Earlier this month, the California State University system announced that 23 universities’ fees will be deferred due lack of state funding for Cal Grants. But Sacramento State students don’t need to worry if the Cal Grants don’t come in on time since the university will be covering funds.

The California Student Aid Commission, a state agency, gives out Cal Grants each year to help those students in financial need. The CSU system said earlier this month in a press release that due to California’s current state budget, Cal Grants will be deferred until Friday, due to lack of funding for the program.

Eric Fallis, CSU public affairs representative, said that this deferment will affect some 65,000 students within the CSU system. An estimated 6,000 students are currently expected to receive Cal Grants at Sac State.

But most of those students won’t even realize the grants went missing in the first place. The fee deferment happens to land on the same day that all university fees are due. The campus has maintained this deadline for almost two years now.

“We give them a fee deferment regardless of the lack of funds from the state,” said Craig Yamamoto, director of financial aid.

This late fee payment date has caused a bit of confusion, considering that this fall and spring so far, the financial aid office has been able to disperse 20 percent more financial aid awards than last year’s fall and spring semesters combined.

Yamamoto said the relatively new system requires a lot more student input than usual.

“Part of the problem is students have to get used to the self-service phase,” Yamamoto said. “There is a lot of stuff students have to do on their MySacState.”

MySacState requires students to fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA. It also allows them to accept or decline financial aid awards, and pay their fees through the system.

So far in the spring 2009 semester, Yamamoto said, the Sac State financial aid office has dispersed about $51 million in grants and loans, which is the first big disbursement of the semester. From here on out, there are weekly disbursements for students who are still solidifying their class schedules.

For the 2007-08 academic year, the Financial Aid Office disbursed $142 million in financial aid awards to about 16,000 students. This included scholarships and stipends.

However, if the grants are not in by Friday’s deferment date, then the university will cover the funds for the deferred Cal Grants out of pocket, hoping the state will eventually reimburse the university once the budget passes, President Alexander Gonzalez said in his spring address.

The CSU system is funded heavily through California taxpayers’ dollars. This causes the state and citizens to ask questions about how the money is spent, who is affected most, and which taxes are on the rise.

The university fees that students pay are only about one-third of the total cost for their higher education as a whole. California is “…about being able to access and afford a high quality education,” said Paula Selleck, public affairs representative from CSU Fullerton.

Some California residents believe strongly in the state’s higher education system, Selleck said.

“Californians have said they value education first,” she said. “We’re putting our money where our mouth is, taking care of education right off the bat. I think that’s one of the greatest things about California.”

Anne Morrison can be reached at [email protected]