Student Accounts Policies

Student Accounts Policies

Late Fees

If full registration process, including payment in full for the account balance, is not completed by the billing statement due date, Houghton College will assess a late registration fee of $250. Student Financial Services will not typically cancel late fees, but for a late fee removal to be considered, please submit the Student Account Late Fee Removal Request.

Financial Delinquency/Financial Hold

A Financial Hold is placed on all student accounts with a past due balance over $200.  Students on Financial Hold are not permitted to register for the upcoming semester, receive transcripts, or receive diplomas.  Additionally, students on Financial Hold may be excluded from all classes, lectures, laboratories, examinations, dormitories, meals in the dining hall, co-curricular activities, and graduation until such payment or satisfactory arrangement is made.  Students with a past due balance after the start of the semester are subject to cancellation of registration for the current semester and withdrawal from the College unless acceptable arrangements are promptly made.  Students with delinquent balances at the end of a semester may be withdrawn from the College and transferred to Non-current status.  A 1.5% per month finance charge is applied to all Non-current student account balances.  If it becomes necessary to engage the services of a collection agency or attorney to effect collection or settle any dispute in connection with the terms, the student is subject to pay any and all fees due to the collection agency.

Financial Policy Appeals

Students wishing to appeal a financial policy must complete the Financial Policy Appeal Form and return it to the Student Financial Services Office. It will be reviewed by the Financial Policy Subcommittee and the student will be informed of the committee's decision in a timely manner.

Housing

All students who do not commute from home are required to live in college-owned housing. Students who transfer to Houghton as juniors or seniors are required to live at least one semester in college-owned housing.  Junior and senior students have the opportunity to apply to live in a college-owned townhouse or outside college housing (and within the hamlet of Houghton) under the “community living option” (CLO). A limited number of townhouse and community living options are granted each year. The housing type the student selects for the school year will continue for Mayterm, at additional charge, should the student attend Mayterm.

The college reserves the right, in case of institutional necessity, to reassign college-owned rooms, and it will in such instances reimburse the students involved for any financial loss sustained in such a move. Students who live in residence halls or community houses are financially liable for any damage to rooms or to furnishings.

Most campus and private rooms are planned for double occupancy and may not be rented for single occupancy unless it is clear that the space will not be needed.

Campus rooms are supplied with single beds and other basic furniture. Students must provide bed linen, pillows, blankets, bedspreads, and decorative articles.

For additional information, please visit the Residence Life website.

Board

All students who do not commute from home are required to board in the college dining hall. All board is arranged on a contract basis with various plans available. All first-year students and sophomores are required to be on the full access board plan. All juniors have the option of the 14-meal board plan or the full access board plan. Seniors in traditional residence halls have the option of the 14-meal board plan or the full access board plan. Seniors in the townhouses have the additional option of the 7-meal board plan. The contract period begins after 12PM on the Saturday before classes start in the fall semester and does not include meals during vacation periods.

The board plan the student selects for the school year will continue for Mayterm at additional charge should the student attend Mayterm.

For additional information, please visit the Residence Life website.

Mayterm
Please visit the Registrar's Office to view the Mayterm policies.

Houghton College Financial Refund Policy

Refund Policy

Houghton College’s refund policy is in accordance with the U.S. Department of Education’s regulations. The policy applies to all students who do not complete the enrollment period for which they have been charged.

Houghton College uses student accounts to assess charges and apply payments and credits against those charges. Financial aid payments are applied to student accounts after the close of the add/drop period. Credit balances caused by financial aid are refunded after careful evaluation of the student’s account and eligibility for aid. If a credit balance refund is due to the student, the refund is made to the student within 14 days, as required by the federal regulations for Title IV funds. Refunds will typically be issued in the form of a check made payable to the student and mailed to the student’s preferred address. The student may also request to pick up the check at the Student Financial Services Office.

If the student wishes to keep the credit balance on their student account, the Student Financial Services Office must have a written and signed request from the student, as required by the federal regulations for Title IV funds. However, a credit balance due to Title IV funds may not be carried forward from one academic award year to the next in any circumstance. At the end of the award year any credit from Title IV funds in the amount of $1.00 or more is automatically refunded to the student.

The term “Title IV Funds” refers to the Federal financial aid programs authorized under the Higher Education Act of 1965 (as amended) and includes the following programs: Federal Direct loans, Federal PLUS loans, Federal Perkins loans, Federal Pell Grants, Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (FSEOG), Teach Education Assistance for College and Higher Education Grants (TEACH), Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grant, Leveraging Education Assistance Partnership (LEAP) and Special LEAP (SLEAP) Grants.

Eligibility for refund is dependent on a number of factors and will be determined by the Student Financial Services Office.

In the case of course cancellation by the institution, credit equal to 100% of tuition and fees will be given.  Students suspended for academic or disciplinary reasons will not be entitled to a refund of tuition, fees, or room and board.

A credit balance on student accounts as a result of withdrawal will be refunded in a minimum of two weeks after the student has officially withdrawn through the Registrar's Office.

Change in Enrollment Status

If a student changes enrollment status after they have received a refund based on financial aid, they may be required to repay all or part of the aid received to Houghton College or to the appropriate federal or state aid programs. Students receiving federal aid who change enrollment status or withdraw from the college will have federal aid adjusted in accordance with formulas prescribed by the Federal Title IV Program.

A student who withdraws from Houghton College receives only the balance that remains on their account after the appropriate refund calculations have been made by the Student Financial Services Office in accordance with the Return of Federal Title IV Funds Policy below.

A student’s withdrawal date is the date the student began the institution’s withdrawal process or officially notified the institution of intent to withdraw; or the midpoint of the period for a student who leaves without notifying the institution.  The refund charts for our semester and modular programs are below.

If a student stops attending classes and begins the withdrawal process, but remains on campus utilizing their room and/or board for an additional amount of time, separate dates will be used to calculate room and board refunds.  Students withdrawing before the classes begin for a given term will receive a 100% refund of charges. A copy of the worksheet used for the refund calculation can be requested from the Student Financial Services Office.

Students who are granted a medical withdrawal will have their situation carefully reviewed and receive a refund of charges prorated on a per situation basis up to the 100% point in the semester. The Office of Student Life must approve a medical withdrawal. Students who are granted a leave of absence are treated in the same manner as students who withdraw from the college.

Fall/Spring Tuition, Room and Meal Plan Refund:
Withdrawal Prior to 1st Day of Class 100%
First Two Days of Classes 100%
Remainder of Week 1 (Days 3 - 7) 90%
Week 2 75%
Week 3 50%
Week 4 25%
Week 5 and after 0%
Refund 8 Week Modules:
First Two Days of Classes 100%
Remainder of Week 1 (Days 3 - 7) 75%
Week 2 50%
Week 3 and after 0%
  • Note: The 8-week Module refund chart only applies to students enrolled in one (1) module for the semester.

Return of Federal Title IV Funds Policy

Title IV aid and all other aid is earned in a prorated manner on a per diem basis based on the academic calendar up to the 60% point in the semester. Title IV aid and all other aid is viewed as 100% earned after that point in time.

In accordance with federal regulations, when financial aid is involved, refunds are allocated in the following order: Federal Direct Unsubsidized loans, Federal Direct Subsidized loans, Federal Perkins loans, Federal PLUS loans, Federal Pell Grants, Federal SEOG, other Title IV assistance, other Federal sources of aid, other state, private and institutional aid, and lastly, the student.

The following outlines the policy in greater detail.

Funds Returned

Houghton College returns unearned funds received from Federal student assistance programs to the proper program accounts or lenders in accordance with Federal Title IV student assistance regulations, as amended, under 34-CFR, section 668.22(d) of the Reauthorization of the Higher Education Act of 1965.

A student receiving aid from Federal Title IV programs is required to complete a minimum number of hours for which aid was received. If a student completely withdraws from school during the semester, or stops attending but fails to officially withdraw, the student may be required to return the unearned part of the funds received to help pay educational expenses for the semester. Liability for return of Federal Title IV funds will be determined in accordance with the following guidelines:

  • If a student remains enrolled and attends class beyond the 60% mark of the semester in which aid is received, all federal aid is considered earned and not subject to this policy.
  • If a student completes the institution’s withdrawal process before the 60% mark of the semester, a pro-rated portion of the federal aid received must be returned to the federal aid programs equal to the percentage of the semester remaining.
  • If a student fails to complete the institution’s withdrawal process but stops attending classes, a pro-rated portion of the federal aid received, based on the last documented date of attendance, must be returned to the federal aid programs. If the institution is not able to document the last date of attendance, one-half of all federal aid received during the semester must be returned to the federal aid programs.

Return of Federal Title IV funds will be distributed according to statutory regulations. Worksheets/formulas provided by the U.S. Department of Education will be used to determine the amounts and order of return. If a student’s share of the return amount exists, the student will be notified and allowed 45 days from the date of determination to return the funds to the Student Financial Services Office of the institution for deposit into the federal programs accounts. If the student fails to return the amount owed with the 45 day period, the amount of overpayment will be reported to the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) via the National Student Loan Database (NSLDS) and the student will be referred to the DOE for resolution of the debt.  When necessary, unearned aid will be refunded to the appropriate programs based on these regulations.

Funds Disbursed

When a student officially or unofficially withdraws, the Student Financial Services Office will determine if the student is entitled to a post-withdrawal disbursement. Post-withdrawal disbursement occurs when the student receives less federal student aid than the amount earned (based on the withdrawal date). Houghton College will then offer a disbursement of the earned aid that was not received. All post-withdrawal disbursement offers will be made within 14 days of the date Houghton College determined that the student withdrew.

The procedures and policies listed above supersede those published previously and are subject to change at any time.