Expenses

Westminster College is a nonprofit institution. The basic charges that students pay (tuition, fees, room and board) do not cover the full cost of a Westminster education. The remaining funds come primarily from gifts and grants, including alumni and corporate contributions, and income from the College’s endowment. The investment in a college education is one of the major financial decisions facing students and their families.

General Information

The charges in this section represent the rates in effect at the date of publication, August 2021. The College reserves the right to change any of its fees whenever such changes are deemed advisable. The new rates apply to all students. Students will be notified in advance of the rates for each academic year. Undergraduate students and resident degree-seeking special students will be charged the Activity Fee of $300 per semester. This pays for admission to athletic events and theatre productions, student health services, accident insurance, leadership development, shuttle service, contributes toward experiential learning activities, and more. The Activity Fee also includes an allocation authorized by the Board of Trustees for the support of student publica­tions and the Student Government Association. An additional fee of $200 is charged for the new student orientation program for entering first-year and transfer students.

Basic Fees and Charges

The College’s Board of Trustees sets rates for tuition and fees annually, usually by late February for the following year. Rates are subject to review and change. The cost of a normal academic program is as follows (2021-2022):

*Double occupancy/Dining Plan

Other Room and Board Charges

Single rooms are available on a limited basis.

The full-time tuition charge for one semester allows students to enroll in 12-19 semester hours of course work. Students who enroll in more than 19 semester hours of tuition-incurring courses will be billed at the semester-hour rate for each tui­tion-incurring semester hour above 19.

Some courses are designated tuition-exempt in overload situations only. Such tui­tion-exempt courses include physical education activity courses and Westminster 101 (WST 101  ), music ensembles, music lessons, and certain other designated courses. These courses are marked in the official course schedule published each semester. (Please note that an academic load above 19 hours must be approved by the Dean of the College). Certain music courses require additional fees varying in amount.

Special Fees

Tuition for Internship

Traditional Undergraduate Students: Internship fees for summer are $400. During the fall or spring semesters internships are part of regular tuition charges. In the case of an academic overload, normal overload charges apply.

Graduate Students: Tuition per credit for an internship taken through the graduate program will be equal to the cost per graduate credit. Please consult the appropriate catalog for information regarding fees. For further information, contact the Profes­sional Development Center at 724-946-7339.

Room Reservation Deposit

All full-time undergraduate students are required to live in a College residence hall unless a student has received permission from the College to live off campus, in a fraternity house, or to commute from home. Students wishing to reserve a particular room on campus must participate in the College housing selection process. Cancel­lation of on-campus housing accommodations after June 1 will result in an adminis­trative fee of $125.

All-College Honors Program

Travel: All students in the All-College Honors Program are required to participate in an international travel experience in the first year of the program. The cost of the travel will be billed one half in the fall semester and the other half in the spring semester.  **Please note that there are special alternatives to international travel due to COVID-19 for this and the prior academic years impacted by COVID-19.  

Statements and Payment Due Dates

Monthly statements are available to students online through CASHNet. Students are able to provide online access to student account information for parents and others through this service. CASHNet may also be used to make payments on a student account as described below. Information about CASHNet can be obtained from the Business Office.

Payment due dates on student account billings are as follows:

fall semester Bill: July 20
spring semester Bill: January 15
Summer semester Bill: June 14

Late Fees/Interest

The College acknowledges that certain loan proceeds and scholarships will not be posted to a student account until after the due date for the bill. When assessing late fees, the College takes this into consideration, as long as the information regarding these items is communicated to the Financial Aid or Business Office prior to the assessment date for late fees. Summer late fees are assessed immediately after the due date. The application of the $100 late fee is assessed based on the following criteria:

Balance > $100 as of September 15th for fall
Balance > $100 as of February 1 for spring
Balance > $100 as of June 15 for summer

A late fee will not be assessed when there are scheduled travel course payments due after the “as of” date that determines assessment of late fees. However, a $100 late fee will be assessed if the payments are not made according to the payment schedule for the trip.

Interest at a rate of 12% per annum (1% per month) will be assessed on account bal­ances outstanding at the end of the finals period, or upon the student’s separation from the College (graduation, withdrawal, leave of absence, suspension, expulsion, etc.), whichever is applicable. A courtesy letter will be sent approximately one week after the Business Office receiving notification of the separating event. Interest will then be assessed on the outstanding balance in the next billing period, approximate­ly one month after the courtesy notification.

Payment Methods

The Business Office accepts payments via cash, check, money order, and bank check at the window. All checks or money orders should be made payable to Westminster College. Credit card, debit card, and ACH payments are accepted through CASH­Net only. A convenience fee will be charged on all credit card and debit card payments based on the amount charged. Wire transfer payments will be accepted on a limited basis on student accounts as approved by the Director of Student Financial Services or Director of Financial Services.

For those who wish to pay their accounts in installments, arrangements are available through the CASHNet Payment Plan. Information is available on the Business Office web page, in the Student Financial Services Guide, or by contacting the Business, Admissions, or Financial Aid Offices.

The Business Office reserves the right to require payment on certain student ac­counts via cash, bank check or money order only.

Authorization to Use Credit Balance For Charges Other Than Tuition, Fees, Room And Board:

The student agrees to allow the College to apply all types of Federal Student Aid (FSA) and/or any other funds to pay allowable charges other than tuition, fees, room and board that are on the student billing statement. This agreement is in place until the student formally separates from the college.

Students who would like to cancel or modify this authorization should contact the Business Office at 724-946-7140 and fill out the appropriate form. A cancellation is not retroactive - it takes effect on the date the college receives the notification. If a student cancels an authorization to use FSA funds and/or other funds to pay for other allowable charges, the school may use FSA funds and/or other funds to pay any authorized charges incurred by the student before the notice was received by the school.

The types of charges that may be applied to student accounts include, but are not limited to, the following: parking fines, library fines, student affairs fines, health insurance, printing fees, equipment purchases made by the student, etc. before a refund is created.

Pre-Registration/Registration

Student account balances that are not paid by the late fee date, or through­out the semester as additional charges are incurred, will be placed on financial hold. While on hold, the student will not be permitted to register.

The Business Office will notify those students whose balance is greater than $100 of the consequences with respect to pre-registration. This notification will be sent via U.S. mail, e-mail and/or another method deemed appropriate.

Check payments >$1,000 that are presented within two weeks prior to a pre-regis­tration or registration period may be subject to verification with the bank for suf­ficiency of funds. Payments on accounts where there have been previous returned items will be verified for sufficiency of funds. Holds will not be released on the latter accounts until such verification takes place.

The Business Office will make every effort to release students from financial hold in a timely manner once payment in full is received on an account and verified when applicable. The student, once released from hold, would be able to register at times determined by the Registrar’s Office.

Registered Students Attending Summer Classes

A student who was permitted to register for the fall semester may choose to attend summer classes at Westminster. The due date to pay summer charges is June 14. If the summer charges (along with any other charges related to previous semester(s) are not paid in full on or before June 30, the fall registration will be cancelled and the student will be unable to return to the College until the account balance is paid in full.

The Business Office will notify those students whose balance is greater than zero at June 30 of the consequences of non-payment for the summer (and/or previous) term. This notification will be sent via U.S. mail, e-mail and/or another method deemed appropriate.

Registered Students with Balances After Payment Due Date-Undergraduate Students

A new incoming student who was permitted to register for the fall semester and has a balance greater than $1000 on their student account will not be permitted to come to campus until the balance is paid in full and/or adequate payment arrange­ments are made with the Business Office. The Business Office will determine what constitutes adequate payment arrangements on a case by case basis. This includes students who intend to arrive early on campus for an activity, academic endeavor or employment.

The Business Office will notify those students whose balance is greater than $1000 on or around July 20 of the consequences of not having an adequate payment ar­rangement for the fall term. This notification will be sent via U.S. mail, e-mail and/or another method deemed appropriate.

For transfer students intending to matriculate in the spring semester, adequate pay­ment arrangements must be made prior to arriving on campus.

Registration/Transcript and Diploma Hold

If a student account has a balance greater than $100 on the late fee date, or throughout the semester as additional charges are incurred, a financial hold will be placed on the account which prevents the student from registering, obtaining tran­scripts and if graduating, receiving their diploma. These holds will remain on the student account until the balance is paid in full.

Notification of the student account balance and the consequences with respect to registration, transcripts and diploma will be sent to those students whose balance is greater than $100. This notification will be sent via U.S. mail, e-mail and/or anoth­er method deemed appropriate.

Check payments that are presented to register or obtain a transcript may be subject to verification with the bank for sufficiency of funds. Payments on accounts where there have been previous returned items will be verified for sufficiency of funds. Holds will not be released on the accounts until such verification takes place, and in the case of a transcript hold, the check clears the bank (which can take up to 14 days).

The Business Office will make every effort to release students from financial hold in a timely manner once payment in full is received on an account and verified or cleared, whichever is appropriate.

Additional Consequences of Outstanding Prior Semester Bal­ances

In addition to the above, students who are not registered and have unpaid prior balances will be unable to return to the residence halls, participate in College activities, nor attend classes until the account balance is paid in full and the student is registered for classes. Please note that future financial aid cannot be used to cover balances from the previous semesters.

Payments Returned By Bank:

Payments of any type (check, ACH, credit card, wire) that are returned by the bank for any reason will be subject to a $15 fee. The fee will be applied to the student account, when possible, upon notification by the bank (on-line or otherwise) of the returned item. The Business Office will attempt to make contact with the issuer of the check to resolve the returned item.

If the returned item permitted the release of a hold on a student account, the hold will be reinstated and additional holds may be added as deemed appropriate under the circumstances. If a payment permitted the student to pre-register, the student will be notified of the returned payment and given 7 days to resolve the unpaid item. If there is no resolution, the registration will be cancelled.

If the payment permitted registration for the semester currently underway, the student will be notified of the returned payment as soon as practicable and will no longer be permitted to attend class, nor participate in College related activities. A maximum of 7 days will be given to resolve the returned payment during the regular academic year, and a maximum of 3 days during the summer semester. The student will also be notified by the appropriate College offices of their status and next steps in accordance with procedures specified in the Handbook for Students, College catalogue and other institutional policies.

Pre-Payment Hold

A prepayment hold requires that arrangements for full payment for a semester be in place prior to registration for that same semester. The following accounts will qualify for prepayment holds:

1. Account previously sent to a collection agency.
2. Accounts previously in the College’s internal collections process.
3. Accounts currently classified as delinquent that are in internal collections.
4. Accounts with habitual returned payments (3 or more).
5. Accounts for students whose registration was cancelled in any semester for financial reasons.
6. International student accounts.

Special Conditions for Early College Students

Balances must be paid in full prior to the first day of class. Failure to make timely payment will result in the cancellation of the student’s registration.

Internal and External Collections

Outstanding balances remaining on a student account as of the last day of the finals period and/or upon separation from the College, are subject to the following col­lection procedures. All applicable holds will remain on the student account during the pre-collections and collections process:

Internal Collections:

1. A courtesy letter will be sent approximately one week after the last day of finals or approximately one week after the Business Office receives notification of sep­aration from the College. The delinquency date will correspond to the last day of finals in the case of students expected to return, and to the separation date for students not returning. Charges that occur after the delinquency date for the period of attendance (printing, student affairs fines, etc.) will have the same delinquency date as other charges for that period.
2. Interest will be assessed on the outstanding balance as described above, approx­imately one month after the courtesy notification is sent to the student.
3. Three monthly statements will be sent to the address on file, along with a letter.
4. If there is no response from sending the statements, up to three additional monthly letters will be sent to the address on file in an effort to collect the outstanding balance and/or to make payment arrangements with the debtor prior to sending the account to an external collections agency. The third letter will contain a deadline for response to avoid the account going to a collections agency.
5. If the College is successful in obtaining a response from the debtor, payment arrangements may be discussed for the account. All agreements on payment arrangements will be documented on a promissory note which is signed by the debtor.
6. If a payment arrangement is not followed as agreed, the pre-collections process will be reactivated at the point it left off prior to the arrangement being made. If the account reached the point of being sent to external collections prior to the arrangement, the College will make one last effort to contact the debtor prior to sending the account to external collections.
7. Students who wish to return will not be permitted to move into the dorms, participate in College activities, nor attend classes until the account balance is paid in full. If the previous balance is paid by the Friday before classes resume for the new semester, the account will be taken out of internal collections and the student will be permitted to register (assuming that there are no additional holds). Payments received within ten days of the start of the new semester must be made via certified check, money order or via CASHNet (credit card and ACH).

External Collections:

If the internal collections process is unsuccessful, external collections agencies will be utilized to assist in collecting the outstanding balance. All collections fees will be added to the outstanding balance on the student account and will be the respon­sibility of the debtor. Generally, the account will be placed in first collections for approximately one year. If the effort is unsuccessful, the account will be returned to the College. The Business Office will make one attempt to reach the debtor prior to the account being entered into second collections. If that effort is unsuccessful, the account will be turned over to second and then to third collections for approxi­mately one year each. The College reserves the right to continue collections efforts beyond third collections.

Means of Communication

Westminster College primarily communicates with students via email.  To the extent possible, the email address utilized is the student’s westminster.edu address.  It is the student’s responsibility to read emails from the College on a timely basis.  The college also communicates via text, writing, in person, and other means necessary.

Contact

The College, as well as its agents and contractors, may contact a student at their current and future physical address(es), cellular or other phone number(s), email address(es), or wireless device(s).  Communications may include, but are not limited to, information regarding financial aid, student account, loans or other debt, payment due or late payment notices, account holds, collections, tax documents or notices required by Federal Regulations.  In an effort to contact a student, Westminster College or its agents and contractors may utilize any of the following means:  postal/overnight service, automated telephone dialing equipment, artificial or pre-recorded voice or text messages, and personal calls and emails.

Opting Out of Electronic Communications

A student may withdraw consent to call a cellular phone or receive electronic notifications of financial information by contacting the Financial Aid Office or the Business Office and completing a Opt Out of Electronic Communications Form.

Requesting Paper Documents

A student or parent (with FERPA permissions) may request a paper copy of a finan­cial document(s) by contacting the Financial Aid Office or the Business Office.

Updating Contact Information

The student is responsible for keeping the College records up to date with current physical address(es), email address(es), and phone numbers by contacting the Office of Student Affairs with any changes.  Upon leaving the College for any reason, it is the student’s responsibility to provide the College with updated contact information for the purposes of continued communication regarding any amounts that remain due and owing to the College.

Refunds

Withdrawal From The College: College fees are usually not returnable to students unless they withdraw from the College because of illness or reasons entirely be­yond their control. The process of withdrawing from the College is initiated in the Office of Student Affairs, and the date of approval is considered the official date of withdrawal. Refunds, when allowed, will be made on a pro-rata basis based on the following calculation: the number of calendar days through the official with­drawal date divided by the total number of calendar days in the semester, excluding breaks of five days or more. No refund will be given if the semester is more than 60 percent completed. The pro-rata refund is applied to tuition, room and board, and certain other charges assessed by the College. This pro-rata formula is also applied to College and outside sources of financial aid to determine the amount of aid earned through the date of withdrawal. Specific federal regulations, as described below, apply to Federal Title IV Financial Aid. All earned aid is applied against the pro-rata charges to determine the balance due to/from the withdrawing student. An administrative fee of 5 percent of actual charges (up to $100) will be assessed against the account. Generally, no refund will be made where the withdrawal is required because of misconduct.

Room: In cases where a withdrawing student is unable to vacate College housing on the official date of withdrawal, a pro-rated charge based off of the type of room the student resides in will be added until all possessions are removed from the room and proper check-out is completed with the Student Affairs Office. Except for the pro-rata refund for withdrawal from the Col­lege, room charges will not be refunded unless a student is changing from resident to commuter, which must be approved by the Student Affairs Office. In cases where the residency status changes during the semester, a daily room charge will be assessed from the beginning of the semester through the date the room is vacated. However, no refund will be provided for room if the change from resident to com­muter occurs after the semester is more than 60 percent complete.

Food Service: Unused Dine Dollars are not refundable. However, Dine Dollars re­maining at the end of the fall semester will rollover to the spring semester, provid­ed you have signed up for a spring meal plan. If a student does not return for the spring semester, then Dine Dollars remaining from the fall semester are forfeited. Any unused Dine Dollars at the end of the spring semester are forfeited. The pro-ra­ta refund calculation above applies when a student withdraws from the school. In addition, any meals provided by the College after the official withdrawal date will be charged to the student’s account at the going daily rate. If a student changes from resident to commuter during the semester, a daily meal plan rate (including facility fee) plus any used Dine Dollars will be charged from the beginning of the semester through the official date of notification from Student Affairs of change in residency.  However, no refund will be provided for meal plans if the change from resident to com­muter occurs after the semester is more than 60 percent complete.

Federal Title IV Financial Aid: If the withdrawing student has Federal Title IV Fi­nancial Aid, the financial aid office is required by federal statute to recalculate eligi­bility for this aid. A percentage of earned aid is determined on a pro-rata basis using the following calculation: the number of calendar days through the official withdrawal date divided by the total number of calendar days in the semester, excluding breaks of five days or more. If withdrawal occurs after the semester is 60 percent completed, the student is deemed to have earned 100 percent of the Title IV aid.

The percentage of unearned aid (100% - the percentage of earned aid determined in the pro-rata formula) is applied to the total amount of Title IV aid that could have been disbursed for the semester to determine that amount of aid that must be returned to the federal financial aid programs.

From time to time, the full amount of Title IV aid for which the student is eligible has not been fully disbursed when the withdrawal calculation is being performed. In such a case, if the student earned less than the amount of Title IV aid that was dis­bursed, both the institution and the student would be required to return a portion of the funds. If the student earned more than the amount of Title IV aid that was disbursed, the institution would owe the student a post-withdrawal disbursement of aid within 120 days of the student’s withdrawal.

Unearned aid is allocated to the appropriate federal aid program in the following order and must be returned by the institution within 30 days after the determination of the date of the student’s withdrawal:

1. Unsubsidized Federal Stafford Loans
2. Subsidized Federal Stafford Loans
3. Federal Parent Plus Loans
4. Federal Pell Grants
5. Federal Supplemental Opportunity Grants

Administrative Withdrawals: For an administrative withdrawal, the same refund pol­icy would apply as stated above. However, the withdrawal date will be determined by College administration in accordance with federal financial aid guidelines.

Military Service: If a student is called to military service during a semester, the stu­dent will be granted a leave of absence from the College and will not be penalized financially as a result. If the student chooses to withdraw from courses (academic record shows a “M” for all courses), tuition and fees will be refunded for the semes­ter. If the student has completed sufficient work to qualify for incomplete grades as determined by the Registrar (academic record shows an “I” for all courses), the student may return at a future date to complete the courses with tuition and fees already paid. With either option, room and board (if applicable) will be prorated on a percentage basis through the effective date of the leave of absence.

Students Receiving Military Benefits

Any student receiving Chapter 33 Post 9/11 GI Bill ™ or Chapter 31 Voc-Rehab benefits that has filed all necessary paperwork to the Financial Aid Office and paid their balance not covered by these funds is subject to the following:

• No late fee or finance charges on balance to be covered by approved military funding;
• No hold will be added to the student account that would prevent them from participating in classes, libraries, or other institution facilities, or the requirement that a covered individual borrow additional funds, on any covered individual because of the individual’s inability to meet his or her financial obligations to the institution due to the delayed disbursement funding from VA under chapter 31 or 33.
• Ability to participate in the course of education during the period beginning on the date on which the individual provides to the Financial Aid Office a certificate of eligibility for entitlement to educational assistance under chapter 31 or 33 (a “certificate of eligibility” can also include a “Statement of Benefits” obtained from the Department of Veterans Affairs’ (VA) website e-Benefits, or a VAF 28-1905 form for chapter 31 authorization purposes) and ending on the earlier of the following dates:
  • The date on which payment from VA is made to the institution.
  • 90 days after the date the institution certified tuition and fees following the receipt of the certificate of eligibility.