Disbursement Policy

Disbursement Policy

Financial aid is disbursed, or released, to student Bursar accounts to reduce applicable direct charges (tuition, fees, on campus housing charges, etc). If the released financial aid is greater than the charges on a student Bursar’s account, the student will receive a financial aid refund from the university. 

Financial aid disbursements at the University of Arizona occur Monday through Friday during each semester, starting on the first official disbursement day.  This official disbursement day will change depending on the semester and year, specific dates can be found below.

Federal regulations, set by the Department of Education, limit the release of federal student aid to current academic year charges. Therefore, students are not able to use federal student aid to pay student Bursar account charges for a previous academic year.

Before any funds are disbursed to a student Bursar account, the Office Scholarships and Financial Aid (OSFA) must check for: 

Some Notices, Holds, or To Do List items will prevent financial aid from disbursing to a  student Bursar account. We encourage students to check their UAccess Student Center often and especially prior to disbursement.

The University of Arizona’s academic year is made up of fall, winter, spring, summer, in that order. However, all academic year long financial aid is divided into two equal disbursements, half in the fall term and half in the spring term. Students may also be offered financial aid that only applies to one term (example, a spring admit will receive aid only for the spring term).

Winter session financial aid is limited. For students enrolling in winter session, your charges may be paid for with any remaining eligibility for fall financial aid, if you did not enroll full-time for the fall semester. Otherwise, the spring portion of your financial aid may be applied towards winter session charges.

The summer semester is at the end of one academic year and aid for summer is also limited. Please see our summer financial aid website for information about how to apply for summer financial aid. Since the summer semester is the end of one academic year, summer charges cannot be paid with Federal Student Aid offered for the subsequent fall term, which begins the following academic year.

The quickest way to receive your refund is by setting-up Web Refund (also known as ACH delivery or direct deposit). You can set-up Web Refund through your UAccess Student Center. You must have your web refund set up 10 days prior to the first day of classes to receive the earliest refund electronically. Additional help for setting up UAccess Web Refund is available at https://bursar.arizona.edu/refunds/options. For more information about financial aid payments go to https://bursar.arizona.edu/payment/financial-aid.

Not all students will be eligible for a refund.  Your financial aid offer will provide you with a means of obtaining funds up to the Cost of Attendance (COA).  If you choose not to participate in programs offered, you will then be responsible for satisfying your charges.

 

Fall 2025

  • Fall 2025 disbursements will begin to post to students' Bursar account the week of August 18th.
  • In order to receive financial aid, students must meet all enrollment and disbursement conditions.
  • Web refunds take approximately 2-4 business days to show in your bank account.

Spring 2026

  • Spring 2026 disbursements will begin to release to students' Bursar accounts during the later half of the week of January 5th.  
  • In order for financial aid to be released, students must meet all enrollment and disbursement conditions.
  • Web refunds take approximately 2-4 business days to show in your bank account.

After OSFA checks that disbursement conditions are met, grants, scholarships, waivers and stipends automatically post to the student’s Bursar’s account within 1-2 business days.

Federal Direct Subsidized, Federal Direct Unsubsidized and Federal Direct Graduate PLUS Loans

  1. Accept Federal Direct Subsidized, Federal Direct Unsubsidized and/or Federal Direct Graduate PLUS Loan on your UAccess Student Center.
  2. E-Sign the Federal Direct Subsidized, Federal Direct Unsubsidized and/or Federal Direct Graduate PLUS Master Promissory Note (MPN). You will only need to sign the MPN once per each type of loan, unless you obtain an endorser for your Graduate PLUS loan.
  3. You will need to complete loan entrance counseling with the U.S. Department of Education (ED) if you are a first time Federal Direct borrower at the University of Arizona or a first time borrower at the graduate level (undergraduate students moving to graduate). ED loan entrance counseling can be found on studentaid.gov.
  4. You should receive your Federal Direct Subsidized, Federal Direct Unsubsidized and/or Federal Direct Graduate PLUS Loan in your Bursar’s student account within 2-3 business days of completing all steps listed above. The gross amount of the loan is always paid in two equal halves – half at for the fall term and half for the spring term.
  5. Your loan funds will first pay for any outstanding charges in your Bursar’s student account. If there are any funds remaining, you will receive a refund. The refund takes 2-4 business days to be processed through Web Refund.

Federal Direct Parent PLUS Loans

  1. Your parent must accept the Federal Direct Parent PLUS loan via UAccess Guest Center. Your parents will find instructions to apply via the Guest Center.
  2. The same parent that accepts the Federal Direct Parent PLUS Loan must E-Sign the Federal Direct Parent PLUS Master Promissory Note (MPN). This parent will only need to sign the MPN once for the Parent PLUS Loan, unless your parent obtains an endorser. If a different parent accepts a Parent PLUS Loan, that parent must sign their own MPN.
  3. The Federal Direct Parent PLUS Loan should disburse to your Bursar’s account within 1-2 weeks. The gross amount of the loan is always paid in two equal halves – half for the fall term and half for the spring term.
  4. The funds will first pay for any outstanding charges in your Bursar’s account. If there are any funds remaining, you will receive a refund. The refund takes 2-4 business days to be processed through Web Refund.

Other Loans (Health Professions, Nursing, Loans for the Deaf and Blind, MANN, ASUA, ARMA, etc.)

  1. These loans are automatically accepted in your UAccess Student Center.
  2. E-Sign the Master Promissory Note (MPN) through ECSI. You must sign a new MPN for EACH year.
  3. The gross amount of the loan is always paid in two equal halves – half for the fall term and half for the spring term.
  4. The funds will first pay for any outstanding charges on your Bursar’s account. If there are any funds remaining, you will receive a refund. The refund takes 2-4 business days to be processed through Web Refund.

Private Education Loans

  1. Refer to OSFA's Private Educational Loans webpage for information regarding the Private Education Loans Process.
  2. The funds will first pay for any outstanding charges in your Bursar’s account. If there are any funds remaining, you will receive a refund. The refund takes 2-4 business days to be processed through Web Refund.