New Student Guide

The FERPA Release form grants the student’s written permission to share their financial information with other parties. Once students are enrolled in classes, regardless of age, they are covered under The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA) which extends to financial information. A FERPA form on file with the Student Accounts Office is required for our staff to share student account information with parents or other supporters.

We understand that in many cases, payment is ultimately coming from the parent and not the student. However, we cannot release details of a student’s account to anyone, including their parents, unless we have that student’s written permission on file. Without permission, we can’t even answer a question as basic as “what is our balance due.”

The FERPA Release form is available at the Student Accounts webpage, under the subheading “Forms” or from this link FERPAForm.pdf.

Keep in mind that each office at Cal Poly has their own policies regarding privacy, so the form that would be submitted to us is specific to the Student Accounts and Financial Aid Offices only.

Registration and Tuition Fees

Charged quarterly based upon enrollment. California residents are charged either part time or full time Registration and Tuition Fees based upon Undergraduate or Graduate career and college.

Part time is 6 units or less and Full time is more than 6 units. (Note: Full time student status and financial aid eligibility have different unit requirements.)

Fee amounts are published on Fees and Payment Schedules for each academic year or term and available online at Learn more.

Non-residents are charged a Non-Resident Tuition Fee per unit per quarter in addition to Registration and Tuition Fees.

Graduate students in the College of Business pursuing an M.S.; Business Administration are charged a Professional Program Fee per unit per quarter in addition to Registration and Tuition Fees and if applicable Non-Resident Tuition Fee.

A voluntary Student Involvement and Representation Fee (SIRF) charged in fall and spring terms only. Students may choose to opt out of the SIRF fee via their Student Center's Account Activity. Last day to opt out is the term's census date. More information available at our fees section.

Commencement Fee

The Commencement Fee will be charged to the student account once for each degree or credential program. The fee will be charged based upon enrollment in the term like Registration and Tuition Fees. Undergraduate students will be charged when they reach an Expected Academic Progress (EAP) level that is equal to or greater than 75% of their degree completion requirements. Graduate students will be charged during their first or subsequent term of enrollment. The fee is applicable to all degree programs including Extended Education programs. Additional information available at Learn more .

On-Campus Housing

Charged annually (Fall thru Spring term) in August based upon completed housing contract. Amount determined by housing assignment. Initial charges/payments posted earlier in the year reduce the annual balance charged in August.

Freshman Dining Plan

Charged annually in August based upon completed combined housing/dining contract. Amount determined by dining plan associated with housing assignment. Initial charges/payments posted earlier in the year reduce the annual balance charged in August.

Miscellaneous Course Fees

Charged quarterly based upon enrollment in specific courses with lab or material fees.

Other Miscellaneous Charges - charged as incurred

• Health Center charges – Based upon services or items received.
• Housing miscellaneous charges – Lost access cards, key changes, or damages.
• Late Registration Fee - $25 late registration fee charged if you register for your first class after registration rotation appointments. Registration of your first class during Open Enrollment incurs this fee. Exception for block enrolled freshman in fall term.
• Late Appeal Add Fee - $20 late appeal fee charged for each class added through the Office of the Registrar during appeal period after term begins.

Note: Students who have a financial aid award for the current quarter may have select charges deferred until financial aid disbursement dates. See section below titled “How do I apply my Financial Aid?”.

Registration and Tuition Fees

Charged and due at time of registration, past due if not paid by the due date viewable in the portal and published on the fee schedules. Exception for Fall term. Fall term fees are charged in mid-July for continuing students and early August for freshmen with a due date in the latter part of August. Specific term dates available on Fees and Payment Schedules at fees.calpoly.edu.

Based upon quarterly registration rotation cycles, Registration and Tuition Fees for Fall term are due no later than August, Winter term due in early December, Spring term due in early March, and Summer term due in April.

On-Campus Housing

Annual balance due either in full by August 12th or paid by monthly installment plan September 1st to April 1st. Specific amounts and due dates available on University Housing webpages.

• Freshman
• Transfer

Freshman Dining Plan

Annual balance due either in full by August 12th or paid by monthly installment plan September 1st to April 1st. Specific amounts and due dates available on University Housing webpages.

• Freshman
• Dining Plan Information

Housing and Dining Installment Payment Plans

Housing and Dining charges (when applicable) are charged on an annual basis in August. Annual charges, less any payments or credits applied, are viewable on the “Money Matters” tab of the student portal, in the “Account Summary” portlet, on the “Housing" and "Dining” lines. Detail is viewable by clicking the “View Unpaid Charges" or "View Account Activity” links. Note: Housing and Dining charges are posted by term for financial aid application purposes only and are applicable only to students approved to use Financial Aid as a payment method. Personal payment options are annual payment or monthly installment payment plan.

Installment Payment Plan information – including current installment amounts remaining and due dates – will be viewable on the "Money Matters" tab of the student portal once the student has been enrolled in the Installment Payment Plan. To view your installment plan schedule, go to the “Money Matters” tab, and then click on the “Payment Plans" tab in the "Account Summary" portlet. Please remember that this information will not be viewable until the student has been enrolled in the Payment Plan(s), which usually will not occur until the third or fourth week of August.

The 'Money Matters' tab of the student portal reflects the annual housing and/or dining charges remaining to be paid by installment. As installment payments are posted each month, the balance on the 'Money Matters' tab will decrease. If the status of your installment payment plan is current, your account will not have a hold for the remaining housing and/or dining balance as the balance is due on future 1st of the month due dates.

Reminder that you must log into the online payment system each month and complete an installment payment plan payment as Cal Poly does not auto debit or process reoccuring charges to credit cards even if you have saved your payment method information.

• Online Payment (preferred method) - eCheck or Credit Card
• International Wire Transfer with flywire by peerTransfer
• University Cashier - In Person (no credit cards) or Mailed Check
• Financial Aid (See section below titled “How do I apply my Financial Aid?”)

Online Payments can be made online through the 'Money Matters' tab of the student portal, by clicking the 'Make A Payment Now' button, then the “Click here to make an online payment” link. This will open up CASHNet, the online payment system. Specific charges that have already been posted to the student account – but have not yet been paid – will appear at the top of the screen. Non-specific links to generic payment items appear at the bottom of the screen.

Online payment can be made by eCheck or Credit Card. There is no convenience fee for payments made by eCheck. A 2.75% convenience fee will be charged for credit card payments.

The online payment system may be accessed outside of the student portal at http://afd.calpoly.edu/student-accounts/online_payments.asp.

Students have an option of creating a separate parent login account for online payments via a CASHNet Parent PIN. Setup guide available at http://afd.calpoly.edu/student-accounts/forms/CashNet_PARENT_PIN_Guide.pdf .

More information regarding Online Payments and International Wire Transfers available at: Online Payments

Class Cancellation for non-payment

Registration and Tuition Fees not paid by due date or deferred by financial aid are considered past due and may result in class cancellation. Class cancellation drops students from all enrolled classes for the term. Class Cancellation dates are published on the Fee Payment Schedule for each term available at fees.calpoly.edu.

Housing and/or Dining Installment Late Fee

Housing and/or Dining installments not paid by the 1st of the month due dates are considered past due and are subject to a $25 late fee per installment plan. Late fees are charged on the 5th of each month.

Holds

Student accounts with past due charges are subject to holds that prevent transcript requests and registration activities such as adding, swapping or advancing from a wait list. Holds are often a precursor, but not required, to class cancellation or collection efforts, so it’s vital that you routinely check the ‘Hold and Warnings’ section of your ‘Student Center’. Links to the ‘Student Center’ are on the ‘Money Matters’ tab and in 'Single Click Links' of your student portal.

Your annual financial aid award is divided, usually into thirds, for Fall, Winter and Spring terms. Each term your aid will disburse/post to your student account and apply like a payment to approved charges (see requirements below). Any financial aid not applied to charges will automatically refund to the student for student aid and to the parent for Parent PLUS Loans. It is important to check your balance after financial aid disburses/posts to ensure that all fees were paid. A refund to your bank account does not guarantee that all charges have been paid.

Financial Aid applies in the following order:

• Registration and Tuition Fees
• On-Campus Housing
• Freshman Dining Plan

(Note: Financial Aid will not apply to Housing or Dining Payment Plans.)

If your charges are approved for payment by financial aid, the due dates are extended or ‘deferred’ until the term’s financial aid disbursement date (usually the week before the term begins).

Review your amount of ‘accepted’ financial aid from the link on the ‘Money Matters’ tab for comparison to required amounts. Non-disbursable aid such as Federal Work Study or Outside Scholarships not yet received by Cal Poly are excluded for comparison purposes as the funds are not accessible to apply directly to charges. Outside Scholarships become disbursable once Cal Poly's Financial Aid Office has recorded the check or transfer of funds as received.

Important notes:

Complete required ‘To Do’ list items for your financial aid to prevent delays in aid disbursement and holds.

Financial aid is ‘earned’ based upon enrollment, so changes in enrolled units or withdrawals may impact financial aid amounts.

Direct deposit is required for student financial aid refunds. New students can setup direct deposit after they are enrolled via the ‘Direct Deposit’ link on the ‘Money Matters’ tab of the student portal.

With the exception of summer term, the first direct deposit refunds for each term, the date that you will receive the funds in your bank account, is the Friday before the term begins. Refunds are processed twice a week thereafter.

Requirements to defer/apply financial aid to:

Registration and Tuition Fees

Registration and Tuition Fees are automatically deferred for students with disbursable aid awarded at Cal Poly. No formal request required. Non-disbursable aid such as Federal Work Study or Outside Scholarships not yet received by Cal Poly are excluded and do not defer fees or exclude students from Class Cancellation.

On-Campus Housing

Students may select financial aid as the payment method when submitting a housing contract or combined freshman housing/dining contract. The request to use financial aid is reviewed by the Student Accounts Office in June through August by comparing the student's total accepted disbursable financial aid award to required amounts published online under "Using Financial Aid to Pay Housing and Meals" . There are very specific amounts and requirements to defer housing charges, so students are advised to review the referenced webpage.

If the student's financial aid amount is sufficient to defer Registration and Tuition Fees and Housing charges in full, the charges will be deferred and paid by quarterly disbursements of financial aid. If aid is not sufficient to cover the charges in full, the student will be instructed to choose between paying the housing charge in full in August or paying by monthly installment plan. Unfortunately, our current policy does not allow for direct partial payment of housing by financial aid.

Freshman Dining Plan

Students may select financial aid as the payment method when submitting a combined housing/dining contract. The request to use financial aid is reviewed by the Student Accounts Office in July/August by comparing the student's total accepted disbursable financial aid award to required amounts published online under "Using Financial Aid to Pay Housing and Dining". There are very specific amounts and requirements to defer dining plan charges, so students are advised to review the referenced webpage.

If the student's financial aid amount is sufficient to defer Registration and Tuition Fees and Housing and Dining Plan charges in full, the charges will be deferred and paid by quarterly disbursements of financial aid. If aid is not sufficient to cover the charges in full, the student will be instructed to choose between paying the dining plan charge in full in August or paying by monthly installment plan. Unfortunately, our current policy does not allow for direct partial payment of dining by financial aid.

Charges not eligible for payment by financial aid

Financial aid will not apply to Health Center charges, housing miscellaneous charges, library fines or other non-instructional related charges. These charges require personal payment.

Share My Info is an electronic tool for students to give parents or supporters access to reports on their student account and financial aid information on line. The student creates a report and selects the information to be shared with the parent/supporter.  The student can choose a number of different areas to be part of the report. Just a few of those areas are:

• Account & Payment Summary
• Financial Aid Awards
• Estimated Costs
• Holds and Warnings
• To Do List (required items)
• Important Dates

The student creates the Share My Info report from their Cal Poly portal and includes the parent's email address in the recipient listing.  An email is sent to the parent explaining how to create a login to the Share My Information system. Once the parent has confirmed the login information, they will be able to view the report.

View user guide for student or parent.