Student Accounts: Refunds

Tuition Refunds

Students are admitted to the University of Portland with the understanding they will remain until the end of the semester. The University makes commitments to the faculty and staff based on student enrollment. These commitments are not subject to change, even though enrollment may vary. For this reason, when students register for classes, they are responsible for payment of incurred charges whether or not they attend.  To have the charges removed students must process a drop or withdrawal through the Registrar's office within the refund period. Certain programs have special refund schedules and students are encouraged to consult with their program office to determine if a special schedule applies. If a student is dismissed or suspended, no part of the tuition and fees including room and board for the remainder of the semester will be refunded. If a student finds it necessary to withdraw from specific courses or to withdraw completely, the following policies apply:

Fall & Spring Tuition Refunds

In all cases of withdrawal, whether complete or partial, and counting from the first day courses begin each semester, the following refund schedule applies:

During the first week - 100% of tuition and fees
During the second week - 75% of tuition
During the third week - 50% of tuition
During the fourth week - 25% of tuition
After the fourth week - No refunds

Tuition refunds are effective from the date a completed application to withdraw or drop courses is received in the Office of the Registrar, not from the last day of attendance. If you must withdraw after the refund period due to unusual circumstances, you may contact the Office of Student Accounts to apply for an exception to the refund policy.
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Summer Tuition Refunds

Refunds are calculated from the date your application for refund is approved, not from the date attendance is discontinued. You need to process the appropriate course drop or withdrawal paperwork by the deadlines specified in order to be eligible for a refund.

Eight-week Courses
Tuition refunds are given only during the initial two weeks of class. During the first week, you are eligible for a 100% refund: during the second week 40% refund. 

Six-Week Courses
Tuition refunds are given only during the first seven weekdays after class begins. You are eligible for a 100% refund during the first four days and after class begin, and for a 40% refund during the next three days.

Shorter Courses
After class begins, no refunds are given in courses of fewer than six week durations. You are eligible for a 100% refund for withdrawal before a class begins.

*Students enrolled in off-campus programs should refer to the program handbook.
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Credit Balance Refunds

Effective May 1, 2010

• Refunds will be processed twice per week
• Student Refund checks will be automatically processed on Tuesdays and Fridays.  Once the request has been generated it will take approximately 8 days for the refund to be fully processed
• Once the refund is fully processed a student will receive an email to their up.edu email account.  Refunds will be automatically direct deposited to the account the student has designated on the Direct Deposit form
• If a student has not signed up for direct deposit, a check will be mailed to the address that we have in the system.  The address order for fall and spring semesters (except winter break):  BI, MA, LO, CA, PR.  The address order for summer semester and winter break:  BI, MA, PR, LO, CA 
• We encourage students to sign up for direct deposit.  You can obtain a direct deposit form from the controller's office or by clicking here:   Direct Deposit Form . If the credit balance results from Federal Title IV aid such as Direct subsidized or unsubsidized loans, Perkins loans, Pell grants, ACG grants, SMART grants or SEOG’s, and/or from a credit or payment of any kind, a refund will automatically be issued to the student. For instance, a check payment that overpays the student account will be refunded to the student, even if the check was written by the parent
• A refund for out-of-pocket payments (e check, cash, paper check, wire transfers, released deposits) will only be processed if your overall account balance is a credit. University of Portland reserves the right to apply a credit from your out-of-pocket payment to any outstanding charges on your student account, regardless of when the charge(s) is due.  This includes applying your credit to charges for a future or past term
• There is a two-week holding period for credits that result from an overpayment from a check or online payment of any kind
• If the credit balance results from a Parent PLUS loan, a refund check will automatically be issued to the parent who took out the loan unless the parent has submitted written authorization to issue the check to the student. Direct deposit is not currently available for refunds to parents
• If the credit balance is a combination of the two, the refund will be prorated to both student and parent based on the percentage of Parent PLUS loan versus student aid unless the parent has submitted written authorization to issue the refund to the student
• Please see the policy below for refunds for students with a monthly payment plan
• Receipt of a refund does not imply that all charges on the bill have been paid. Students are strongly encouraged to carefully review the charges, payments, and other activity on their account even if a refund has been issued

***Please note: Due to the high volume of requests, there may be a delay in the processing of student refund checks during the first two weeks of each semester.
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Book Advance The University offers students the option to request book advance funds. Bookstore advances are based on the amount of excess aid expected; this means that once the student’s tuition, room/board, and fees have been paid then the excess can be used to buy books from the University's bookstore. For example, if your bill is $18,000 and you are receiving $18,500 in financial aid, we may be able to grant you a book advance for up to $500. The following policies apply:

• Student must be matriculated and registered for classes
• All requested documents must have been submitted to the office of financial aid (i.e.: taxes, verification worksheets, etc) before the Financial Aid priority deadline of July 1st  
• Vouchers are available for request the Thursday prior to the start of the semester through the first day of the semester only

To request a book advance:

• Go to the campus bookstore and select your books. Bring them to the checkstand and tell the cashier you will be requesting a book advance. The cashier will ring up the books and then void the transaction
• Bring the voided sales slip to Student Accounts. You will receive a voucher for up to the amount of the anticipated credit on your account, or the amount of your books, whichever is less
• The amount of the voucher will be added as a charge to your student account
• You will bring the voucher back to the bookstore to purchase your books

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IES Student Credits Students participating in the IES program may request to have their financial aid sent directly to IES the semester they are attending the program. IES request forms can be found at the Studies Abroad office or at IES Financial Aid Release. Once the form has been submitted, the following policies apply:

• Student Accounts will request a check to be sent to IES the first Tuesday of the University semester for the amount of credit on the student account at that time
• The check request will be processed and the check mailed directly to IES the first Friday of the University semester
• Anticipated financial aid will not be sent to IES, so it is important to complete all financial aid paperwork before the priority deadline ( Go to Financial Aid and select the calendar link for more information)
• Student account credits that occur after the first week of class will be refunded to the student or parent depending upon the type of loan
• Funds might not be released by Student Accounts before the IES payment is due. It is the student’s responsibility to make arrangements and/or make payment to IES according to the IES deadline

Please note that TMS monthly payment plans are not available for students in the semester(s) they are participating in the IES program
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Credit Balance with TMS Plan

When a student sets up a TMS payment plan, the student account is credited for the entire term budget. As each monthly payment is made, TMS holds the payment for a minimum of 28 days before remitting the payment to the University of Portland. Because the funds posted to the student account are not received until several weeks after the TMS payment plan is paid in full, a refund from a credit on a student account with a TMS plan is not available until all obligations to TMS have been fulfilled and the funds for the entire TMS credit on the student account have been remitted to the University.

An email will be sent to students participating in the TMS plan and the designated payer if there is a credit on the student account on the last business day of each month. Students and designated payers have the option of lowering the monthly payment by contacting the Student Accounts office to adjust the TMS plan by the amount of the credit. Students who prefer not to have their TMS plan adjusted at the time the credit is created will automatically have their plan adjusted around the fourth week of the spring semester. Once the TMS plan is adjusted, any remaining credit on the student account will be refunded to the student.

Students also have the option of having their TMS plan automatically adjusted to reflect changes on the student account by submitting the Authorization to Adjust Monthly Payment Plan to the Student Accounts office:

• Student accounts will be audited shortly after the 15^th of each month.
• If the student account has a balance due or a credit of $25.00 or more, the TMS plan will be raised or lowered accordingly
• Each month the TMS plan is adjusted an email notification will be sent to the student and designated payer by the 22^nd of the month
• The authorization will be in place for the duration of the student attendance at the University of Portland, or until a written authorization is submitted by the student requesting the form be rescinded

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