Student Financial Responsibility Agreement Exemptions
Purpose: This document provides background on the request to develop a local college exception process for students who should not be required to sign the Student Financial Responsibility Agreement (SFRA).
Background and Process for Local College SFRA Exemptions
During the SFRA go-live process, many CTCs identified specific student populations they believed should be exempt from signing the agreement. By the time of go-live, the State Board determined that only the following student populations would be systematically exempted:
- Students under 18 years of age
- Students in the Department of Corrections (DOC) program
- Students in Continuing Education (CNED)
On March 3, 2026 the SF Team received official direction from the State Board Executive Leadership to move forward with development of a ctcLink process that would allow colleges to locally exempt selected students from receiving the systematic SFRA hold that prevents registration.
Because the SFRA process is managed one year at a time, this exemption must be applied annually for each aid year, covering Summer through Spring terms. This annual structure aligns with guidance previously provided by the Washington State Office of the Attorney General.
Step 1: Identify the Student Population
Each college must first determine:
- Which students should be exempt from signing the SFRA.
- Why those students should be exempt.
Colleges should ensure the rationale for exemption is documented and locally supportable. It is the colleges responsibility to provide documentation during audits.
Step 2: Remove the Existing SFA Service Indicator
For students identified for exemption, the college must remove the existing SFA service indicator from the student account.
This should not be done during the globally scheduled mass assignment jobs which run daily at:
- 12:00 pm
- 8:00 pm
Removing the indicator during those times could interfere with the system-administered process.
Please refer to the Add, Edit and Release Service Indicators QRG.
Step 3: Apply the Exemption Service Indicator
Immediately after removing the SFA service indicator, the college must assign the new BFN global service indicator SFRA Hold Local Exemption.
You must enter a term within the current annual SFRA cycle, this is necessary so the SBCTC administered jobs recognize the student as exempt in the specific year.
Please note: Colleges may remove the SFA hold by following the QRG listed below. This service indicator is built into the State Board’s automated processes that monitor and release holds. When the system detects the BFN service indicator, it prevents the SFRA hold from being reapplied to the student.
Please refer to Add, Edit and Release Service Indicators QRG.
Step 4: Maintain Documentation
Colleges should carefully document:
- Which students were exempted
- Why they were exempted
- Who approved the exemption
- When the exemption was applied
This documentation is especially important when exemptions extend beyond the student groups previously recognized in statewide guidance.
Step 5: Review Local Communications Impact
Colleges should also review any local communication processes tied to newly assigned SFA service indicators.
Because this process involves removing and replacing service indicators, it may affect automated communications or reports that monitor SFA posting activity.
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