Financial Aid Updates

Financial Aid Updates Spring 2025

This webpage will provide the latest updates on Financial Aid processing for the current academic year. This page will provide general information; information about specific accounts will be found in the financial aid portal.

Financial aid processing was delayed by a series of technical setbacks related to the integration of a new financial aid processing system. The college continues to address the technical issues and is working confidently toward a long-term solution.

In the meantime, processing is being supported by a manual effort to help ensure aid packages are complete and correct before being disbursed. While this requires more time, the College added additional support staff to support completing aid distribution.

On This Page

 Communication to Students Life Happens Temporary Changes  Frequently Asked Questions  Terminology

Communication to Students

Temporary Changes in the Life Happens Emergency Aid Grant

The Santa Fe College Life Happens Emergency Aid Grant is available to assist currently enrolled students who are experiencing financial hardship because of delays in their Financial Aid. The college has temporarily expanded eligibility rules and the increased the maximum awards

All Santa Fe College students who are taking classes in Spring 2025 and are experiencing delays in Financial Aid are eligible for consideration.

Financial hardships considered by the committee include documented:

  • Housing Issues
  • Transportation Issues
  • Medical Issues
  • Fire or Natural Disaster
  • Childcare
  • Other (explain in narrative)

Documentation

To qualify, students must provide documentation of a financial hardship that is the result of delayed financial aid.

Documentation will vary by the situation and the request. However, students should provide any documentation that is relevant to the specific financial need and hardship. Examples include copies of bills/invoices/receipts or eviction notices, overdue payments, and notifications from childcare or healthcare providers.

Funding

Funds for the Life Happens Emergency Aid Grant are made available through the SF Foundation and the generous donations of individuals who care about the health and wellbeing of SF students.

The amount varies depending on the situation and documentation. The maximum grant amount is $1,000 for credit-hour students and $2,000 for clock-hour students.

Disbursement

The SF Foundation will only write a check only to the third party that the student identifies, i.e., the car repair shop, landlord, etc. Neither the student nor the college qualify as third party.

Students will pick up the check to deliver to the listed third party.

This is a grant, not a loan. Therefore, students do not have to pay it back.

Have questions or need assistance?

The grant is overseen by College Ombuds Dr. Bea Awoniyi.  Contact her at bea.awoniyi@sfcollege.edu or by phone at 352-395-5513.

Frequently Asked Questions

Please remember that financial aid processing is ongoing throughout the Spring 2025 semester. We encourage all students to regularly check their financial aid portals for updates.

This FAQ addresses the more common questions students are having currently.

Currently aid is being released according to the type of funding source.  If a student has aid from multiple funding sources, such as a federal, state and a local scholarship, it is possible that aid will be received in multiple deposits at different times. Aid will not be held until other aid arrives; it will be processed as soon as the College receives the funds.

The college does not receive Pell Grants or federal student loans and other funding until just prior to the time it is transferred to BankMobile for deposit into to student accounts.  The amount the college receives depends on student eligibility.

It generally takes one to three business days for the funds to be deposited into student accounts once they reach BankMobile. The amount of time that it takes for each file to process and be sent to BankMobile differs for each case. Each file must be reviewed and approved for completeness and accuracy before any funds can be released into student accounts. This is done to protect students and ensure that students are not under-awarded or over-awarded, which could result in having to pay back funds. While this does take time, the College has brought in additional resources to help that process move more quickly.

If you have a financial obligation and registration hold, and you believe it is due to the delay in your financial aid, please use this form(Opens in new window) to let us know.

We will review your account to determine if the hold is related to financial aid delays and, if so, we will temporarily remove the hold to allow you to register for Summer/Fall 2025 and send you a confirmation email.

In the Fall, Santa Fe College implemented a new financial aid processing system to address federal processing changes. The process of integrating the new system with the college’s current system presented multiple unexpected challenges when the systems failed to interact appropriately. The College has made significant progress resolving the implementation issues and has engaged additional expertise to get the issues resolved more quickly and accurately. Moving forward, we anticipate that the new system will accommodate evolving federal regulations and streamline the student experience.

Nearly all funds for Fall were disbursed. Any remaining aid falls under more complex regulations and processes, and because of the delays, emergency funds remain available to assist those students. Students who need emergency aid should apply at Emergency Aid/ Resources.

While rare, there are situations that will cause students to receive more aid than they are eligible for. Typically, this results in a student having to return funds to the college, which in turn, the college returns to the Department of Education or other funding source.  If a student thinks they have been overpaid, they could contact the financial aid office.  Also see “Return to Title IV.” 

The College is working hard to assist any student experiencing hardship. Emergency aid has been made available to help students mitigate resulting problems. Emergency aid may be used to assist with housing, utilities, transportation, toiletries/personal items, and/or childcare. Students who need emergency aid should apply at Emergency Aid / Resources. Additionally, the college has temporarily lifted restrictions in recognition of the impact of financial aid delays. Students who previously received emergency aid may be eligible to receive additional funding.

Emergency aid funds are directed to landlords and other service providers to ensure they are used for essential student needs such as housing, utilities, transportation, and childcare. This approach helps the College verify that the funds are meeting the most pressing needs directly. When students apply for funds, they'll be asked to provide documents like rental agreements or utility bills to demonstrate their needs.

While the college does not disburse funds directly for food, we invite you to visit the Saints Food Share Pantry, which is available to support students facing food insecurity.

Terminology

Terminology can vary by institutions. This is Santa Fe College’s common terminology related to financial aid.

An ACH payment is an electronic transfer of funds between banks using the Automated Clearing House network, commonly used for direct deposits and bill payments. It allows for secure and convenient money transfers without the need for paper checks. BankMobile may use this terminology.

A student is awarded when they are presented with a financial aid package to help cover the cost of attendance.

BankMobile is a disbursements platform that serves to move funds from various financial aid funding sources into student accounts. Once the college approves a financial aid package, funds are transferred to BankMobile for deposit into student accounts. It takes BankMobile 1 or 3 days to transfer funds.

Clock hour programs (sometimes called contact hour programs) are vocational or technical programs where the student's progress is measured by the number of hours spent in class or in hands-on training, as opposed to credits earned. In a clock hour program, each hour of instruction is considered to be one "clock hour". 

In Credit Hour Programs, a student’s progress is measured by the number of credits earned for the class.

Student’s financial aid payment has been released by the college to BankMobile and arrives in student’s bank accounts in 2-3 business days. Note: The total amount disbursed to BankMobile does not include funds that covered tuition, fees and books.

Emergency aid refers to grant funds that are awarded to students to meet immediate needs. These funds, which are awarded to students who are waiting for their aid to be processed, do not have to be paid back and do not have any impact on the pending financial aid award. Emergency aid may be used to cover housing, transportation, medical, and childcare expenses. Students can apply for emergency aid at https://www.sfcollege.edu/student-affairs/emergency-aid/#financial

Refers to any tuition, fees or other payments owed to the college.

An overaward is when certain factors cause the student to be presented with an aid package that has more awards than they are eligible to receive. An overpayment occurs when that award is disbursed. An overpayment also can occur when a student receives duplicate payments of the same award. In these cases, funds must be returned to the college, which in turn returns it to the funder.

Paid means the Financial Aid Office has verified eligibility for aid and has authorized the finance department to draw down funds that have been transferred to the College by the Department of Education.  It does not mean that aid has been moved into student accounts, but that the process for disbursing aid has begun.

Student’s award has been processed through the Financial Aid system. 

When a student receives more aid than is needed to cover tuition, fees, book charges and other charges, it is refunded to the student’s account. Funds are transferred to BankMobile, which transfers the funds into a student’s designated account. Once funds are received by BankMobile, it can take 1 to 3 days to be deposited into student’s account.

Students who withdraw complete from classes stop attending classes, or have all failing grades may have their aid revised and might be required to repay all or a portion of federal student aid received. This is known as Return to Title IV. The College is required to calculate how much of the semester a student did attend to determine how much of the aid was "earned." Students are required to pay back the portion of financial aid not earned.

The Title IV programs include: Federal Pell Grants, Direct Loans, Direct PLUS Loans and Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (FSEOGs).

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