Student Accounts Policies
If applicable, student signs checkout form provided by the department and approved by Legal Counsel which details the student's responsibilities and liability.
When damage occurs, the department sends the student a letter (template for contacting student) and copies the Bursar. The department should attach copies of documentation supporting the charge to the Bursar's copy. The department is responsible for maintaining the original documentation for three years from the date of the letter to the Bursar to prove the validity of the debt.
The charge is posted to the student's account using the appropriate fund for that department and account #R07060 Damages Recoveries.
Emergency loans for $100 or less are issued by the cashiers in the Killian Annex and administered by the Student Accounts Office, a department of the Division of Administration and Finance. A $5.00 service fee shall be assessed against all emergency loans. The loan period shall be for 30 days or until the last day of the current term, whichever comes first.
Eligibility Criteria
Students must meet the following criteria to be eligible for an emergency loan:
- The student must be currently enrolled in a degree program.
- If the student is an employee, he/she may not have received a tuition waiver.
- Emergency loan proceeds may not be used to pay tuition and fees or University fines.
- The student鈥檚 account must be paid in full to receive an emergency loan. At the beginning of a semester, an account shall be considered paid in full if awarded financial aid, graduate assistantship accompanied by a power of attorney or tuition payment plan memo is sufficient to cover all current and past charges.
A student is not eligible for an emergency loan if they:
- Are 60 days or less from graduating.
- Has an outstanding emergency loan. Students may only take out one emergency loan at a time.
- Has already received three emergency loans in one semester. A student is eligible for a maximum of three emergency loans per semester.
- Received an emergency loan less than one week ago. The emergency loans must be issued at least one week apart.
- Has been 60 days or more past due repaying a previously issued emergency loan.
Issuance Procedures
Emergency loans are available at the Student Accounts Office in the Killian Annex for those students that meet the eligibility requirements between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday. Students must provide picture identification such as a CatCard or driver鈥檚 license.
Collection Procedures
The Student Accounts Office is responsible for billing and collecting emergency loans. Loans remaining unpaid at the end of the current semester will prevent registration for subsequent semesters. All remaining unpaid balances shall be pursued under collection procedures involving the N.C. Attorney General, attachment of NC tax refunds, State Employee Setoff Debt and/or collection agencies and various credit bureaus.
Financial aid payments are applied to student accounts after the close of the add/drop period. If a student's account balance is a credit, it is the policy of the University to refund the credit to the student on the 11th day of class for fall and spring semesters and the second week of Session 1 for summer school. If a credit balance refund is due the student, the refund is made to the student within 14 days , as required by federal regulations. A refund will be issued only if the student's balance is paid in full. If the credit balance is the result of a parent PLUS loan, the refund will be issued to the parent unless the parent has indicated that the refund should go to the student when the Parent PLUS Certification Form was completed.
The refund will be issued by direct deposit or a check made payable to the student
and mailed to the student's mailing address. Direct deposit is the preferred method
of refund as it is faster, more secure and costs less.
Read Instructions for setting up direct deposit
Financial aid refunds are processed on Tuesdays and Fridays by the Student Accounts Accountant. Credit balances created by the application of financial aid are identified with the Banner TSRRFND report. Direct deposit ACH transactions are created by Bill+Payment. ACH files must be sent to the Bank of America by 11:00 a.m. two days before the refunds are to be deposited in the student鈥檚 account. Refund checks are mailed to the student鈥檚 MA (mailing) address by the Student Accounts Office.
If the student fails to cash a refund check and it is comprised of Title IV financial aid, the funds will be returned to the Department of Education 180 days after the check was first issued. If the refund check is returned to the school or an EFT is rejected, we may make additional attempts to disburse the funds, provided that those attempts are made not later than 45 days after the funds were returned or rejected. No federal funds may be escheated to the state.
If the student fails to cash a refund check, it is not comprised of Title IV financial aid, and the student cannot be located, the funds may be escheated to the State of North Carolina.
Senior Citizen Audit Tuition Waiver
In Fall 2017, the General Assembly authorized the Board of Governors to enact legislation permitting those who have attained 65 years of age or older and who meet applicable admission standards to audit courses offered without payment of any required registration fee or tuition on a space available basis.
Eligibility Requirements:
1. A senior auditor must be:
A. At least 65 years old as of the start of the applicable term; and
B. A North Carolina resident, as determined by the institution
2. Senior auditors must be in good standing with the institution of higher education and must not have any financial holds on any institutional accounts.
3. The constituent institutions may require senior auditors to provide documentation necessary to prove eligibility, for example, proof of age and residence through a driver鈥檚 license, state identification card, or other government-issued document. While senior auditors must have domicile in North Carolina, they do not need to be 鈥渞esidents for tuition purposes鈥� as defined in G.S. 116-143.1(b), and do not need to seek a determination through the Residency Determination Service (RDS).
4. A constituent institution may prohibit a senior auditor from auditing courses if it determines that the auditor poses a threat to the health and safety of the campus community. In making such a determination, constituent institutions may make reasonable and appropriate inquiries into the senior auditor鈥檚 criminal and school disciplinary background. Such inquiries may include a criminal background check, with the senior auditor鈥檚 consent.
If a senior auditor registers for more than four credit hours, he/she will need to comply with the immunization requirements under North Carolina state law. Please contact Health Services at 828-227-7640 or HealthServices@wcu.edu for more information.
Senior auditors may only audit courses if there is space available in a course and only after all new and currently enrolled students have had an opportunity to register for the applicable term.
Auditing additional classes in subsequent terms does not require a new application. However, if a senior auditor misses two or more consecutive semesters, he/she must reapply for admission.
For more information about the application and registration process, please contact the Registrar鈥檚 Office at 828.227.7216 or RegistrarsOffice@wcu.edu .
Tuition Waiver for Family Members of Deceased or Disabled Emergency Workers
Certain family members of emergency workers killed or permanently disabled in the line of duty may become eligible for tuition-free enrollment.
Eligibility Requirements:
- The deceased or disabled emergency worker (firefighter, volunteer firefighter, law enforcement officer, or rescue squad member) must have been a North Carolina legal resident (domiciliary), in active service or training for active service at the time of death or disability occurring in the line of duty.
- The emergency worker's death or disability must have occurred on or after October 1, 1997.
- The emergency worker must have been employed by the State of North Carolina or any of its departments, agencies, or institutions, OR a county, city, town or other political subdivision of the State of North Carolina.
- The applicant must be either a child or unremarried widow or widower of a deceased emergency worker killed in the line of duty, OR a spouse or a child (at least age 17, but not yet 23) of an emergency worker who became permanently and totally disabled as a result of a traumatic injury sustained in the line of duty as an emergency worker.
- The applicant must qualify academically for admission to 甜瓜视频app and there must be space available in the course(s) for which he or she intends to register.
- Documentation must be submitted to the Bursar no later than the first day of class of the term for which the waiver is sought.
The following documents are required as proof of eligibility for this tuition waiver:
- To prove permanent and total disability of an emergency worker: Documentation of the permanent and total disability from the N.C. Industrial Commission
- To prove cause of death of an emergency worker: Certification of the cause of death
from The Department of State Treasurer; or the appropriate city or county law enforcement
agency that employed the deceased;
or
The administrative agency for the fire department or fire protection district funded under the Department of State Auditor;
or
The administrative agency having jurisdiction over any paid firefighters of all counties and cities. - To prove the parent/child relationship: applicant's birth certificate or legal adoption papers
- To prove the marital relationship: applicant's marriage certificate
For more information about the Emergency Worker Tuition Waiver, please contact the Student Accounts Office at 828.227.7324 or studentaccounts@wcu.edu . Documents may be scanned and emailed to Bursar@wcu.edu.
搂 143-553. Conditional continuing employment; notification among employing entities; repayment election
(a) All persons employed by an employing entity as defined by this Part who owe money to the State and whose salaries are paid in whole or in part by State funds must make full restitution of the amount owed as a condition of continuing employment; provided, however, that no employing entity shall terminate for failure to make full restitution the employment of such an employee who owes money to the University of North Carolina Health Care System for health care services.
(b) Whenever a representative of any employing entity as defined by this Part has knowledge that an employee owes money to the State and is delinquent in satisfying this obligation, the representative shall notify the employing entity. Upon receipt of notification an employing entity shall terminate the employee's employment if after written notice of his right to do so he does not repay the money within a reasonable period of time; provided, however, that where there is a genuine dispute as to whether the money is owed or how much is owed, or there is an unresolved issue concerning insurance coverage, the employee shall not be dismissed as long as he is pursuing administrative or judicial remedies to have the dispute or the issue resolved.
(c ) An employee of any employing entity who has elected in writing to allow not less than ten percent (10%) of his net disposable earnings to be periodically withheld for application towards a debt to the State shall be deemed to be repaying the money within a reasonable period of time and shall not have his employment terminated so long as he is consenting to repayment according to such terms. Furthermore, the employing entity shall allow the employee who for some extraordinary reason is incapable of repaying the obligation to the State according to the preceding terms to continue employment as long as he is attempting repayment in good faith under his present financial circumstances, but shall promptly terminate the employee's employment if he ceases to make payments or discontinues a good faith effort to make repayment. (1979, c. 864, s. 1; 2007-306, s. 2.)
Past Due Account
1. Employees will be billed monthly. The balance on the Employee Bill must be paid in full or the employee must make satisfactory payment arrangements with the Student Accounts/Billing Office within 30 days of the date of the Bill.
2. If the balance is not paid or satisfactory payment arrangements made, an Employee First Notice will be sent to the employee. The past due balance on the account must be paid in full or satisfactory payment arrangements must be made with the Student Accounts/Billing Office within 30 days of the date of the Notice.
3. If the balance is not paid or satisfactory payment arrangements made, an Employee Final Notice will be sent to the employee and a letter will be sent to the supervisor. The past due balance on the account must be paid in full or satisfactory payment arrangements must be made withthe Student Accounts/Billing Office within 30 days of the date of the Notice.
4. If the balance is not paid or satisfactory payment arrangements made within 30 days of the Employee Final Notice, the employee鈥檚 supervisor will be contacted and G.S. 143-553 will apply. Termination procedures shall be in accordance with all applicable due process/hearing requirements, if any, based upon the employee's classification.
5. If there is a genuine dispute as to whether the balance is owed, the employee will not be terminated as long as he/she is pursuing administrative or judicial remedies to have the dispute resolved. In that case, the employee must contact Donna Jones in the Student Accounts Office, 227-3105, and explain the situation.
Returned Check
1. The amount of the returned check and a $35.00 charge for each returned check will be charged to the employee鈥檚 account.
2. A letter will be sent to the employee stating that the returned check(s) must be replaced within 10 calendar days of the date of the letter via cash, certified check or money order or satisfactory payment arrangements must be made with the Student Accounts/Billing Office.
3. If the returned check has not been replaced within 10 days of the date of the letter or satisfactory payment arrangements have not been made, a letter will be sent to the employee鈥檚 supervisor.
4. If the returned check has not been replaced within 10 days of the date of the letter to the supervisor or satisfactory payment arrangements have not been made, G.S. 143-553 will apply. Termination procedures shall be in accordance with all applicable due process/hearing requirements, if any, based upon the employee's classification.
5. The employee鈥檚 check cashing privileges are permanently revoked.