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Financial Services
Hope Book Funds
Hope regulations now require that institutions make Hope Book funds available to students and specifically that institutions not automatically use Hope book funds to pay other student account charges.
When a student who is eligible for Hope Book Funds logs onto BannerWEB, he or she will now have to choose one of the following options:
- Elect to authorize VSU to use any Hope Books monies to pay other expenses, such as Housing and Meal Plans. You may cancel this authorization at any time prior to incurring such payment of charges, but you may not cancel it once such payment of charges has been made on your behalf. To cancel your authorization, you must do so in writing with the Office of Financial Aid, OR
- Elect NOT to authorize VSU to use any Hope Books monies to pay other expenses. If a student chooses this option, VSU will automatically post Hope Book money to a Flex account with the VSU 1Card Office on January 4, 2006 and daily thereafter. Please note that this option may mean that you will be required to pay out-of-pocket for tuition, room and meal plans to meet established fee payment deadlines.
The following example is provided for your review: An in-state student registering for 12+ hours on campus with housing and a meal plan would incur the following charges:
| Tuition | 1219 |
| Mandatory Fees | 420 |
| Residence Hall | 1374 |
| Meal Plan | 1276 |
| TOTAL | 4289 |
Assuming this student is Hope eligible, he or she would have authorized financial aid as follows:
| Hope | 1543 |
| Hope Books | 150 |
| TOTAL | 1693 |
Under old regulations, a student would have to pay $2,596 (4,289-1,693) by the fee payment deadline, as Hope Book monies would be applied to the balance due on the student’s account.
However, according to the strictest implementation of the new regulations, the student would now have to pay $2,746 by the fee payment deadline (4,289-1,543) and receive Hope Book money separately.
Frequently Asked Questions on Hope Books:
- Why was my Hope Book money put on a Flex Account?
You either made no election or elected NOT to authorize VSU to use Hope Book money to pay other account charges such as housing and meal plans.
- How do I use a Flex Account?
The authorization agreement is available at http://services.valdosta.edu/1card/flex.pdf. Please visit the VSU 1Card webpage for details on how to use your VSU Flex account. http://services.valdosta.edu/1card/
- How can I get the Flex money back to my student account to pay my balance due?
Visit the 1Card office where they will verify that Flex money has not been spent and if not, they will re-apply the money to your student account balance. You can also complete a Flex Account Refund Request Form online. Limited ability to move Flex funds is available in the University Bursary.
- How can I get the Flex money back to purchase books somewhere other than VSU? How long will this take?
Simply request a Refund from your Flex account. You can also complete a Flex Account Refund Request Form online or you may obtain a form at the 1Card office at 1204 North Patterson Street. Information also exists on the 1Card web page, http://services.valdosta.edu/1card/
- Useful Links
If you have any questions, please email Bob Green at bmgreen@valdosta.edu or call the University Bursary at (229) 333-5718, 333-5719, 333-5725 or 1-800-618-1878 (option 6).