Admissions
Student Tuition Recovery Fund
The Student Tuition Recovery Fund (STRF) was established by the Legislature to protect any California resident who attends a private postsecondary institution from losing money if the student prepaid tuition and suffered a financial loss as a result of the Institute closing, failing to live up to its enrollment agreement, or refusing to pay a court judgment.
To be eligible for STRF, the student must be a “California resident” and reside in California at the time the enrollment agreement is signed or when receiving lessons at a California mailing address form an approved institution offering correspondence instruction. Students who are temporarily residing in California for the sole purpose of pursuing an education, specifically those who hold student visas, are not considered “California residents.”
You must pay the state-imposed assessment for the Student Tuition Recovery Fund (STRF) if all of the following applies to you: 1) You are a student, who is a California resident and prepays all or part of your tuition either by cash, guaranteed student loans, or personal loans, and 2) Your total charges are not paid by any third-party payer such as an employer, government program or other payer unless you have a separate agreement to repay the third party. You are not eligible for protection from the STRF and you are not required to pay the STRF assessment, if either of the following applies: 1) You are not a California resident. 2) Your total charges are paid by a third party, such as an employer, government program or other payer, and you have no separate agreement to repay the third party.”
The State of California created the Student Tuition Recovery Fund (STRF) to relieve or mitigate economic losses suffered by California residents who were students attending certain schools regulated by the Bureau for Private Postsecondary and Vocational Education. You may be eligible for STRF if you are a California resident, prepaid tuition, paid the STRF assessment, and suffered an economic loss as a result of any of the following:
- 1. The school closed before the course of instruction was completed.
- 2. The school’s failure to pay refunds or charges on behalf of a student to a third party for license fees or any other purpose, or to provide equipment or materials for which a charge was collected within 180 days before the closure of the school.
- 3. The school’s failure to pay or reimburse loan proceeds under a federally guaranteed student loan program as required by law or to pay or reimburse proceeds received by the school prior to closure in excess of tuition and other cost.
- 4. There was a decline in the quality of the course of instruction within 30 days before the school closed or, if the decline began earlier than 30 days prior to closure, the period of decline determined by the Bureau.
- 5. An inability to collect on a judgment against the institution for a violation of the Act.
To qualify for STRF reimbursement a student must file a STRF application within one year of receiving notice from the Council. The student has 4 years from the date of closure to file a STRF application. If a judgment is obtained the student must file a STRF application within two years of the final judgment.
It is important that students keep copies of the enrollment agreement, financial aid papers, receipts or any other information that documents the monies paid to the Institute.