SDAS, Registrar, or Financial Aid?  

What is the difference between Student and Departmental Account Services, the Registrar, and Financial Aid? These three departments may seem similar, but they manage different things. Learn how to tell them apart and what issues each can help you with.

Office of Student Financial Aid

The Office of Student Financial Aid is the place to go to find out how to apply for and manage your need- and merit-based financial aid, including:

• scholarships and grants
• loans
• Federal Work Study (FWS) and Student Wage positions

You will generally start with filling out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) but some scholarships have separate application processes. The Financial Aid office can assist you in filling out the required paperwork and answer any related questions you have.

Student and Departmental Account Services

We, the Student and Departmental Account Services (SDAS), will help you with most issues involving payments and fees. You may know our department by our former name, the Bursar.

More specifically, SDAS helps with:

• billing and payment for tuition and fees
• setting up tuition payment plans
• emergency loans
• tuition refunds
• setting up direct deposit
• collections and delinquent accounts
• 1098-T tax credit information
• third party or sponsored billing

Office of the Registrar

The Office of the Registrar handles course enrollment and academic records, including grades.

If you’re a student, the registrar can help you:

• register for, add, and drop classes
• petition to change class add or drop dates
• access grades
• order and view transcripts
• file for graduation
• change residency status
• maintain academic records

You can do many of these things quickly and easily online with LOUIE or in person at the Office of the Registrar.

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) is a law that protects the privacy of academic records—you can learn more about it with the help of the Registrar.