Overview
What is a Disbursement? A disbursement is a payment to the student, sometimes called a refund. After financial aid and scholarship funds are used to pay authorized tuition, fees, books charges, and other charges on your student account, the remaining funds are sent to you.
How do I receive my disbursement?
Disbursements are sent to students through a third-party called BankMobile. In eSantaFe click on the Finances menu and select Manage Refunds. Here you can signup with BankMobile and review refund options available to you.
For more information or for help with BankMobile, please see the Cashier's Student Refunds page.
When will I receive my disbursement?
Disbursements to students begin on the dates in the chart below. Some students receive their disbursement after this timeframe. Some financial aid accounts are more complicated than others. Getting students their funds is the highest priority of the Financial Aid Office.
Disbursements are temporarily paused for B term book charging. This means that for two weeks prior to the B term, disbursements to students are stopped, but will restart soon after book charging ends for the B term.
Attendance must be marked for your classes for aid to process. You should plan and budget accordingly based on your enrollment and the expected disbursement date.
If you have a critical need for money or other assistance, please see the SF Emergency Assistance page for a listing of SF and community resources. Not receiving your disbursement within normal processing times is not by itself cause for emergency assistance.
| Term | Disbursements begin |
| Fall/Fall A/Fall D | approximately the 3rd week of September |
| Fall B | approximately the 2nd week of November |
| Spring/Spring A/Spring D | approximately the 4th week of January |
| Spring B | approximately the 4th week of March |
| Summer/Summer A/Summer D | approximately the 1st week of June |
| Summer B | approximately the 3rd week of July |
How do I check the status of my disbursement?
You can check the status of your disbursement on the My FA Status Awards page in eSantaFe. Clicking on the award will give you detailed information about your disbursement.
If the disbursement status shows completed, your disbursement has been sent to BankMobile and you should check your BankMobile account for more information.
There is no way to expedite processing. Disbursements are processed as quickly as possible.
Why does it take longer for some disbursements to process?
Disbursing financial aid requires compliance with federal and state laws and rules. We must get approvals from the federal and/or state government at different stages of the process. This requires transmitting data for that approval back and forth between several systems a number of times. As every file is different, additional steps may be required. We work to disburse funds to students as quickly as possible.
Disbursements are temporarily paused for B term book charging. This means that for two weeks prior to the B term, disbursements to students are stopped, but will restart soon after book charging ends for the B term.
What if I need help with my disbursement?
Disbursements are processed through BankMobile, a third party contractor. Once the Financial Aid Office verifies amounts and eligibility, the Cashier's Office uses BankMobile to process payments between Santa Fe College and the student.
For assistance with disbursements, please see the Student Refunds help page or contact the Cashier's Office.