Resources

Department of Rehabilitation (DOR) Instructions

The CSUSB Financial Aid Office has processed your application for Financial Aid. Our records indicate you are receiving or have received educational benefits from the California Department of Rehabilitation (DOR).

Before we can determine your true eligibility for grant, work and loan programs, you must submit a completed "DOR Info Exchange" form to our office.

Once we receive this form from the Department of Rehabilitation, we will continue processing your application. If we do not receive the "DOR Info Exchange" form, we will be unable to determine possible additional financial eligibility.

DOR Info Exchange form. Print and follow the instructions.

If you are not a client of the Department of Rehabilitation, please contact the Financial Aid office at (909) 537-5227.

2006/2007 Department of Rehabilitation (DOR)

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Who completes the DOR Info Exchange form?
   The DOR Counselor retrieves obtains the form from the student or can also download the form from the Financial Aid Office website. The DOR Counselor completes the form and faxes it to the Financial Aid Office (FAO) at 909-537-7024.
2. Why does the DOR Counselor complete this form?
   The form is completed by the DOR Counselor to assist in the processing and determining the student's true eligibility for grant, work and loan programs.
3. Can the DOR Counselor prepare this form on a quarter-by-quarter basis?
   The FAO prefers the DOR Counselor completes the form on an annual basis. However, we understand that the DOR can't always predict a student's situation. Therefore, if the DOR Counselor make the best guess possible, and needs to revise or cancel the estimated DOR amount at a later date they can forward a new form to us and we will revise the award appropriately.
4. What happens if the DOR Counselor does not complete this form?
   The FAO has completed the process of awarding grants. The student will not be considered for any further financial aid other than what they have been awarded.
5. How does the DOR Counselor get the CSUSB Grant award letter information?
   The DOR counselor cannot retrieve a copy of the student's grant award letter, unless the student authorizes it. The student's been instructed to provide the (DOR) counselor with the item necessary to evaluate their DOR file. In order for the student to retrieve a copy of his/her grant award letter, they must go to http://finaid.csusb.edu and click on "Check Status" under "My Financial Aid". Once they have downloaded the grant award letter, they then proceed to "Download" forms under "Bulletin" to download the "DOR Info Exchange" form. Both grant award letter and DOR Info exchange form is to be provided to the DOR counselor for evaluation.
6. Can the DOR Counselor give the form to the student to complete or take to the Financial Aid Office?
   We prefer the DOR Counselor fax it to us. We don't know the DOR Counselor's signature but we will recognize the Fax identification line on the fax and will know that a DOR staff member and not the student completed the "DOR" info exchange form.
7. Why can't Financial Aid ignore DOR funds?
   The DOR regulations and the Title IV regulations have similar sounding phrases in them. However, the Title IV regulations at 34 CFR 673.05 (e) require ..."The institution shall take into account those resources it -- I) Can reasonably anticipate at the time it awards… , or (iii) Otherwise knows about." Further specific guidance has been provided to the Financial Aid community in the Federal Student Aid Handbook (03-04, page 1-124, paragraph 2), which goes on to direct the FAO, that it" ...must coordinate funds available from the vocational rehabilitation agency and from institutional, state, and federal student financial assistance programs to prevent an over-award. The amount of assistance from the vocational rehabilitation agency must be documented in the student's file." What the Title IV regulations mean specifically is that the FAO should ignore DOR funds paid to or on behalf of students for expenses related to their disability. So, if the DOR purchases a special device (like a wheel chair or a hearing aid) or pays another disability related expense, the FAO does not consider that kind of assistance as a "resource," nor does it consider the cost of that device in the student's "Cost of Attendance allowance". However, when the DOR is paying for something that all students (including non-disabled students) must pay, (for example, tuition and fees, books, ordinary transportation expenses) then the FAO is mandated by the Federal regulations that govern the Title IV Financial Aid programs to "resource coordinate". This means that it must look at other sources of funds available to students to assure that students do not receive more than the total "Cost of Attendance", or an "Over-award" and document that in the student's file.
8. What is an "Over-Award" and why should the DOR counselor care about an "Over-Award"?
   An "Overaward" exists when a financial aid recipient has received more money from the financial aid programs (and other programs – like DOR assistance for non-disability related expenses) than they should, they have exceeded the absolute ceiling (or cap) set in the federal regulations (either the Cost of Attendance" or student's "Need"). If the Financial Aid Office has an Overaward, they have a serious problem. The Federal government requires the institution to repay the "over-awarded amount" out of institutional funds or to collect it back from the student.