Award Guide
2013/2014
AWARD GUIDE (pdf)
Understand your
financial aid award,
eligibility and
responsibilities
Announcements
Accept Your Estimated 2013/2014 Financial Aid Offer Now
If you have received an estimated financial aid offer for the 2013/2014 academic year, you must access your Student Center financial aid account to accept, reduce or decline each financial aid award item. If you do not accept your aid, your student account will not show any pending aid and you will be responsible for paying all your fees on July 31. If awards are not accepted within 45 days of offer, your award may be canceled.
Financial Aid and Payment of University Charges
Click here to view tutorial on how financial aid pays university charges.
Financial aid recipients are required to pay the difference between all Fall University charges (including registration fees, on-campus housing and board plan) and pending Fall 2013 financial aid. View your pending financial aid in the Finances/Account Inquiry section of your Student Center. Payment is due by the Fee Payment Deadline of July 31, 2013.
After July 31, the fees box in the Finances section of your Student Center will indicate fees as "Past Due" until your aid goes out. No payments are necessary if you have sufficient pending aid to cover your Fall charges. Your balance due will automatically be deducted from your financial aid disbursement.
If your file is complete and there are no items remaining on your "To Do List," by August 16, the first possible disbursement for the Fall semester is August 22. All remaining aid, after charges and fees are deducted, will be disbursed to you via Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) or a check that is mailed to you.
Please Note- Questions about your student account, fee payment, and being dropped from classes should be directed to Student Financial Services.
- You may be charged a $25 late fee if your current fees and charges are not paid by the Registration Fee Payment Deadline unless you have sufficient aid to cover the fees and your aid is clear to disburse on the first fall financial aid disbursement date.
- Students who have no aid or who have not made a payment may be dropped from classes by the university.
- Spring registration is held until all Fall fees are paid.
To Do List Items
You must submit all requested items on your “To Do List” by June 1 in order to have your file complete before the first fall disbursement. If you do not turn your requested items in by June 1st, your aid will NOT be cancelled. Accepted aid will continue to show as pending and may defer fees. However, you may receive your disbursement later than the first disbursement date of Fall (August 22) and you may be charged a $25 late fee.
Check your Student Center on a weekly basis after your forms show as received. If we need any additional information, it will show up on your "To Do List." Once the requested forms have been received and completed, they will be removed from your "To Do List”.
Please be aware that if you fax your documents, it takes up to 3 days before the documents show as received on your Student Center. Documents that are mailed or brought into our office can take up to 4 weeks before the documents show as received on your Student Center. The date received will be recorded as the date the documents are submitted to our office.
IRS Data Retrieval Tutorial for 2013-2014
Click to view the IRS Data Retrieval Tutorial for 2013-2014 to help guide you in this process.
Important Processing Dates and When to Expect Changes to Your To Do Lists/Holds
Verification - Updating your "To Do List" from requested to received takes a minimum of four weeks if you submit hard copies via mail, at our window or drop box and a minimum of 72 hours if your documents are faxed. Preliminary review of verification documents will take a up to twelve weeks from the date your last required "To Do List" item was submitted to our office.
IRS Data Retrieval - It can take up to 21 days from the date you successfully used the Data Retrieval Tool on the FAFSA before our office is able to upload this change. This process has been completed when you will no longer see the required documentation on your "To Do List."
Satisfactory Academic Progress Appeal (SAP) - Review of SAP appeals take a minimum of four weeks from the date the last required item is received. Deadline to submit appeal for Fall 2013 is September 20, 2013.
Maximum Unit Appeal - Review of Maximum Unit Appeals take a minimum of four weeks from the date the last required item is received. Deadline to submit appeal for Fall 2013 is September 20, 2013.
Exceptional Circumstance Appeal (All types) 2013-2014 appeal forms are available August 1, 2013. Appeals are reviewed in the order they are received. Processing time may take until the end of the fall semester. The deadline to submit an appeal for students enrolled for the 2013-2014 academic year is April 1, 2014.
Federal Direct Stafford Loan Application - Applications take at least 30 days to process.
Federal Direct PLUS Application (PLUS Loan) - We initially award the requested amount as a conditional estimate which will show up in the student's financial aid package while we are processing the credit check. The loan is not approved until you receive notification from the lender that your credit was approved. Applications must be received by July 11 to have an initial award entered in time for the fee payment deadline of July 31. PLUS applications can take up to eight weeks to process.
Alternative Loan Application -All certification requests received by July 11 will be certified by the fee payment deadline of July 31 if the file is complete (all other awards accepted or declined AND all To Do List items have been completed). Applications take up to eight weeks to process. Alternative loans disburse four weeks after certification. The first possible disbursement date for fall is September 5.
External Scholarship - After the Financial Aid and Scholarship Office has received a student's external scholarship check(s), the scholarship is entered into the student's financial aid award. The student will receive an e-mail informing them of a change in their award. The turn-around time for complete processing of external scholarships is up to three weeks.
CSU, Chico Scholarships - CSU, Chico Scholarship recipients are selected in the spring for the following academic year. If selected, the Scholarship should be posted in your Student Center 2013-2014 Financial Aid Award Summary Account by late-July 2013.
All certification requests received by July 11 will be certified by the fee payment deadline of July 31 if the file is complete (all other awards accepted or declined AND all To Do List items have been completed). Applications take up to eight weeks to process. Alternative loans disburse four weeks after certification. The first possible disbursement date for fall is September 5.All certification requests received by July 11 will be certified by the fee payment deadline of July 31 if the file is complete (all other awards accepted or declined AND all To Do List items have been completed). Applications take up to eight weeks to process. Alternative loans disburse four weeks after certification. The first possible disbursement date for fall is September 5.Summer Financial Aid: Adding or Dropping Summer Courses
Summer Financial Aid applications are now available.
If you are adding/dropping/swapping summer courses, you must complete RCE's Summer Session 2013 Add/Drop Form AND our Summer Change in Enrollment Form. You will need to schedule an appointment with a financial aid advisor and bring these completed forms to your appointment. RCE will not add/drop courses for financial aid students without our signature.
Financial Aid and Scholarship Checklist for 2013-2014
Bookmark or download the Financial Aid and Scholarship Checklist to help you keep track of where you are in the financial aid process, from applying for aid through receiving the funds.
Effective Fall 2013: New Rules for State University Grant Eligibility
Effective Fall 2013 term, the CSU Board of Trustees are adding new requirements to SUG eligibility based on degree programs and earned units. Students who are SUG eligible must be enrolled at least half time and meet the following criteria:
Undergraduate Students
- Undergraduate non-transfer students cannot have earned more than 150 semester units
- Undergraduate transfer students with fewer than 75 semester units: Total transfer units + Chico State units cannot exceed 150 earned semester units
- Undergraduate transfer students with 75 or more semester units cannot have earned more than 75 semester units at Chico State.
Credential Students
- Credential students may receive SUG for their initial credential, up to a total earned units equivalent to 100% of unit requirements as published in the university catalog. Students enrolled in the Conditionally Classified Credential Program are not eligible for SUG.
Graduate Students
- Graduate students cannot exceed more than 125% earned units of their required program length. (All prior Master’s degree objectives including Extended Education and graduate transfer units are included.)
Second Bachelor’s, second Credential, second Master’s degree, or Conditionally Classified Credential Students
- Students enrolled in the Conditionally Classified Credential Program, or who are pursuing a second Bachelor’s, second Credential, or second Master’s degree are not eligible for SUG.
Please note: Remedial coursework, Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, Military credit, Pre-baccalaureate credit, and credit by examination will not count as earned units toward the new SUG limits.
Cal Grant and Fall 2013 Entering Students
Cal Grant Entitlement participants are required to confirm their high school graduation before being awarded by the California Student Aid Commission (CSAC). Students are notified by CSAC through an automated e-mail message directing them to view the electronic California Aid Report (CAR) in WebGrants4Students (WGS). The e-mail message directs students to WGS to find details on their Cal Grant award status. CSAC sends this message to the e-mail address listed on the FAFSA. Students can verify their high school graduation through WGS.
Office Hours and Appointments
Summer Office Hours through August 16
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Office Hours: Monday - Thursday 8 am - 5 pm. The office is closed on Fridays.
- Appointment Schedule:
Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday 9 am-12 pm; 2-4 pm.
No Appointments available on Tuesdays
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Phone Hours: Monday - Thursday 8 am - 5:30 pm.
Only same-day appointments will be available on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday with the advisor staff in the Financial Aid and Scholarship Office (SSC 250). You can make these same-day appointments by calling 530-898-6451 or by coming to our office window between 8:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. We recommend calling as early as possible in the morning as the appointments fill up quickly. Phone appointments are also available. Appointments are limited and are on a first-come, first-serve basis.
Upcoming Disbursement Dates
When your academic year file is complete and there are no holds on your account and no items on your “To Do List,” your aid will disburse and cover any fees remaining on your university balance. All remaining aid, after charges and fees are deducted, will be disbursed to you via Electronic Fund Transfer (EFT) or a check that is mailed to you. This process is run by the Student Financial Services Office.
Fall 2012-Summer 2013 disbursements will be received electronically or sent out on the following days:
Thursday, August 1
Thursday, August 8
Thursday, August 15
Fall 2013-Spring 2014 financial aid disbursements:
Financial aid and scholarships are disbursed on Thursdays throughout each semester. The first possible disbursement of federal and state aid and scholarships each semester is the Thursday prior to the first day of classes, which is five days before the beginning of each semester.
Fall 2013:
First disbursement date is August 22
First Alternative Loan Disbursement date is September 5
Spring 2014:
First disbursement date is January 16
First Alternative Loan Disbursement date is February 7