Tuition and Fees

The following pages include information about these topics:

(May 2009 term through January 2010 term)

Tuition charges are subject to change, effective every May term.

Students must pay the cost of preparing their research reports, including such expenses as paper, typing, mailings and other special expenses that might be involved in some required projects.

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts requires that health insurance coverage be provided to all students attending Massachusetts colleges and universities who are registered for nine or more semester hours. If a student is registered for nine or more semester hours, he/she will be automatically enrolled in the Springfield College Health Insurance Plan for $1,403 per year (estimated cost). If the student already has health insurance coverage, he/she will be required to complete a Springfield College Health Insurance waiver form. Go to www.spfldcol.edu, select College Resources, Business Office, Health Insurance card, and Click here. The waiver form must be completed by September 15th for traditional students for the $1,403 charge to be credited.

Springfield College offers two payment options for students to pay their tuition:

• Students may pay tuition charges, less any applicable financial aid, in full at the time of registration by cash, personal check, or money order.
• The College offers a Partial Payment Plan which extends tuition payments over a four-month period. There is a $15 fee per term to utilize the plan. The plan is as follows:

Students within the following categories are required to sign up for the Partial Payment Plan:

1. If a student does not expect to receive financial aid and cannot pay the tuition charges in full at the time of registration, but can make payments on the above applicable dates, he/she must sign up for the Partial Payment Plan.
2. If a student has received a financial aid decision letter, the letter must be presented to the staff person handling registration. If the student’s awarded financial aid does not cover the entire semester charges, he/she must either pay the tuition balance or sign up for the Partial Payment Plan.
3. If a student has NOT met the published admissions and financial aid deadlines, and consequently has not received a financial aid decision letter by the time registration begins, the student must sign up for the Partial Payment Plan option for the full amount of the tuition charges, pending notification of financial aid. The amount of the payments can be adjusted later, when the student receives the financial aid award letter. Please be aware that it is the student’s responsibility to contact the campus to arrange adjustments.

For currently enrolled students, non-enrolled students, students who have been separated, dismissed, suspended, expelled, disciplined, withdrawn and/or have taken a leave of absence, the College will withhold all official transcripts, access to registration for courses and the awarding of diplomas to any student whose account is not paid in full when due. A late charge of $50 will be assessed for each month that a payment is past due. The student and/or the party who is responsible for the payment of the student account shall be jointly liable to the College for all costs of collection and reasonable attorney’s fees incurred. The student is required to make full payment of all accounts prior to the deadline for commencement (date established by the registrar). Non-enrolled students with a balance on their account will be placed in collections. Once students register for classes, they are responsible for the tuition incurred. Not attending classes does not constitute withdrawing or dropping a class. Any changes to a students’ course schedule require the approval of an academic advisor.

The refund policy for students provides that if a student’s written request is received by the 15th of the second month of each term, the student will receive a 100% tuition refund.

The deadlines for 100% credit are:

• October 15 for the September Term
• February 15 for the January Term
• June 15 for the May Term

If a student’s written request is received from the 16th of the second month until the last day of the second month in each term, the student will receive a 50% tuition refund.

The deadlines for 50% credit are:

• October 31 for the September Term
• February 28 for the January Term
• June 30 for the May Term

If a student’s written request is received after the last day of the second month, the student will be withdrawn from the class and held responsible for the total amount of tuition whether or not the student attended classes. The course(s) withdrawn will remain permanently on the academic transcript with the grade of “W.”

Changes in a student’s enrollment may change his/her financial aid eligibility.

When a student withdraws during a term, the amount of federal student financial aid that he/she has earned up to that point is determined by a specific formula. If the student received (or Springfield College or a parent received on behalf of the student) less assistance than the amount that the student earned, the student may be able to receive those additional funds. If the student received more assistance than they earned, the excess funds must be returned by the school and/or the student.

The amount of assistance that the student has earned is determined on a pro-rata basis. For example, if a student completed 30 percent of the period of enrollment, he/she would earn 30 percent of the assistance he/she was originally scheduled to receive. Once a student has completed more than 60 percent of the period of enrollment, the student earns all the assistance that he/she was scheduled to receive.

There are some financial aid funds that the student cannot earn once he/she withdraws because the student does not meet other eligibility requirements, even if a student was scheduled to receive them. The student will be notified of any changes in their eligibility after review by the Financial Aid Office.

If a student has a credit balance on his/her account, a refund check will be issued within 14 days, of the date that the credit balance occurs, unless the student authorizes the College, in writing, to hold the credit balance for a future term. On the Friday following the refund check being generated, the refund check will be available for pickup at the Business Office.

If the refund check is not picked up by 2:00 p.m., it will be automatically mailed to the billing address on the student account. The refund check will be made payable to the student unless the student requests in writing that the refund check be made payable to another party.

The student has a right to a full refund of all charges less the amount of the Application Fee (see the Tuition and Fees Schedule) if he/she cancels the enrollment agreement prior to or on the first day of instruction. In addition, the student may withdraw from a course after instruction has started and receive a pro-rata refund for the portion of the tuition and other refundable charges if the student has completed 60 percent or less of instruction. (For example, if the student paid $3,000 tuition for a 90-hour course and completed 30 hours, he/she would receive a refund of $2,000 for the 60 hours not completed.)

If the College cancels or discontinues a course or educational program, the College will provide a full refund of all charges. Refunds will be credited to the student account within 30 days of the cancellation or withdrawal.