Catalog 2009-2010
Lewis & Clark
Graduate School of Education and Counseling
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Billing and Payment Standards
Student and Departmental Account Services produces statements itemizing the activity on student accounts. The statements are mailed in the student's name to their preferred address on record with the school. If the student wishes his or her bill to go to a different address, he or she can specify a unique billing address. Such a request must be submitted in writing to Student and Departmental Account Services.
In the fall and spring, the first statement of each semester is generated well before the beginning of the semester. Fall semester statements are mailed in July and spring semester statements are mailed in November. The fall deadline to settle one's student account typically is in mid-August. The spring deadline to settle one's student account typically is in mid-December. To avoid any late payment penalties, your account must be settled by the first day of the semester in which you are enrolled, whether or not you have received a statement. If class registration occurs after the semester due date has passed, payment is due at the time of registration. Monthly statements will be generated if, for one reason or another, the student's account is carrying a balance due after the semester due date.
In the summer, the school does not mail statements in advance of the semester's start. To avoid any late payment penalties, your account must be settled by the first day of the session(s) in which you are enrolled, whether or not you have received a statement.
For a discussion of what it means to settle your account and for details on our accepted methods of payment, please visit the Student and Departmental Account Services website at www.lclark.edu/dept/cashiers.
Certain forms of financial aid, such as Federal Stafford Loans, Federal Perkins Loans, and private education loans may not appear on your initial account statement from the institution. These funds are scheduled for disbursement to Lewis & Clark at the beginning of each semester. If you have elected to borrow under an educational loan program and have completed the additional steps outlined in the financial aid award guide to secure loan funding, Lewis & Clark will consider those funds to be fully processed. If the fully processed financial aid is not reflected on your statement, deduct the net proceeds from the balance due. You are required to pay only those balances not covered by the net proceeds of fully processed financial aid.
Note that some lenders withhold a 3% origination fee from Federal Stafford Loan and Graduate PLUS disbursements. Your lender can confirm the amount of fees, if any, that will be withheld at the time of disbursement.
If your anticipated financial aid funds are not disbursed to your student account shortly after the start of the semester, it may be an indication that you need to take additional action. Please refer to the information provided with the award notification to confirm that you have completed the steps necessary to receive funding. Contact the Office of Student Financial Services with any questions at 503-768-7090 or sfs@lclark.edu.
Nonpayment of Charges
Students owing Lewis & Clark and/or students who have not settled their charges will not be allowed to register or attend classes for future semesters. For an explanation of what it means to settle a student account, please refer to the Student and Departmental Account Services website: www.lclark.edu/dept/cashiers. Lewis & Clark reserves the right to withhold grade reports, transcripts, and diplomas. Registration for future terms may be canceled as a result of an outstanding student account balance. Full payment of any balance due is required to facilitate the release of these documents and/or to clear a student for class re-registration. Additionally, past-due balances, not covered by fully processed financial aid, are subject to late fees.
Lewis & Clark reserves the right to assess late fees to all past-due student accounts. Late fees are assessed as follows: balances of $999 and below are subject to a per-semester $10 late fee, balances of $1,000 and above are subject to a per-semester $100 late fee.
Dishonored Payments
A $25 fee will be placed on the student's account for any payment returned to Lewis & Clark, or its payment processing partner, Tuition Management Systems, by the bank. This fee may not be reversed. The Student and Departmental Account Services will send notice to the student of the dishonored payment. The student must make restitution, and remit payment of the returned payment fee, within 10 days following this notification. The school reserves the right to refuse a personal check for payment in certain circumstances.
Audit Fee
Lecture courses may be taken for no credit on a space-available basis. The audit fee is the same as the regular tuition for the course.
Withdrawal From Lewis & Clark
Students who find it necessary to withdraw from Lewis & Clark are eligible to have their tuition charges adjusted according to the schedule that follows. Course fees will not be adjusted on or after the first day of class. Before any adjustment to a student's tuition charges can be calculated, the student must initiate formal withdrawal by completing documentation available in the Registrar's Office or online. The date of notification appearing on the completed official Withdrawal Form is the date used to determine any adjustment to tuition charges.
Tuition Adjustment Policy
0%-1% of course(s) completed:
Reverse 100% of tuition charge
2%-10% of course(s) completed:
Reverse 80% of tuition charge
11%-25% of course(s) completed:
Reverse 50% of tuition charge
26%-50% of course(s) completed:
Reverse 25% of tuition charge
More than 50% of course(s) completed:
No reversal of tuition charge
If you receive financial assistance, federal regulations and Lewis & Clark policy require that a calculation be performed to determine the amount of assistance that you are eligible to retain in light of your withdrawal. As a result of this calculation, it may be necessary to return funding previously applied to your student account to the appropriate aid programs. After your charges and financial assistance have been adjusted, if the amount of assistance you are eligible to retain is in excess of what you owe on your student account, these funds will be released to you. Please see the Financial Aid Withdrawal Policy and contact Student Financial Services for details.
Refund of Credit Balances
After all necessary adjustments have been made to a student's account, any resulting credit will be refunded. If the student's expenses are covered by a formal billing arrangement between Lewis & Clark and the student's employer, a government agency or other sponsor, credit balances will be refunded to the third-party sponsor. In all other cases, credit balances on a student's account will be refunded in the name of the student.
Procedure for Appealing Tuition Charges
Any student wishing to appeal tuition charges may do so in writing to the graduate registrar. The written appeal must state the circumstances that have contributed to the student's need to seek a tuition charge appeal and provide documentation verifying these circumstances.
Mitigating circumstances are generally events that are beyond the student's control and that are unavoidable. Examples of such circumstances include death in the immediate family, hospitalization or documented medical problems, work-related transfers, natural disasters, and family emergencies.
The graduate registrar will review the appeal with the chair of the student's academic department and the dean of the graduate school. If the appeal is supported, the graduate registrar will present the supported appeal to Lewis & Clark's Administrative Cluster for consideration.
In order for a tuition charge appeal to be considered, the student's written petition and accompanying documentation must be submitted by the end of the first week of the semester immediately following the semester in which the student is requesting an adjustment to their charges.
Please contact the registrar's office if you have any questions regarding the appeal process.