A Federal Aid disbursement is the release of Federal Student Loan funds by the US government to the University to cover tuition fees, and any remaining balance is paid to the student for living expenses.
Tuition fee payments
Federal Direct Loan funds are disbursed in instalments throughout the academic year. As a standard process, the University will first apply the funds towards the tuition fee amount allocated to that disbursement, as outlined in your Award Letter.
If the loan disbursement exceeds the tuition fee allocation for that payment period, any remaining funds (known as a credit balance) will be released to you to assist with eligible living and study-related expenses included in the Cost of Attendance, such as accommodation, food, transportation, and personal expenses. Where a Parent PLUS Loan has been borrowed, any credit balance will normally be released to you unless the parent borrower has indicated that they wish to receive the funds directly. In such cases, the credit balance will be paid to the parent borrower in accordance with the instructions provided during the loan application process.
Please note that a credit balance is not guaranteed. If a loan disbursement is equal to the tuition fee allocation for that payment period, no credit balance will be available for release. Similarly, if a loan disbursement is insufficient to cover the tuition fee allocation, you will remain responsible for paying any outstanding tuition fee balance and may be required to make additional payments directly to the University.
We encourage you to review your Award Letter carefully to understand how your Federal Aid will be applied and whether you are likely to receive a credit balance during the academic year. If you have questions regarding loan disbursements or tuition fee payments specific to your circumstances, please email the Federal Aid Team on federalaid@derby.ac.uk
Receiving the credit balance
Students can choose to have any eligible credit balance paid into either a UK or a US bank account. Payments are made in GBP (British Pounds), so it is important to consider which option is most suitable for your circumstances.
While you may use a US bank account, please be aware that currency conversion fees and exchange rate fluctuations may apply. In some cases, funds may be converted more than once before they are available to you. For this reason, many students find it more practical to use a UK bank account once they have arrived in the UK, although it can take some time to set one up after enrolment.
You can update your bank details during the academic year. However, it is your responsibility to ensure that the Federal Aid Team is informed of any changes before your next loan disbursement is processed, so that funds are paid to the correct account.
Please note that you will need to pay for any accommodation charges from the credit balance you receive, as we do not cover accommodation charges automatically.
Timing of the first disbursement
Once your total funds have been determined the process of disbursing those funds to you does not begin until you have officially confirmed your enrolment in person. Prior to your arrival you will be able to see when you can expect to receive your first disbursement on your Award Letter.
This will usually be two weeks after teaching has started, or 30 days after for first-time borrowers studying an undergraduate course.
It is very important that you bring enough funds to support yourself during the time you are awaiting your first disbursement of funds.
Frequency of disbursements
For undergraduate students your funds will be disbursed in two equal instalments, spread evenly throughout the year (September/October and February). For postgraduate students it will be in three instalments (September/October, February and June). Please note that this example is for September start students only. January start students will be on a different disbursement schedule based on the start date for the intake.
Changing or cancelling your loan
If you wish to increase your US federal loans during the academic year and you have not previously requested the maximum in your Cost of Attendance (CoA), please email federalaid@derby.ac.uk Please note that you cannot borrow more than the maximum COA figure.
If you wish to decrease your US Federal Loans, please email federalaid@derby.ac.uk to request this. Please note that the reduction will be spread across any remaining disbursements.
If you wish to cancel your loan, please email federalaid@derby.ac.uk at least two weeks before your next scheduled disbursement. This allows sufficient time for us to process your request before the funds are released.
There is a limited period after a disbursement has been received during which you can ask the University to return the funds to the US Department of Education. Please note that if the payment has already been made to you, you will be responsible for any associated bank charges or fees.
If the timeframe for cancelling your loan through the University has passed, you can still make a repayment directly to your loan servicer.
Please be aware that if you cancel your federal loan after receiving any disbursement, you will also be required to complete Exit Counselling.
NSLDS and deferring a previous loan
In line with Federal Regulations, the University of Derby is required to report your enrolment status to the US Department of Education through the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS) every 60 days. If you are reported as studying full-time or at least half-time, this will normally allow you to maintain a deferred repayment status on any Federal loans you took out before beginning your studies with us.
For students enrolled on part-time programmes, you will usually need to be studying at least at a half-time pace to qualify for loan deferment with most loan servicers. If your enrolment is below half-time and you are unsure about your eligibility for deferment, we recommend contacting your loan servicer directly for advice, even if your enrolment has been reported through NSLDS.
If you do not intend to borrow whilst studying at the University of Derby, but have previous loans, you will need to advise your loan servicer that you are 'in-school' and request that they send you a Deferment Form. You need to complete your details on the form and email it to federalaid@derby.ac.uk so that it can be certified.
Please note that we are not able to sign any deferment forms until after you have enrolled and started your course.
Changing the status of your studies
If the status of your studies changes at any point throughout the year, you must email federalaid@derby.ac.uk to let us know for any of the following circumstances:
- Transfer course (for Student Visa holders changing your course may have consequences for your visa. To find our more, please visit our visa page, or email the International Student Compliance Team on internationalcompliance@derby.ac.uk )
- Withdraw from your course
- Go on a Break in Learning (BIL)
- Complete course earlier than expected
- Change from full-time to half-time or less than half-time
Under US Federal Law the University is required to report any changes to your enrolment within specific timescales.
For students who withdraw from their studies, go on a Break in Learning for more than 180 days or complete their studies earlier than expected, it may be necessary to complete a Return to Title IV (R2T4) calculation, and arrange for the return any 'unearned' funds to the US Department of Education.
If you are thinking of changing the status of your studies and want to know what your US Federal Loan entitlement will be, please contact the Federal Aid Team.
Read our full R2T4 Policy
Satisfactory Academic Progress
All students who receive Federal Aid whilst studying at the University of Derby are required to make Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) in order to continue to be eligible to receive funding. This policy relates specifically to US students in receipt of Federal Aid.
The University of Derby evaluates a student’s academic progression prior to the start of each payment period for masters and research students, and prior to the beginning of each year after the first year for undergraduate students. Students must be meeting both the qualitative and quantitative requirements outlined below to maintain the SAP requirements.
Read our full SAP Policy