Students' Financial Responsibilities UPPS
No. 03.01.06
Issue No. 4
Effective: 4/16/2003
Review: July 1 E5Y
01. POLICY STATEMENTS
01.01 We at Texas State are committed to providing sound financial stewardship through accounting, budgeting, monetary management systems, and fundraising activities which maximize the institution's fiscal posture. This procedure contributes to the implementation of this policy.
01.02 This
UPPS sets forth university policy for students' financial obligations.
01.03 University
administrators have a fiduciary responsibility to maximize the collection of
financial obligations owed to the State and the University.
It is the University's responsibility to make every reasonable effort to
notify students of any outstanding financial obligations in a timely
manner. It is the student's
responsibility to meet these obligations as required.
01.04 If
the student's financial obligation remains outstanding, it is the University's
responsibility to have a documented procedure that will treat all cases
equitably and protect the University.
01.05 Financial
Services has primary responsibility for establishing and administering policies
and procedures for the collection of students’ financial obligations.
02. AUTHORITY
02.01 Texas
State University System Regents Rules and Regulations establish
system-wide policy for students’ financial obligations. These are set forth in Chapter VI,
Sub-sections 9.2 and 9.3, as follows:
"Students'
Financial Obligations. Students are expected to meet their financial
obligations to the component within the designated time allowed. Registration fees are payable at the
time of registration, and students are not entitled to enter class or
laboratory until their fees and deposits have been paid. Other charges and financial obligations
are due at registration
or
within ten (10) days after a bill is rendered by the component or according to
the special payment instructions that may be printed on the bill.
Penalties for Failure to Pay. Failure to pay in the allotted time the amount owed to the University for tuition, fees, charges, or any other financial obligations may result in any or all of the following:
(1)
Dismissal from the
University and/or other disciplinary actions;
(2) Withholding
of future registration privileges;
(3) Withholding
the issuance of grades or of an official certified transcript;
(4) Withholding
the conferring of a degree;
(5) Bar
against re-admission for the student;
(6) Assessment
of late fees and/or reinstatement fees.”
03.
DEFINITION OF AND
PROCEDURES FOR HANDLING OUTSTANDING FINANCIAL OBLIGATIONS
03.01 Student financial obligations may include, but are not limited to, the following:
a. tuition,
room, board, drop fees, schedule change fees, late registration fees,
orientation fees, application fees, matriculation fees, and other
registration-related fees. (Such as Computer Services, Library,
Campus Recreation, shuttle bus, Student Center);
b. returned
checks and related fees;
c. payment
of delinquent charges, delinquent payment penalty, registration reinstatement
fee, installment fees;
d. residence
hall or university owned apartment damages, unpaid rent, late charges, unpaid
electricity;
e. lab
breakage, damaged equipment, lost equipment, chemical fees, supplies;
f. Health
Center charges, X-ray charges, prescription charges, late fees;
g. tutorial
and lost book charges;
h. parking
permit, duplicate identification card charges, traffic/parking violations and
associated fees;
i. diploma
fees, diploma insert fees, absentia fees, transcript fees;
j. testing
fees;
k. student
loans, installments, collection costs and associated fees;
l. charges for other
university-provided services and/or functions (such as canoe rental, room
rental, athletic events, and fine arts programs);
m. property damage; or
n. any
other debt owed to the
University.
03.02 Notice
of Financial Obligations - Students who fail to meet their financial
obligations will be given due notice of the outstanding obligation by the
General Accounting Office. Such
notice may be via standard U.S. postal service, campus mail, or a university
student e-mail account.
The General Accounting Office will utilize standard
university publications (such as the Schedule of Classes and the university web
site) to advise students of the consequences for non-payment of fees or for
failure to clear a returned check or other debts.
03.03 Consequences
for students’ failure to meet their financial obligations include:
a. dismissal from the
University;
b. cancellation
of classes;
c. being
precluded from registering for succeeding semesters/summer sessions,
d. withholding
an official copy of a certified transcript,
e. withholding
the conference of a degree,
f. barring
re-admission to the University,
g. not
being permitted to remain in the
residence hall or university owned apartments and/or will not be able to use a
dining hall meal plan without paying (applicable only for failure to make
prescribed payments),
h. assessment
of additional fees for delinquent payments (fees may be found in the current
Texas State Schedule of Classes);
i. assessment
of additional fees for each returned check and non-acceptance of checks for
payments to the University;
j. reporting
of unpaid university obligations to credit agencies;
k. cessation
of university-provided services;
l. placement
of warrant holds with the State Comptroller’s Office so that no state payments
will be made to the individual owing the debt.
03.04 Financial Holds – The General Accounting Office will place financial holds on the records of students who have outstanding financial obligations.
When the student has cleared all financial obligations, the Cashier's Office hold will be removed and services will be restored.
03.05 Insufficient
Funds Checks (NSF checks) – Students who present to the university two (2) NSF
checks within a one-year period of time (measured from the date the first check
is returned to the date the second check is returned) will be placed on a ‘cash
basis’ (cash, certified/cashier’s check or credit card) for one (1) year
(measured from the date the second check is returned). Students who present to the university
five (5) NSF checks, in total, will be placed on a “permanent cash basis”
(cash, certified/cashiers’ check or credit card).
04. PROCEDURE FOR WITHHOLDING
TRANSCRIPTS
04.01 The Family Education Rights and Privacy Act of
1974 requires that the University provide requesting individuals copies of
their unofficial grade transcripts and other education records as requested,
though the requesting party may have an outstanding obligation to the
University. The University may withhold an official validated transcript with
the Registrar's seal thereon from a person with outstanding financial
obligations to the University.
04.02 If a student has unresolved financial obligations to the University, and if the student has neither filed for bankruptcy nor had the debt discharged in bankruptcy, the University will follow these procedures in allowing the student (or someone acting on his/her behalf) access to his/her transcript:
a. On
receiving an application to inspect the transcript, the Registrar will promptly
produce the transcript for inspection or duplication, or both, at the
Registrar's Office. The Registrar will not authorize any person to remove the
original copy of the transcript from the university campus. The Registrar will
not mail the original transcript to the requesting student.
b. The
Registrar or his/her agent will not make any inquiry of the person who applies
to inspect or copy the transcript beyond the purpose of establishing proper
identification of the requesting party, identifying the transcript being
requested, and establishing whether the Registrar is authorized to refuse to
honor the request.
c. The
Registrar should afford the student an opportunity to take notes of the
contents of the transcript, or pay for its duplication, or both.
d. The
cost to any person requesting a non-certified photographic reproduction of his
or her transcript shall be Registrar's actual cost of making the copies.
04.03 The General Accounting Office will send a list of students to the Director of Residence Life, indicating those who have not paid room and board charges as prescribed. The Director of Residence Life may take action to remove the students from the residence halls.
04.04 Students
may appeal these actions only if they can present documentary evidence, in
writing, to the Director of Accounting/designee that the administrative actions
were effected erroneously due to an accounting error in recording payment. The
only other circumstances which may provide grounds for appeal is a documented
serious emergency circumstance that precluded payment by the installment or
billing due date. (Lack of sufficient funds will not be considered an emergency
circumstance.) In all cases, the
Director of Accounting/designee will review the written material and make a
decision after weighing all the facts, with due consideration to the student's
welfare.
05. RESPONSIBILITIES
FOR COLLECTING STUDENTS’ FINANCIAL OBLIGATIONS
05.01 The
General Accounting Office has primary responsibility (delegated to the
Receivables Department) for the collection of registration-related student fees
and other financial charges and will work to assure that losses from unpaid
student financial obligations are minimized. When it is feasible, the General Accounting Office will also
assist other university departments in collection of non-registration fees, per
the following section.
05.02 University departments
that collect non-registration student fees and other financial charges have
primary responsibility for the collection of such amounts. They should exercise diligence in their
collection efforts, so as to minimize losses from unpaid obligations. These departments may be granted
security access by the General Accounting Office to place their own financial
holds on students’ records.
Departments must notify the General Accounting Office of student
non-payment within sixty (60) days after the obligation becomes due. This will enable the General Accounting
Office to assist with the collection efforts, if feasible.
06. REVIEWERS OF THIS UPPS
06.01 The University has adopted the board authorization as policy. The Associate Vice President for Financial Services/Treasurer shall be responsible for assuring that this policy is published in the University Catalog, Student handbook, and other appropriate publications.
06.02 Reviewers
of this UPPS include the following:
Position Date
Dr. Carolyn Conn, Associate Vice President July
1 E5Y
for Financial Services/Treasurer
07. CERTIFICATION STATEMENT
This
UPPS has been approved by the following individuals in their official
capacities and represents Texas State policy and procedure from the date of
this document until superseded.
Dr.
Carolyn Conn, Associate Vice President for Financial Services/Treasurer; senior
reviewer of this UPPS
Mr.
Bill Nance, Vice President for Finance and Support Services
Dr.
Denise M. Trauth, President