use the following information...

Make check payable to Cal Poly

Mail to:
Cal Poly
Cashier's Office
San Luis Obispo, CA 93407
(please reference the Empl I.D. and student's first/last name clearly).

Question #5:

Our student has decided not to attend Cal Poly this quarter and we have already paid registration fees. How do we get a refund?

Cal Poly's Refund Policy.

NOTE: All refunds must be initiated by the student.

Refund disbursement requests are processed by the the Student Accounts Office. Refund checks are mailed to the address on the request form and should be received within ten business days. The student also has the option of leaving the refund credit on account for the following quarter's registration fee payment.

Please refer to the Refund Policy link (above) for information specific to each type of refund request.

Question #6:

Whom should we talk to if we have questions regarding our student's financial aid eligibility and parent PLUS loan information?

FINANCIAL AID ELIGIBILITY (for all types of financial aid funding):

Email the Financial Aid Office

Or call: (805) 756-2927

DISBURSEMENT QUESTIONS (for all types of financial aid funding):

Financial aid is disbursed in increments of 1/3 per quarter (fall, winter, spring). It is disbursed to the student's Cal Poly student account as early as the first day of school, providing all requirements and paperwork are in place (have your student check their TO DO list from their Cal Poly portal). NOTE: Cal Poly cannot disburse financial aid funds to the student's Cal Poly account until the student is enrolled in the required amount of units. If the student has completed all other requirements and paperwork, but still has not received their financial aid disbursement it usually means they have not yet enrolled in enough units. Once they have, the aid will disburse automatically.

Email the Student Accounts Office if you have questions once the financial aid has been disbursed.

Or call: (805) 756-1428

IMPORTANT PARENT PLUS LOAN DISBURSEMENT INFORMATION:

Like all other financial aid, Parent PLUS loan funds will automatically be applied to the student's Cal Poly account and will be used to pay any outstanding charges. Once all charges have been paid, excess parent PLUS loan funds, if any, will be disbursed to the parent, unless the parent submits a written request authorizing Cal Poly to disburse the excess Parent PLUS loan funds directly to the student.

Parent PLUS Loan Authorization to Disburse Excess Funds to the Student

Please fax your completed form to the Student Account Office: (805) 756-2774.