Administrative Announcements August 15 - August 22, 2016

Externships

The Fall 2016 Externship Application deadline has been EXTENDED to Monday, August 15 (original deadline was Wednesday, August 10)

Updated Fall 2016 Externship Applications are available online and in the Externship Programs Office (KN 235). Questions, please call 415-422-4467 or email akgreen@usfca.edu.

Financial Aid

FAFSA for 2016-17
Financial Aid Update Requests
Important Notice Regarding Fall 2016 Tuition Bill
Financial Aid Disbursement Date & Aid Refunds
Important Information for 2L, 3L and 4L Part Time Evening Students Regarding Add/Drop
Federal Work Study Award Cancellation Notice
Loan Payment Deferments

FAFSA for 2016-17

The FAFSA for the Fall 2016/Spring 2017 academic year is available online. Any student who wishes to receive financial aid for the 2016-17 year can still apply for aid and should complete the FAFSA as soon as possible if you have not already done so. You can access the FAFSA online at www.fafsa.ed.gov. Our Title IV code is 001325 and must be listed on your FAFSA.

If you have already paid your fall semester bill with personal funds or signed up for the payment plan, you can utilize any Authorized Financial Aid received later in the semester for tuition expenses or living expenses. Any Authorized Financial Aid funds received AFTER your tuition bill is paid with personal funds would be refunded to you.

Once you are offered the Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loan for the 2016-17 academic year, you must “accept” the Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loan online via your myUSF student portal as soon as possible.

If you need additional financial aid besides the Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loan, you can apply for Federal Direct Graduate PLUS loan, which is a credit based loan offered through the federal government. You must first be awarded and “accept” the maximum Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loan before you can apply for a PLUS Loan. You can apply for a PLUS Loan online at the www.studentloans.gov website. Instructions for applying online are available at https://www.usfca.edu/law/admissions/tuition-aid/jd/deadlines-documents

New Loan Borrowers Only: If you are a first time Unsubsidized Loan and/or PLUS Loan borrower, you must complete a Master Promissory Note (MPN) and an Online Entrance Counseling Session for each loan at www.studentloans.gov. Failure to complete these requirements will prevent your Loan(s) from being noted as Authorized Financial Aid and will NOT be disbursed to USF.

Financial Aid Update Requests

Adjustments to your financial aid can be made for students who incur non-standard expenses such as bar fees, childcare, or unanticipated medical or dental expenses. Inquiries on financial aid adjustments should be sent to Rosanna Woods, the Assistant Director for Law Financial Aid, at rlwoods@usfca.edu or call 415.422.6210.

Important: In order to prevent any delay in processing your fall semester aid disbursement on August 15 and the subsequent refund processing the following day on August 16, requests for aid adjustments will not be processed until August 22.

Important Notice Regarding Fall 2016 Tuition Bill

Fall 2016 tuition was due on August 1. Please be sure to check your student account record via yourmyUSF student portal to insure that you do not have any outstanding tuition charges.

If your student account remains unpaid and you still have a balance due on your account you will also be assessed a 1.5% fee on any outstanding balance due and you will have a Hold placed on your student record, which could prevent you from adding or dropping classes on August 18, or receiving certain student services, such as requesting transcripts, or registering for the Spring 2017 semester.

You will need to pay any outstanding tuition charges with personal funds or sign up for the 4 month payment plan and make the first installment for Fall 2016. Payment plan information is available online at: https://myusf.usfca.edu/onestop/billing-tuition/payment-plan

Financial Aid Disbursement Date & Aid Refunds

The earliest scheduled disbursement date for registered students for Fall 2016 financial aid will occuron Monday, August 15. Once financial aid funds disburse, your fall semester charges will be paid off and any remaining credit after your bill is paid will be refunded to you. The refund process will beginon Tuesday, August 16. If you are expecting a refund and you are enrolled in direct deposit refund processing, you can expect to receive your refund in your designated bank account approximately 2-5 business days AFTER the August 15 disbursement date. Spring 2017 disbursement date is scheduled for January 3, 2017.

If you are relying on your refund to help with the purchase of your books or other cost of living expenses for the fall semester, please plan your finances carefully as you may not receive your refund until the first week of classes. Receipt of refunds vary depending on your banking institution. Larger, national banks take shorter time to process electronic transfer of funds compared to smaller banks or credit unions. If you are not enrolled in the direct deposit refund process, a paper check refund will be cut 10-15 business days AFTER the August 17 disbursement date and mailed to your current mailing address.

If you are receiving federal loans, please remember that the Department of Education withholds loan origination fees for both the Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loan (1.073%) and the Federal Direct Graduate PLUS Loan (4.292%). These fees are deducted from the fall portion of your loan aid PRIOR to disbursement.

Aid will continue to be disbursed throughout each semester as individual student financial aid files become complete later in the term and/or additional federal or private loan applications are processed and approved.

Important Information for 2L, 3L and 4L Part Time Students Regarding Add/Drop

Late registration and Add/Drop begins on Thursday, August 18, AFTER you have already been processed for a financial aid refund. Adjustments to your financial aid may be necessary if any of the following situations occur during Add/Drop:

If you have received the maximum financial aid award for 20 annual units but you are registered for less than 10 units for the fall semester as of August 15, your aid refund will be in excess of your anticipated cost of living expenses for the fall semester. If you are not planning on adding any additional units, you will be required to return the excess financial aid awarded to you since you cannot receive aid for units that you are not registered for.
If you Add a class after your refund has been processed, you will be immediately billed for the additional units. You will need to submit a payment with personal funds to pay for the additional units (or make a personal payment using the funds you received as a refund). If you are already receiving the maximum financial aid for the semester prior to the addition of your added class, you can request additional financial aid to cover the cost of the additional units. For more information, please contact Rosanna Woods, the Assistant Director for Law Financial Aid at rlwoods@usfca.edu.
If you Drop a class after your refund has been processed, with the intention of adding another class with the same unit value, you must Add and Drop on the same day, otherwise you run the risk of a an outstanding tuition balance due on your USF student account.
If you Drop a class after your refund has been processed, and you do not intend to add another class, you will create a credit on your USF student account. You must notify the Law Financial Aid Office immediately by contacting Rosanna woods, the Assistant Director for Law Financial Aid at rlwoods@usfca.edu. Otherwise you will be inadvertently issued a refund for this credit, which you will be required to repay the University since you are not eligible to receive financial aid for this dropped class.

Important: The Law Financial Aid Office will conduct an audit of all Part Time students' financial aid records after the September 9 census date (last day to withdraw without penalty). If your financial aid for the fall semester is not appropriate for the unit load you are registered, we will make the necessary adjustments to your aid and you will be notified via email. Please remember that any over-award (receiving financial aid in excess of your unit load), will result in the USF One Stop Office returning those funds to the lender and creating a balance due on your USF student account. It is critically important that you review your student account after the census date to insure that your account is reconciled. Any unpaid balance will result in late fees assessed on your student account and a Hold placed on your student record, which will prevent you from registering for the spring semester.

Federal Work Study Award Cancellation Notice

Please be aware that if you were awarded the Federal Work Study award for the upcoming 2016-17 and you did NOT accept this award via your myUSF student portal within 30 days of the award offer, the main campus University Financial Aid Office will be cancelling that award amount from your USF financial aid record.

You can petition for reinstatement of this aid by submitting a written letter to Norman Caito, USF Director of University Financial Aid Student Services. Letters can be faxed to his attention at 415.422.6084, or can be dropped off at the USF One Stop Office at Lone Mountain, room 251. Petitions for reinstatement should include your name and USF ID number and the following:

The reason why a student did not accept the Federal Work Study aid in a timely manner.
The financial hardship a student would experience without the Federal Work Study aid.

Please note that you cannot submit a letter of appeal via email. The last day to submit an appeal is November 1.

Loan Payment Deferments

The main campus University Registrar will forward fall class registration confirmation for all USF registered students to a national clearinghouse used by federal and private lenders to verify enrollment for its loan borrowers. The information is sent in mid-September after the Law School census deadline (last day to withdraw with full tuition refund). The enrollment confirmation is used by lenders to continue your loan payment deferments while enrolled in school.

If you have any other questions related to your financial aid, please feel free to contact either AlanGuerrero at guerrero@usfca.edu or Rosanna Woods at rlwoods@usfca.edu or call 415.422.6210. We wish you all a very successful fall semester! Take care!

Intellectual Property Law Bulletin

Seeking 2L and 3L Staff Members

The USF Intellectual Property Law Bulletin is currently seeking staff members for Volume 21. Staff members help prepare articles and surveys for publication. Tasks include collecting sources as well as substantive, grammatical, and technical editing on all types of intellectual property and Internet law articles.

This is a great opportunity to be exposed to the legal writing and editing process. If you would like to become a staff member and have not already indicated your interest, please email the Editor-in-Chief, Kacee Taylor, at kctaylor@usfca.edu for application materials. Please include "IPLB - Application for Staff Member" in the subject line. Applications are due by Sunday, August 28th at 11:59 p.m.

Moot Court

Advocate of the Year Competition

The Advocate of the Year Competition is USF’s annual internal oral argument competition. This competition is not just for Moot Court team members; it’s a great opportunity for all students to network and improve their writing and oral advocacy skills. All upper division students are invited to write a 16-20 page brief (due 9/20) and argue both sides of the problem in front of current judges and lawyers in the first round of competition (10/1-10/2). There are three rounds of competition. Students advance based on their performance in each round.

Office of Student Affairs

MUNI Passes

Fall MUNI Passes go on sale Wednesday, August 10.

Passes are valid from September 2, 2016 to January 24, 2017 and can be purchased for $150 – an approximate 40% discount from the regular monthly price!

Students must submit a ticket to purchase a pass by August 24 at midnight. Passes must be purchased with Dons Dollars. Students will not receive a confirmation of their purchase until after the deadline, so be sure to have sufficient funds in your Dons Dollars account at midnight on August 24. Directions on how to submit a ticket can be found here.

Passes will be available for pick up in the Student Boulevard during the following times:

Friday, September 2, from 12:00 – 1:30 pm
Tuesday, September 6, from 12:00 – 1:30 pm
Tuesday, September 6, from 5:00 – 6:30 pm

All uncollected passes can be picked up in the Deans’ Office during regular business hours between Wednesday, September 7 and Friday, September 16.

Any questions regarding the purchase form, process, or completion of form can be directed to Ilisha Graham from One Card at irgraham@usfca.edu.

Any questions about distribution, please contact the Program Assistant for Student Affairs, Megan Watt, at mwatt@usfca.edu.

SF Aloha Run - September 25

The Office of Student Affairs would like to encourage students to join members of the faculty and staff for the San Francisco Aloha Run on September 25. If students register themselves, we will reimburse students for $20 towards their event registration.

Runners will receive a San Francisco Aloha Run runner's shirt with their registration and there will be a post-run celebration at Crissy Field. Register here and contact Megan Watt at mwatt@usfca.edu for more information and for reimbursement.

Pro Bono

MUNI Passes

LARC: The Justice & Diversity Center of the Bar Association of San Francisco Bar Association organizes and sponsors the Legal Advice and Referral Clinic (“LARC”). At these clinics, low-income clients receive legal advice and referrals from experienced attorneys in various areas of the law, including personal injury, contracts, collection defense, eviction defense, employment, immigration, and criminal defense.

What do law students do? When law students volunteer at LARC, they will be conducting client intakes. This means that they will be the first person to meet with the client to understand what the client’s issues and concerns are. By asking meaningful questions and listening carefully, law students will be able to complete an intake form, which will be used by the experienced attorneys to provide appropriate advice and referrals to the client.
Law students can also volunteer to be interpreters. Many of the clients that come to LARC speak Spanish, Mandarin, and Cantonese, so law students with language abilities play an important part of the legal process when providing interpreting services for clients and attorneys at LARC.
What training do law students need? The Justice & Diversity staff members provide a brief training to all volunteers before LARC opens its doors to clients.
What is the time commitment? LARC will be on Saturday, August 27, from 10:30-2:30 pm.
Where is the LARC clinic? The Bayview location of LARC is located at Providence Baptist Church, 1601 McKinnon Ave. (cross-street is Mendell, one block East of 3rd Street), San Francisco, CA 94124.
How do students sign up? Law students should email probono@usfca.edu as soon as possible. There are limited spaces, so sign up now!