Spring Semester Processing of Student Payment Release Forms

Payments are made to Ohio University students for a variety of reasons. The type and purpose of the payment determines how it should be processed and whether it must be reported to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) as taxable income and/or included as a financial aid resource when determining a student’s overall eligibility for federal, state and institutional financial aid and scholarships.

A Student Payment Release Form (SPRF) is used to:

• Request payments be made directly to the student as a “cash award.”   
• Apply payment directly to specific student account charges as a department waiver or discount.  

These payments can be scholarships, prizes or awards, housing or living stipends, educational travel/research awards, experiential learning funding, and departmental tuition payments. 

Process Timing

• For current and prior semester SPRF’s, please allow 3-5 business days.
  • As we approach the end of spring semester, we will be experiencing a higher volume of requests so please submit your requests in a timely manner.
• For next semester SPRF’s, the form will be processed when the first financial aid disbursement occurs, approximately 1 week before the semester starts. 
  • These can be processed earlier if the department requests.  This may occur for students that receive funding for an upcoming study abroad trip.
  • NOTE: Payment for the upcoming Fall semester should not be processed until after 7/1, unless there is a dire need.

Tips for Categorizing Payments on the SPRF 

• If the student payment is an award for recognition of a charitable, scientific, educational, artistic, literary, or civic achievement, the payment should be categorized as a Prize/Awad on the SPRF form.
• If the student payment is to support a student in the pursuit of their studies (e.g. training, research, travel, experiential learning), the payment should be categorized as a Direct Scholarship on the SPRF form.

Questions? Contact bursar@ohio.edu