Student Tuition Recovery Fund

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 schools approved by, or registered to offer Short-term Career Training with the Bureau for Private Postsecondary and Vocational Education (Bureau).

You may be eligible for STRF if you are a California resident, prepaid tuition, paid the STRF fee, 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.

The school’s breach or anticipatory breach of the agreement for the course of instruction.

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, a time period of decline determined by the Bureau.

The school committed fraud during the recruitment or enrollment or program participation of the student.

You may also be eligible for STRF if you were a student that was unable to collect a court judgment rendered against the school for violation of the Private Postsecondary and Vocational Education Reform Act of 1989.

You must pay the state-imposed fee for the Student Tuition Recovery Fund (STRF) if all of the following applies to you: 1) You are a student, who is a CA 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 a third party, such as an employer, government program or other payer, and you have no 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 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.