Before we begin, it’s important to remember that the Office of Financial Aid awards aid, while the Bursary charges, collects, and refunds excess financial aid, tuition, fees, and other costs.

How to Pay for Your Classes

This is how Financial Aid assists with charges in the Bursary:

  • Once your awards are posted and accepted (i.e., loans) and all documentation is provided, aid will be authorized to be released at the appropriate time.
  • When you register for classes for an upcoming term, charges will be posted to view in the Student Online Account Center in MyVSU after the early registration period has ended.
  • Each term, aid authorization will occur once you register.
  • Payment deadlines for the Bursary are available each term at the Bursary website. If your balance (charges - financial aid = balance due) is not received by the due date, the Bursary will drop your registered classed. 
  • You will be responsible for any balance remaining after your aid is applied. For a full list of payment options, including short term loans, please visit the Bursary website.
  • The Drop/Add period for coursework is typically the first week of classes each term.

What Happens when Aid is greater than your Balance Due?

  • If a student has an excess balance (more financial aid than charges), the Bursary will begin processing refunds, typically within 3 weeks of the term’s starting date to allow for attendance verification and incoming aid to apply. After the initial add is disbursement on weekly basis,except for the first week of each month.
  • Excess funds can be disbursed (or given to the student) via direct deposit to a bank account, via check, or by transferring them directly to your VSU 1Card’s FLEX account. The FLEX account is a great way to go ahead and buy your books and supplies while waiting on excess funds to disburse.

Important Notes

It is important to remember the following regarding the disbursement of financial aid:

  • Financial Aid is always awarded based on full-time status (12 hours or more for any term). Aid will prorate according to enrollment for certain funds like HOPE, Pell Grant, and others. 
  • To be eligible to receive disbursement of a student loan for any term, the student must be enrolled at least half-time (6 hours or more for undergraduates and 5 hours or more for graduates) after drop/add ends.
  • Students who receive financial aid are subject to the Repayment/Return of Funds Policy. Students who withdraw, drop classes or complete zero credits for the period of enrollment for which they have been charged tuition and received financial aid may have to repay a portion of the grants and/or loans they received, as well as any tuition returned to financial aid programs as a result of their withdrawal. This policy does not apply to Federal Work Study earnings received.

    Students who remain enrolled greater than 60% of the payment period are considered to have earned 100% of the aid received and will not owe a repayment of financial aid.