Tuition and Fees

Tuition, room and board, and fees for academic year 2013-14 are listed below; unless otherwise indicated, the fees listed cover both the fall and spring semesters.

Required deposits:

The following expenses are either non-recurring or dependent upon the student’s own choices:

Credit for Experiential Learning (CEL) will be billed at the rate of 1/3 the per credit charge.

Special course fees (computer, laboratory, private lessons, studio, etc.) may be assigned to specific courses.

See class schedule  for specific course fees.

This schedule of fees is subject to change.

Payment Policy

Billing for the fall semester will be e-mailed to all students and anyone listed on the FERPA as a responsible party approximately June 15; the spring semester billing will be e-mailed approximately December 15. There are two payment options available for payment of tuition, room and board:

1. The Standard Payment Plan which requires all first semester charges paid by August 5 and all second semester charges paid by January 5.
2. The 10 Payment Plan, which requires 10 monthly payments due on the 5th of each month starting July 5 and extending through April 5. Families choosing to participate in this plan after July 5 will be required to make all payments due up to the date the contract is signed. The total amount to be financed under this plan will be the difference between the cost and the financial aid awarded, not including work study.

The form titled “Student Payment Agreement and Disclosure Statement” must be completed by all students. This agreement will apply to all periods of continuous enrollment unless a new form is submitted. If you have not received your bill before payment is due, please estimate your payment and send it to the business office. Special circumstances must be cleared with the business office prior to the start of a semester; (507) 457-1444. A late fee of 1% per month (12% APR) on the unpaid balance will be assessed on all payments received after the 5th of the month. All incidental charges (library, parking fines, damage charges, special course fees, etc.) that accumulate during the year are to be paid by the 5th of the next month after receiving the billing statement. Financial aid funds not received due to failure to apply to or submit federal or state applications, will result in a balance due within 30 days after notification by the financial aid office that these funds will not be issued. Students and cosigners are responsible for all collection fees should it become necessary to forward the account to collections. If a student fails to fulfill payment obligations, the student may be withdrawn from co-curricular activities or may be withdrawn from the university.

Refund Policy

The following policy governs refunds resulting from withdrawal from the university or from individual courses.

Tuition and Fees:

• 100% refundable through the end of the add/drop period.
• 75% refundable through the end of the third week of the semester.
• 50% refundable through the end of the sixth week of the semester.
• No refund after the sixth week of the semester.

Special course or laboratory fees:

• 100% refundable through the end of the add/drop period.
• No refund after the add/drop period.

Short course tuition/fees:

A number of courses begin in the middle of a semester or after one-third or two-thirds of a semester. The following policy governs refunds resulting from withdrawal from short courses.

• 100% refund of the tuition and course fee if withdrawal occurs before the course begins or during the first five class days from the beginning of the course.
• No refund of the tuition or course fee will be made after the first five class days from the beginning of the course.

Room:

• Pro-rata refund (based on a semester of 16 weeks) is calculated from the end of the week of withdrawal, plus two additional weeks.
• No refund after the sixth week of occupancy.

Board:

• Pro-rata refund (based on a semester of 16 weeks) is calculated from the end of the week of withdrawal, plus two additional weeks.

Exceptions to the above policy may be granted by the business office on an individual basis when withdrawal results from illness, family situation or other special circumstances. Should this policy ever differ from any federal regulations, the refund will be calculated by whichever way provides the students with the greater amount.

Students who withdraw or reduce their course load during a semester and who are recipients of financial aid may be subject to a readjustment of their aid award. Consult the financial aid section of this catalog or the financial aid office for further information.

Student’s Right to Dispute Billing Errors

This section contains important information about the student’s rights and the university’s responsibilities under the Fair Credit Billing Act. If a student thinks a bill is wrong, or if a student needs more information about a transaction on a bill, write to the university as soon as possible: Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota, 700 Terrace Heights #8, Winona, MN 55987-1399. The university must receive written notice from the student no later than 60 days after the university sent the student the first bill on which the error or problem appeared. The student may phone the university about the error or problem, but doing so will not preserve the student’s rights. The letter should contain the following information: the student’s name and account number; the dollar amount of the suspected error; a description of the error or an explanation of why the student believes there is an error. If the student needs more information, describe the item about which the student is unsure.

Saint Mary’s must acknowledge the student’s letter within 30 days, unless the error has been corrected by then. Within 90 days, Saint Mary’s must either correct the error or explain why the bill was correct. After the university receives the student’s letter, it cannot try to collect any amount the student questions, or report the student as delinquent. The university can continue to bill the student for the amount in question, including finance charges. The student does not have to pay any questioned amount while the university is investigating, but the student is still obligated to pay the parts of his/her bill that are not in question. If the university finds that it made a mistake in the student’s bill, the student will not have to pay any finance charges related to any questioned amount. If the university did not make a mistake, the student will have to pay the finance charges and will have to make up any missed payments on the questioned amounts. In either case, the university will send the student a statement of the amount owed and the date that it is due. If the student fails to pay the amount that the university thinks he/she owes, the university may report the student as delinquent. However, if the university’s explanation does not satisfy the student and the student writes to the university within 10 days telling the university that he/ she still refuses to pay, the university must tell anyone it reports the student to that the student has a question about his/her bill. And, the university must tell the student the name of anyone the university reported the student to. The university must tell anyone it reports the student to that the matter has been settled when it finally is. If the university does not follow these rules, it cannot collect the first $50 of the questioned amount, even if the student’s bill was correct.