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Payments to Students, Faculty, and Staff
Per federal law, a school must examine all federal, state, institutional, private, and other sources of educational financial assistance in determining eligibility for student aid. Any educational benefits paid because of enrollment in a postsecondary education institution must be considered Estimated Financial Assistance and must be reported to the Financial Aid Department, regardless of whether the benefit is called a scholarship, award, grant, stipend, or another term. In addition, the University has a Federal requirement to report these payments to a student on an annual 1098T Tuition Tax Statement.
In order to comply with governmental reporting requirements, all financial assistance made to students (excluding payroll) must be processed through the PeopleSoft Student Financial Services module and posted to the Student's Account.
Payments to Students:
- If the activity is related to employment services performed for the university, the compensation must be processed as wages with appropriate income taxes withheld.
- If the activity is related to an educational learning experience or participating in a research project, a student award or stipend would be the appropriate payment.
- Students who volunteer on campus are not eligible for gift cards in lieu of compensation for work or services performed
Wages are defined as a payment for services made under an employer/employee relationship where the University receives a benefit from the services provided. If payment for wages is earned as an employee of the University, the payment must be processed through the Human Resource and Payroll processing procedures.
| Sponsored Programs Foundation (SPF) Trust | Student Award Request Form |
| Foundation (ADV) Trust | Student Award Request Form |
| Associated Students (AS) Trust | Student Award Request Form |
| Campus Department (CMP) Trust | Student Award Request Form |
| Humboldt Scholarship Trust (SJxxx) | Coordinate with Financial Aid Office |
If there are past-due fees owed by the student, the award will first apply to charges past due. Any remaining amount will be refunded to the student.
To initiate a payment to a student from any department or business unit the requester completes a “Student Award Request Form”. The form can be found below. The completed form is submitted to Student Financial Services (SBS 285) or email cash@humboldt.edu. If you wish to utilize DocuSign to submit your form, please contact 707-826-4407.
If there are past-due fees owed by the student, the award will first apply to charges past due. Any remaining amount will be refunded to the student. Exceptions can be requested by contacting Student Financial Services at 707-826-4407. This may include special award presentations to students.
Payments will be processed weekly by Student Financial Services. Once the payment is available, the student is notified by email that a check is available for pick-up at the Cashiers' Office. If the Student has enrolled in direct deposit, the student receives an email notifying them that the funds are being transferred into their bank account. If the student would like to enroll in direct deposit, this can be done by accessing their student center and clicking “Enroll in Direct Deposit” under the Finances section in their Student Center. Student Financial Services coordinates with the Financial Aid department daily with detailed information regarding the students receiving awards. The Financial Aid department will work directly with students if the award impacts their Cost-Of-Attendance (COA) and Financial Aid award package.
Information Needed to Fill out the Form:
- Student’s name
- Humboldt ID number
- Amount of award
- Distribution frequency of the award
- Specific dates for distribution
- Chartfield from which the award will be paid from
- Student Authorizations-(HMSPF Only)- If the student is required to certify that they have participated in the program prior to receiving any payments, a separate request form must be submitted for each payment (found here).
For more information about third party payments for organizations covering the cost of student's fees, click here.
Student Gift Card Policy:
All financial support to students must be reported to the Financial Aid Office, including gift cards from the University. If a student receives awards that would cause their total aid from all sources to exceed the Cost of Attendance (COA), then adjustments must be made to their Financial Aid package. This may cause a negative effect on students if multiple gift cards are awarded after their financial aid disburses and is in excess of their COA. Students may have to pay back a portion of their financial aid or reduce their award package.
When is a student gift card/cash equivalent appropriate?
- For infrequent participation in a survey, research study, or attending a campus activity or event.
- When no other awarding option is viable or suitable.
When is a student gift card/cash equivalent not appropriate?
- If the activity is related to employment services performed for the university, the compensation must be processed as wages with appropriate income taxes withheld.
- Students who volunteer on campus are not eligible for gift cards in lieu of compensation for work or services performed (see the CSU Volunteer Policy).
Process and Procedure:
- Faculty, staff, administrators, and student organizations should first consider the use of the preestablished process of compensating or rewarding students (see Student Awards above).
- If a gift card is necessary, the university has established a de minimis threshold of $25. Students receiving a gift card of $25 or less will not need to be reported to the Financial Aid Office or Student Financial Services.
- Any amount of $26 or more is reportable and is required to be pre-approved by the Financial Aid Office as it may affect the student's other financial aid.
- Prior to the distribution of gift cards of $26 or more, the person responsible for the distribution will provide a Gift Card Pre-Authorization List of all recipients to Student Financial Services including the student's full name, student ID, gift card amount, and the gift card issuer. Once approved, the Gift Card Pre-Authorization List will be returned to the distributor to obtain the student’s signature verifying they received the gift card. A copy of the form with the student signatures will then be returned to Student Financial Services for IRS reporting and auditing purposes, and a copy will be kept by the distributor for their records.
Staff/Faculty Gift Card Policy:
- Cal Poly Humboldt staff and faculty MAY NOT be the recipient of a gift card per the University Gift Card Guidelines