The State of California created the Student Tuition Recovery Fund (STRF) to relieve or mitigate economic losses suffered by students who are California residents or enrolled in a residency program attending certain schools regulated by the Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education and Vocational Education.
Effective January 1, 2015, the fee has been reduced to $0.00 per $1,000. The fee is subject to change in future years based upon legislation passed by the State of California.
The STRF fee was $0.50 per thousand dollars of an institution's charges effective January 1, 2013, through December 31, 2014. Prior to January 1, 2013, the fee was $2.50 per thousand dollars of an institution's charges. Students must pay the state-imposed fee for the Student Tuition Recovery Fund (STRF) if all the following applies to you:
- You are a student who is a California resident and prepays all or part of your tuition by cash, guaranteed student loans, or personal loans, and
- 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:
- You are not a California resident.
- 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.
You may be eligible for STRF if you are a California resident and you prepaid tuition, paid the STRF assessment, and suffered an economic loss as a result of any of the following:
- The school closed before the course of instruction was completed.
- 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.
- 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 costs.
- 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.
- An inability to collect on a judgment against the institution for a violation of the Act.
For those students who would like to file an exempt claim on the STRF fee for a term, you are able to complete the form and remit this to the address noted on the form. The form is available on the Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education website.