Additional Disbursement Information

Student and Parent Authorizations 

Students and parents have the ability, but are not required, to authorize National University to hold funding, within the Academic Year, for future charges. If a student or parent wishes to authorize NU to hold funding, they should contact the financial aid office for the relevant authorization forms.  

Additionally, students and parents may authorize National University to use FSA funds to pay for non-institutional charges when needed and should contact the financial aid office for the relevant forms.  

Disbursing Title IV Funds (Other than FWS) to Pay Current Year Educationally-Related Institutional Charges Other than Tuition, Fees, and Contracted Room and Board 

Students and parents may authorize National University to use FSA funds to pay for non-institutional charges when needed and should contact the financial aid office for the relevant forms. 

Disbursing Title IV Funds (Other than FWS) to Pay Prior Award Year Educationally-Related Institutional Charges Other than Tuition, Fees, and Contracted Room and Board 

Students are allowed to apply up to $200 in FSA funding to prior year charges. In accordance with this, NU will hold up to $200 in funding if the student has a prior period charge on their account at the time of disbursement. If the charges or for non-institutional charges, the student (or parent) must provide authorization. 

Holding Excess Title IV Funds (Credit Balances) 

It is the policy of National University (NU) to issue credit balances within 14 days as required by the Department of Education. In accordance with Department of Education policy, NU determined TIV credit balances based on the charges for the period in question minus any disbursements during the same period. When the disbursements exceed allowable charges, a credit balance is created. 

Students will be issued any credit balance owed for that course within 14 days of being posted to their student ledger. 

In practice, NU does not hold Credit Balances on student accounts. Credit balance payments are made to students within 14 days of the credit balance creation. In some cases, students or parents may wish to authorize to hold a credit balance on the student account within an academic year. 

Credit Balance Management 

If Title IV disbursements to a student’s account at the school create a credit balance, the school must pay the credit balance directly to the student or parent as soon as possible, but no later than 14 days after: 

• The first day of a course in a new payment period if the credit balance occurred prior to that payment period beginning
• The day the balance occurred if the credit balance was created after the first day of a new payment period
• R2T4 completion if the student withdrew or got dismissed from the university between the time the funds disbursed and the end of the 14-day window.

If a student has withdrawn or gotten dismissed, the credit balance will be handled as follows:

• Credit balance will be treated as aid disbursed in R2T4 calculation, and will be subject to return based on results of the calculation
  • If a student is identified as having a grant overpayment as a result of the R2T4, any remaining credit balance funds will be used to cover that balance.
• Any applicable refund policy is applied to determine if doing so creates a new or larger Title IV credit balance
• Funds released within 14 days of calculation completion.