Financial Aid

Disbursement/Reminders

Disbursement


  1. All Federal and State aid (except Federal Work-Study) will automatically be applied to tuition, fees, room and board charges on your bill each semester. See Financial Aid Disbursement and University Billing section of the Handbook & Policies.
  2. All first-time federal student loan borrowers must complete a Master Promissory Note and Entrance Counseling before funds can be disbursed.
  3. Federal Direct Loan funds will not be disbursed until the 10th day of the term; therefore, loan funds will not appear on your first University bill each term.
    • Refer to your B/R Account Detail on STARS to view your billing account transactions.
  4. Loan amounts must be made in two disbursements for the Academic Year:
    • Half in the Fall Term; half in the Spring Term
    • Single semester loans will be disbursed in one disbursement at the beginning of the term
  5. Before each aid disbursement, financial aid eligibility must be reviewed in such areas as:
    • Hours of enrollment (usually a minimum of six hours)
    • Proper class level (may affect your loan amount) at Sophomore (30-59 hours) or Junior level (60-89 hours) - transfer students should have final grade transcript from previous school sent to WIU as early as possible to avoid class level conflict
    • Satisfactory Academic Progress
    • Admitted to a degree program
  6. Refund checks for amounts of aid exceeding direct educational charges (tuition, fees, health insurance, room and board) are direct deposited to your designated bank account. You can provide your account information on STARS by selecting Direct Deposit Authorization Information.
  7. Please be prepared to pay for your books from your own personal resources. Refunds from financial aid are not always available or may be insufficient to pay for all your books. Books cannot be charged to your University account.
  8. The first bill is available on STARS in August; an email notification is sent to the student's WIU email account each month when the bill is available to view.
    • Billing email notifications may also be sent to additional recipients - email recipients may be added by selecting B/R Additional Email on STARS.
  9. Prior to the posting of the actual bill at the beginning of each term, you may estimate your bill by using the WIU Cost Estimator - this is especially helpful if your enrollment or housing will be different than the estimated expenses listed on your award letter.
  10. An automated payment plan is available to divide your cost of attendance into several monthly payments. For more information, please review the Billing & Receivables Payments information.
  11. Specific questions concerning bills or the billing process should be directed to Billing and Receivables (309) 298-1831.