CalPoly - Generic -

You will receive your financial aid at the beginning of each quarter - provided you are enrolled in the required units and have completed all required forms with the Financial Aid Office. Financial aid transactions are recorded on your student account as credits, just like a payment. Any pre-existing unpaid charges are paid by your aid, and any remaining aid will show as a credit balance. A financial aid disbursement, which is a refund to you of your remaining financial aid, is then generated and delivered to you in one of two ways:

Direct Deposit - The preferred way to receive funds

Mailed financial aid check

NOTE: Cal Poly attempts to notify each student receiving a financial aid disbursement - via email - when the funds have been disbursed.

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Question #2:

How do I get the information I need to register for classes?

ENROLLMENT PLANNING:

Log on to My.CalPoly;
Click on the Registration & Enrollment tab
Registration rotation schedule
Find out when you can register

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Question #3:

What if I receive financial aid (loans & grants)?

The financial aid award is determined by the Financial Aid Office, using Federal and State guidelines. Financial aid is disbursed over the Fall, Winter, and Spring quarters. (Financial aid for the Summer quarter may also be available to the student. Please see the Financial Aid Office regarding the application process.)

By signing the Financial Aid Student Agreement form, which is included in your financial aid information, you are authorizing the University to use your financial aid funds to pay your registration fees for you. Paying registration fees before you register is not necessary.

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Question #4:

How does Cal Poly receive my financial aid and apply it to fees?

Cal Poly uses Electronic Fund Transfer (EFT) for importing from lenders most all loan funds...Stafford, PLUS, and alternative. This enables loan money to be transferred electronically right into the student's Cal Poly account, along with grants and in-house scholarships. The system then uses the financial aid funds on the student account to pay charges, such as registration, housing, and course fees. Whatever amount remains is then disbursed to the student either in a by Direct Deposit or check. Each time a disbursement occurs, an email is sent out, alerting the student of this activity and referring him/her to the Student Account & Payment Info channel accessed through the Money Matters tab (on my.calpoly) to view the amount of the disbursement and the type(s) of financial aid which created it.

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Question #5:

Do I have to tell Cal Poly how I want my financial aid applied?

No. When your aid feeds into your Cal Poly account, your registration fees are paid for you automatically. Any portion of your fees NOT covered by your financial aid award are due after your award has been posted to your student account. Should there be for any unpaid balance after your award has been posted, a registration hold will be placed at that time which will prevent you from adding/swapping classes. Cal Poly will also email you about the 4th week of the quarter should you have a past due balance that will prevent your registration for the next quarter. You can also view your account 24/7 on my.calpoly.

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Question #6:

What if I get scholarships but not other financial aid?

Any student receiving a grant, student loan, or scholarship in a given quarter is considered a "financial aid student" for that quarter. All students can register before paying for registration fees, but non-financial aid students must pay their fees according to the Cal Poly registration fee payment policy, or be subject to disenrollment.

If you are receiving a scholarship only, please make sure you understand how it is being disbursed to you (all at once; over two quarters; over three quarters), as each quarter you are not receiving a financial aid disbursement, you will be expected to pay your registration fees within 48 hours after registering.

Cal Poly Registration Fee Payment Policy

Ask Financial Aid about your scholarship

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Question #7:

What if I would like to leave extra funds on my student account?

Some students prefer that any excess financial aid funds stay on their Cal Poly account instead of allowing the system to automatically generate a disbursement, and Student Accounts Office does offer this option upon request. The existing credit balance can then carry forward and pay for any future charges as they occur on the account. The student is then welcome to come to the Student Accounts Office - or download and fax in a refund form - and request a disbursement for a specific amount at any time (any such disbursement request will be direct deposited or mailed to the student). Please contact the Student Accounts Office if this plan is of interest to you.

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Question #8:

What if I do not have financial aid and cannot pay my fees all at once?

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

ASSIGNMENT OF CAL POLY STUDENT I.D. NUMBERS:

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. Each of these students was advised to go to the Personal Info tab on their Cal Poly portal to find out what their newly assigned I.D. number is (referred to as an Empl ID).

To make a payment on the student account - whether it be on line, or mailed in - the parent/student needs to reference the Empl ID number.

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 (either check or credit card).

If you need help navigating the on line payment system, please do not hesitate to contact our Student Accounts Office staff: (805) 756-1428. We are here to help!

If you still wish to mail in your payment, please use the following information:

Make your check payable to Cal Poly
Address and mail to:
Cal Poly
Cashier's Office
Admin 131E
San Luis Obispo, CA 93407
(please reference the Empl ID)

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Question #9:

What if I have a sponsor/third party that pays my tuition?

Third-party sponsorship information

Includes information on:

Employee fee waiver program
Cal Vet Dependents Program
Department of Rehabilitation
Allan Pattee Scholarship Program

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Question #10:

How do I make housing and meal plan payments?

There are two sets of offices on campus: the State and Cal Poly Corporation. The CP Corporation, among other things, handles anything to do with food service. The State handles all other transactions.

HOUSING PAYMENT INFORMATION (MANAGED BY THE STATE):

Your housing contract should have all the housing payment due dates referenced. If you cannot find your contract copy, please refer to the Payment Schedule.

To make your housing payment, please use our on line payment service.

If you have any questions regarding your housing charges, please call (805) 756-7632.

NOTE: You will be able to view your housing charges and payments at the same place you view your registration fee charges and payments.

MEAL PLAN PAYMENTS (MANAGED BY THE CAL POLY CORPORATION):

Meal plan payment information

If you have any questions regarding your meal plan payments, please call (805) 756-1125.

NOTE: Because your meal plan payments are made to the CP Corporation, you will not see your meal plan charges or payments on the same customer account as your registration and housing charges and payments.

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Question #11:

Can I use financial aid funds for housing and meal payments?

If your financial aid award, excluding federal work study, is large enough to pay your registration and also your housing in full, you may request that your housing payments be paid by your financial aid. And if your award is large enough to pay registration, housing, AND meals in full, you may request that your aid pay your meals as well. These arrangements for housing and meals MUST be requested, however, by either checking the Financial Aid box on the housing and meal contracts or by contacting the Student Accounts Office:

TO PAY HOUSING CHARGES WITH FINANCIAL AID:

Sylvia Hambly, (805)756-5872

TO PAY MEAL PLAN CHARGES WITH FINANCIAL AID:

Yolanda Heredia, (805) 756-7347

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Question #12:

How do I know if I owe money or have a credit on my student account?

MY.CALPOLY.EDU

Access 24/7!
Beginning Fall quarter 2006:
- Click on the Money Matters tab;
- Look for the Student Accounts & Payment section.
Statement of Account:
- The Student Accounts Office sends out an email to you in about the 4th week of the quarter IF you have a balance owing on your account . Your account summary, via the portal, is designed to show you your charges and payments and the resulting balance due. It is NOT a pre-bill for the upcoming quarter's registration. However, if you have a balance due, it MUST be paid before you can register for the next quarter. A credit balance can be carried over and applied to the next quarter's registration payment, or you can request a refund (complete the STUDENT INFORMATION box only).
  
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Question #13:

What about miscellaneous course fees?

Within different departments here on campus, there are certain courses that require a fee over and above the registration fee. These courses typically have off-campus activities, laboratory materials, and other miscellaneous expenses which are offset by payment of a nominal fee by the students enrolled in the course. Course fees are paid to the State Cashier unless otherwise indicated by the class professor. Course fees may be paid by financial aid ONLY if the fee is billed to the student's Cal Poly account prior to the financial aid being disbursed to the student. If the student's aid was disbursed previous to the course fee charge, it is the student's responsibility to pay the University cashier.

Please review your current quarter's student account activity on a regular basis through your My.Calpoly portal.

You can view the miscellaneous course fee list from the class schedule's table of contents.

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Question #14:

Does Student Accounts handle other types of checks besides financial aid?

YES, Student Accounts also disburses Student Employee Payroll. Students who are employed on campus for the University (not the Cal Poly Corporation) are paid once a month and can receive their checks at the Student Accounts window. Student Pay Day is the first working day of each month. Check the Student Payroll Schedule for actual dates.

Non-financial aid students who have overpaid their account the Student Accounts window by completing a refund request form (complete the boxed information only). Within 2 or 3 days, the resulting check will be mailed to the student, or direct deposited into the student's personal bank account (if the student previously signed up for direct deposit).

Student Accounts Office: hours and location

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Question #15:

What if I cannot pick up my financial aid/Payroll check because I am on an internship or involved in another off-campus activity?

Payroll checks can be mailed if Student Accounts is provided with a self-addressed, stamped envelope with the last four digits of your Social Security Number and expected pay month printed on the inside flap. Unclaimed payroll checks, 60 days old, are mailed to the most recent address on the Web Portal.

Financial Aid checks will automatically be mailed to your local address, as shown on the Web Portal. Or, better yet, you can sign up for Direct Deposit so that the funds can be electronically deposited into your personal bank account. However, if you are participating in any of the following, direct deposit is NOT an option at this time:

Emergency Loans
- They require a student signature for release
Non-EFT student loans
- Student loans mailed to Cal Poly, instead of electronically transferred
Some off-campus programs
- Intrasystem Visitor; National Student Exchange (NSE) - Outgoing Plan B; and Intrasystem Concurrent.
- Submit a Transmittal of Funds form if you are on one of these off-campus programs.
  
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