Expenses, Payment, Refund Policies and Financial Aid

The University year is divided into terms whose length is determined by each individual graduate program. Tuition and fees are the same for audited and credited courses. Accounts must be paid in full at the beginning of each term in order to be considered in good standing.

Basic Expenses (2017-2018)

Special Tuition

Payment of Accounts

All accounts must be paid in full (via personal payment or financial aid) by the payment due date announced in the class schedule, or arrangements must be made to pay in installments through Avila’s Deferred Payment Plan. Early application for financial aid allows the aid to be finalized by the payment due date. Students are responsible for the total tuition and other miscellaneous charges even though a third party may pay the university directly or reimburse the student. In addition to cash, check, or money order, Avila University accepts Visa, MasterCard, and Discover credit cards via on-line payment. A 2.75% convenience fee is assessed on credit card payments. Electronic check payments can be made with no convenience fee.

Each student is required to have a signed student payment agreement and guarantee document on file in the Business Office.

If a student account is placed with an outside collection agency, additional restrictions will apply to future enrollment.

Deferred Payment

Through Avila’s Deferred Payment Plan, the tuition and fee balance, after accepted financial aid is applied, may be paid in equal installments throughout the semester/trimester. Payment plan agreements should be selected online prior to the beginning of each semester/trimester. If a plan is not selected, the enrollee, by making the first payment of the deferred payment plan, accepts all conditions of the plan. A $75.00 annual plan fee or $50.00 per semester/trimester plan fee is charged. If payments are not made on or before the due dates, a $25.00 late payment penalty is assessed. The student’s responsibility for the total charges is not changed by having some portion of the payment deferred.

Financial Aid and Loan Recipients

Graduate students will receive their Financial Aid award notifications electronically via their Avila email accounts. Graduate students must be enrolled and attending a minimum of 3 credit hours to qualify for federal loans.

The student will be responsible for any payment due on the scheduled due dates. Loan proceeds must be finalized to be considered as payment on the student account. If finalized financial aid does not cover the semester/trimester balance, personal payment will be due on the scheduled dates. Loan proceeds must be applied to any balance due, and any resulting credit balances will be refunded as noted under Credit Balance Refunds.

Please remember: Loans of any type must be repaid.

Late Payment Penalties

Failure to make arrangements for any payment due on a campus account by the due date will result in one or more of the following actions:

• Late payment fee
• A hold on the student’s record and/or registration, and/or
• Cancellation of the student’s registration

A student may be reinstated within the designated time period by bringing the account to current status and paying a reinstatement fee. However, the original classes cannot be guaranteed.

Financial Statement of Responsibility

Students agree to be financially responsible for all costs of the courses they register for regardless of how the registration occurs and are bound by all terms of the Avila University Financial Statement of Responsibility   

Refunds

Credit Balance Refunds

Refunds are available from the Business Office as outlined below:

• Students not receiving federal assistance may request a refund at any time after the second day of classes.
• Students receiving any federal assistance (Pell, SEOG, Direct Stafford Subsidized and/or Unsubsidized Loans) which results in a credit balance will be issued a refund check within 14 days from the receipt of funds by the University.
• Avila University regulations will not permit credit balances generated by loans to be refunded until classes have begun and attendance has been verified.
• In instances where credit balances are created by funds paid from outside sources (such as business, government, and banks), the money must first be received by Avila University in order to issue a refund check to the student. An authorization to bill an outside source does not create a credit balance.

Adjustment of Tuition and Enrollment Charges

If for any reason a student will not be attending a course, that student must withdraw before the course begins to avoid financial penalty. To withdraw from a course, a student must sign a Change of Schedule form, which can be obtained in the Graduate Office of the respective School.

In any instance of adding, dropping, or withdrawing courses, the student must complete a Change of Schedule form available in the Registration and Student Records Office and return the form to the Registration and Student Records Office. The date the form is returned and processed in the Registration and Student Records Office is the date used for adjustments to charges. The time periods for the adjustments commence with the first day of classes according to the academic calendar and not the beginning date of the individual courses, unless otherwise noted. Fees are not refundable, except for cancellation of registration.

Withdrawal from Some or All Classes

Classes meeting 11-16 weeks

Students withdrawing from classes will be re-assessed tuition based on the following schedule. The Change of Schedule form must be returned to and processed by the Registration and Student Records Office during the given period to officially re-assess tuition charges. Fees are not refundable.

• 1 through 8 calendar days
  • 100% tuition/fees refund
• 9 through 15 calendar days
  • 75% tuition refund: no refund of fees
• 16 through 22 calendar days
  • 50% tuition refund: no refund of fees
• 23 through 29 calendar days
  • 25% tuition refund: no refund of fees

Classes meeting 10 weeks or less

Students who withdraw from classes meeting 10 weeks or less are eligible for refunds under the following schedule:

• Before start of course
  • 100% tuition/fees refund
• After first class meeting
  • 75% tuition refund: no refund of fees
• After second, before third class meeting
  • 0% tuition refund: no refund of fees

The return of any Title IV federal student aid and non-federal student aid will follow the policies listed under Return of Title IV Federal Student Aid below.

Weekend and Avila Advantage Classes

See the Avila website at www.avila.edu/registrar/withdraw.asp

Refund and Tuition Adjustment Appeal Policy

Students who feel their individual circumstances warrant an exception from the above stated refund policies may appeal in writing. The appeal should include a statement of the exception being requested, an explanation as to why an exception should be granted, and appropriate materials to support the request for the exception. The appeal letter and supporting materials should be sent to the Academic Affairs Office. Once all appeal materials are complete in the Academic Affairs Office, the student will receive written notification of the decision. The appeal must be received by the Academic Affairs Office within one year after the semester in which the registration occurred.

Return of Student Aid

Return of Title IV Federal Student Aid

Students who withdraw from all courses before 61% of the semester has elapsed will be evaluated according to the Department of Education guidelines and formula as stipulated by the Higher Education Amendments of 1998. Federal aid is earned by the percentage of the payment period the student completes. The percentage of aid earned is derived by dividing calendar days attended in the period by total days in that period. Weekends are included, but scheduled breaks that are at least five days long are excluded. If the student completes more than 60% of the term, 100% of the aid is earned for the period and no immediate repayment obligation results. If the student completes 60% or less of the term, the portion of the federal aid determined to be unearned must be repaid to the federal programs.

The Title IV federal programs that are affected include Direct Stafford Subsidized and Unsubsidized Loan programs and the Direct Grad PLUS Loan program. Federal aid programs are returned in the following order: Direct Stafford Unsubsidized Loan, Direct Stafford Subsidized Loan, Direct Grad PLUS, and other Title IV programs.

Avila will return Title IV aid from the student’s account according to the federal formula. A student may be required to return a Title IV aid overpayment. When a student receives notification from Avila of an overpayment, the student will be ineligible for further Title IV aid until the overpayment has been paid in full to Avila University and/or satisfactory repayment arrangements have been made with the Department of Education.

The return of enrollment charges policy calculation and applicable institutional refunds will be processed within 30 days of the withdrawal date. A letter indicating the calculation results, any applicable refund, or the adjusted statement of charges will be sent to the student’s home address.

Financial Aid

Avila University believes that qualified students should not be denied an educational opportunity due to lack of financial resources and that financing a student’s education should be a cooperative effort between the student and the institution. While the student’s family has primary responsibility for the student’s education, the University, federal and state governments, and other external agencies work as partners in making higher education affordable. The University commits its own scholarship, grant, and work resources to assist qualified students in assembling the resources necessary to pay for an Avila education.

Students and families are strongly encouraged to call or visit the Financial Aid Office to engage in this planning process: the office may be reached by phone at 816-501-3600 or via email at finaid@avila.edu. Please note that counseling on debt management and loan repayment is also available to all students attending Avila University.

Detailed information about aid programs and the application process for federal, state, Avila, and private assistance is available at www.avila.edu/financialaid.

Application Process for the 2017-2018 Academic Year

Avila University uses the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) as its primary application for all federal and state financial aid programs; no supplementary applications are required. Students are encouraged to apply online at www.fafsa.ed.gov. The FAFSA is completed using the student’s and parents’ federal income tax returns and should also include Avila University’s School Code (002449). When possible, students should utilize the IRS Data Retrieval Tool to import their tax information from the IRS’s database into the FAFSA.

Avila University does not have established deadlines for processing financial aid. However, students are encouraged to file the 2017-2018 FAFSA as soon as possible after October 1, 2016.

Financial Aid awards will be communicated to the student via the Financial Aid Award Letter. All students will receive their award letter via email to their University email address. The student is then expected to confirm acceptance of the offer of financial aid by returning to the Financial Aid Office a signed copy of the award letter.

Generally, the initial offer of financial assistance delineated in the award letter is nonnegotiable. The financial aid package may, however, be altered as a result of one or more of the following conditions:

• Changes in the student’s housing status
• Changes in the student’s enrollment (i.e., credit hours) status
• Lack of satisfactory academic progress
• Receipt of financial aid from an outside source
• Discrepancies noted as a result of the verification process

Note that the U.S. Department of Education randomly selects one in three FAFSA applications for verification. The verification process entails the comparison of actual financial aid data to that supplied on the FAFSA. Students selected for this process will be notified by the Financial Aid Office and additional documents may be requested.

Students must submit all documents requested with the financial aid award letter (e.g., IRS tax transcript, copy of birth certificate, etc.). Financial aid packages cannot be finalized, nor aid applied to a student account, until the financial aid file is complete.

Types of Financial Assistance

Financial aid packages at Avila University may be comprised of a combination of grant, scholarship, and loan funding. Grants and scholarships are forms of assistance that do not have to be repaid, while loans must be repaid with interest. Interest rates and repayment terms vary as a function of the type of loan a student has secured. The following paragraphs identify and describe the types of funding at Avila University for graduate students.

Private Scholarships

Various service clubs, organizations, churches, schools, and industries offer scholarships to students. High school counselors, libraries, and hometown newspapers are often excellent sources for information concerning private scholarships. The Financial Aid Office website provides a listing of various scholarship websites that will enable you to conduct your searches on your own and to apply for these scholarships online. For a complete listing students can visit http://www.avila.edu/admission-aid/financial-aid.

Federal Programs

Students attending Avila University can borrow funds from the Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loan program or through private lenders. Students completing the FAFSA will automatically be awarded all federal loans they are eligible for. Students are encouraged to exhaust federal loan options prior to applying for additional aid through private lenders. Also available is the Federal Direct Graduate PLUS Loan which allows students to borrow up to their cost of attendance.

Federal TEACH Grant. Avila University participates in the Federal TEACH Grant program. This program provides grants of up to $4,000 per year to students who intend to teach in high-need fields in a public or private elementary or secondary school that serves students from low-income families. For additional information regarding this program, please contact the Financial Aid Office at 816-501-3600.

For additional information regarding state and federal funds, please visit the Financial Aid Office website at http://www.avila.edu/admission-aid/financial-aid. 

Satisfactory Academic Progress

Federal regulations require institutions to establish minimum standards of satisfactory academic progress for students receiving federal, state, and/or institutional financial aid. All aid applicants are required to maintain a designated grade point average (GPA) and satisfactorily complete a percentage of the number of credit hours they attempt. The full Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy is available at http://www.avila.edu/admission-aid/financial-aid.

All students are encouraged to thoroughly read all information sent from the financial aid office including the terms and conditions for all awards prior to accepting their aid. For more information about the financial aid process, contact the Financial Aid Office at 816-501-3600 or click on the link above.