Drop for Non-Payment Protocol

Students are dropped from their courses if they have an outstanding tuition balance on their student account after the fee payment deadline.

Students in the following categories are exempt from the drop process:

1. Students new to SF State are not dropped for non-payment in their first semester. We send a message to newly admitted students that they won’t be dropped for non-payment so they have the chance to self-drop.
2. Students on an Installment Payment Plan are not dropped if they are in good standing on the plan. Good standing means that they have made all payments on time and in full.
3. Students eligible for federal or state grants, scholarships, or loans are not dropped as long as they have a “Balance deferred by FA” indicator listed in the “Holds and Alerts” section of their Student Center. The Office of Student Financial Aid puts this indicator on:
4. New students who are FAFSA Filers with a valid EFC of $15,672 or lower OR CADAA Filers with valid Cal ISIR received March 2nd or earlier who have a CADA EFC of $8,000 or lower
5. Continuing students with finalized financial aid awards and any amount of disbursable aid or with any amount of estimated scholarship/AmeriCorp funding. Students with an approved Fee Waiver or Third-Party Authorization are not dropped as long as the account is coded/noted on the Account Activity page in the Student Center and any remaining balance is paid by the fee payment deadline.

The Associate Vice President of Fiscal Affairs and the Senior Associate Vice President of Enrollment Management will review the population of students at-risk of being dropped.

A decision will be made, in consultation with the President’s Cabinet, to proceed with or cancel the drop for non-payment.

At-risk students will be notified of the decision through their SF State email address.

Please note, dates provided here are for planning purposes.

The dates for future terms are estimates and are subject to change.

¹Students are not dropped for non-payment in the summer. However, students are still financially responsible for paying their balance. Students who do not meet their financial obligations will have a financial hold applied to their account, and are at risk for being dropped for the subsequent Fall semester.

First Notification:

• The Bursar’s Office will send all students a notification through their SFSU email address about payment due dates the day after they first register for classes
• This communication details the fee payment deadline and provides students with information about payment plans, financial aid, and third-party waivers

Warning/Second Warning: 

• Students at risk of being dropped will be notified through their SFSU email address in advance of the payment deadline that they will be dropped for non-payment if they do not pay their account balance by the fee payment deadline
• We will also provide instructions for making payments online
• Contact information is provided for the Financial Aid and Bursar offices in case a student meets an exception but it has not yet been documented on their record

Text Warning: 

• Students who have a mobile phone on record and are at risk of being dropped will be notified 1 day in advance of the payment deadline that they will be dropped for non-payment if they do not pay their account balance by the payment deadline
• We will refer them to the email received the prior day for further instruction

Students who are dropped will be notified through their SFSU email address that they have been dropped for non-payment.

They will also be notified about the next steps they can take if they still plan to attend.

We also provide contact information for campus services.

Any student who re-registers will have a financial hold placed on their account the day after they re-register.

The financial hold will prevent further registration and will remain in place until their payment has been made in full.