Financial Policies

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Students are individually responsible for their financial obligations to the University. Tuition is charged based on each student’s credit hour enrollment and primary academic career.

Students with overdue accounts or other unpaid financial obligations may be denied services from the Office of the University Registrar, including diploma issuance and readmission, until all debts are resolved. The Division of Enrollment Services and Student Financial Services may block or cancel registration for students with delinquent accounts. The University may also assess attorney’s fees and collection costs (up to 50% of the outstanding balance). By enrolling, students agree to abide by all University rules, regulations, and policies.

Once outstanding debts are paid, students must obtain clearance from the Division of EnrollmentServices and Student Financial Services before registering or receiving their diploma.

Financial aid applications should be submitted well before registration, following the deadlines set by the Division of Enrollment Services, Student Financial Services. Late applications may experience processing delays, which can postpone financial aid disbursement. Regardless of aid status, students and families must pay all charges by the published due dates. Any aid disbursed after the payment deadline will first be applied to outstanding charges.

Payment Policies and Procedures

All tuition, fees, housing, food plan, and other University charges are paid online through the SMUpay option at my.SMU.edu. Students and Authorized Payers may choose from the following payment methods:

• Electronic check (eCheck): No service charge.
• Credit Card: 2.85% non refundable service charge for US based credit/debit card payments - AMEX, Discover, MasterCard, VISA and 3.95% non refundable service charge for international non-US card payments.
• Wire Transfer: Flywire for international wires (service fees may apply).

Returned check payments or credit card chargebacks are considered nonpayments. These must be replaced with a cashier’s check or money order. Nonpayment may result in withdrawal from the University and require that all future payments be made via cashier’s check or money order. A $30 fee is assessed for each returned payment.

Payment in full must be posted to the Student Account by 11:59 p.m. CT on the payment due date listed on the student’s bill. Initial term payment due dates are available on the Student Financial Services website. 

Billing notifications are sent to the student’s SMU e-mail and to any Authorized Payer’s provided e-mail when a bill is generated. The e-mail includes instructions for accessing the bill online via SMUpay. If no notification is received two weeks prior to the due date, students or Authorized Payers should contact Student Financial Services

Payment deadlines:

• In-person or mailed payments must be received by 4:00 p.m. CT on the due date.
• Online payments must be posted by 11:59 p.m. CT on the due date.

Online payers automatically receive an electronic payment confirmation. Others can verify payment receipt through SMUpay. Students enrolling after the payment due date must pay at the time of enrollment.

If utilizing federal or state loans for payment, funds must be posted to the Student Account by the payment due date.

Schedule Changes

Students who drop courses during the scheduled add/drop period, but still remain enrolled in other courses, will not be charged tuition or fees for the dropped courses. (Undergraduate students are charged a flat tuition rate for 12-18 credit hours). No tuition reduction is provided for any courses dropped after the add/drop period ends.

A student who drops all courses will either be canceled or withdrawn, depending on the date of the transaction.

Effective Fall 2017, all academic careers have an extended deadline to drop a course or withdraw from the University without an academic record. This deadline is the 10th class day of the term and applies to the fall and spring terms only. (See the Academic Calendar for specific dates.)

Important: Tuition is not reduce for any courses dropped after the official add/drop period. If a student drops all courses by the extended deadline, they will be canceled from all courses, but the Withdrawal Refund Schedule will apply.

Past Due Payment Fee

After the monthly payment due date has passed, a 1.5% past due fee will be assessed on the unpaid student and/or miscellaneous account each month until the balance is paid. The enrollment of students whose accounts are unpaid after the payment due date may be canceled at the university’s discretion.

SMU Bookstore Direct Charge Policy

SMU allows students to have purchases from the SMU Bookstore charged directly to their miscellaneous student account. Charges are billed monthly and are due on the date specified on the bill. Students with outstanding balances on their miscellaneous account will be charged 1.5% monthly on the past due balance. Students who have an outstanding balance during their tenure at SMU may lose the privilege to use direct charge from the SMU Bookstore. Students with repeated delinquencies on the account and/or returned checks will lose the privilege for the rest of their matriculation at SMU.

Student Refunds

Student loan funds, that create a credit on the student’s account, received by SMU before the first day of class will be processed for refunding once the funds are posted to the Student Account. Per regulations for federal aid:

• Refunds may be processed no earlier than 10 calendar days before the first day of class, if funds are disbursed to the account.
• Refunds must be issued within 14 calendar days after the first day of class.
• For loans funds disbursed after the first day of class, allow up to 14 calendar days from the date of the posting for the refund to be processed.

Any outstanding debts to the university that include Title IV funds (federal financial aid) must have the appropriate form(s) on file in order to transfer funds to cover current aid year debts:

•  Authorization to Credit Account form (ACA) - Completed by student
• Authorization to Credit Account Parent form (ACAP) - Completed by parent Plus loan borrower.

 Any outstanding university debts that do not include Title IV funds will be deducted from the credit balance before issuing the refund.

SMU has partnered with Heartland ECSI Refund Select to issue refunds. To enroll in direct deposit:

1. Log into into my.SMU.edu 
2. Select the “Financial Account” tile.
3. Click on the MyRefundSMU link on the left-hand menu.
4. Create a profile (username must begin with a letter and cannot have spaces or special characters).
5. Select “Direct Deposit” as your preferred method for refunds.

Note: You must be eligible to enroll to access RefundSelect.

Refunds are processed continuously throughout the year as financial aid is applied. To check on the status of a refund, students may contact Student Financial Services 14 calendar days after aid has disbursed to the Student Account.

Withdrawals from the University

Withdrawal Information

Students wanting to withdraw from the university should visit the University Registrar’s website for specific information about the withdrawal process: www.smu.edu/EnrollmentServices/Registrar/Enrollment/

Medical Withdrawal

Students wanting to withdraw from the university due to medical reasons should visit the University Registrar’s website for specific information about the medical withdrawal process: www.smu.edu/StudentAffairs/HealthCenter/FrontDesk/MedicalWithdrawals.

Withdrawals and Financial Aid

Students receiving financial aid should contact Student Financial Services prior to starting the withdrawal process. 

Housing and Food Plan

The Housing Agreement is made for fall and spring terms or for one or both five-week summer sessions. Should a student move from the residence hall at any time, the rest of the rent for the term(s) or five-week summer session(s) will be due. For more specific information, read the Housing Agreement form or consult with the Department of Residence Life and Student Housing. A percentage of food plan charges may be refunded based on the date of official withdrawal from the University.

TUITION AND FEES SCHEDULE FOR CANCELLATION/WITHDRAWAL

A student who officially cancels his or her enrollment or withdraws from the University is charged only a portion of their tuition and fees based on the effective date of the cancellation or withdrawal.

Special Schedule

IEP career follows summer schedule for May term and Summer.

Graduate Cox programs follow Fall/Spring schedule for Fall/Spring/Summer terms.

Graduate & Advanced Studies program follows the same schedule for Fall/Winter/Spring/Summer terms.

SMU Abroad programs have a “NO REFUND” policy after the start of the program and follow refund schedule on application.

SMU-in-Taos programs follow the refund schedule on applications.

Please refer to the following tables for the schedule:

Summer Term

August Term

Winter Term

Jan Term

May Term

**Please refer to academic calendar for each term’s date.

This schedule falls within the recommended withdrawal policy of the American Council of Education. Please contact the Office of the University Bursar for medical withdrawal prorated information.

FEDERAL AID POLICY ON FULL CANCELLATION OF CLASSES AND TOTAL WITHDRAWAL FROM THE UNIVERSITY

Return of Federal Student Aid Funds

The Higher Education Amendments of 1998 establishes the principle of “earned aid/unearned aid” for administration of federal student aid. A student “earns” federal aid in proportion to the percentage of the term completed. Students withdrawing from the University before completing 60% of the term will be subject to the Federal Return to Title IV (R2T4) calculation. The R2T4 calculation is used to determine the amount of aid a student has earned during a term. Any student that completes 60% of a term is considered to have earned 100% of their financial aid funds for that term. Students who do not complete at least 60% of the term may be required to return the “unearned” portion previously disbursed financial aid. For example, a student who completes 30% of the term has “earned” 30% of their federal aid eligibility for that term; however, SMU and/or the student may have to return the “unearned” 70% of aid. Students who complete 60% of a term are considered to have earned 100% of their aid for that term. 

A student who receives a refund of financial aid funds for educational expenses that are not billed directly (books and supplies, transportation, living and/or personal expenses) may be required to return the unearned portion of that refund. Federal regulations require all schools to notify the U.S. Department of Education of any student who is required to return an unearned portion of financial aid funds received. The student is ineligible for additional federal aid, at any institution, until repayment is made in full.

STUDENT FINANCIAL SERVICES POLICY ON TUITION REVERSAL FOR A FULL CANCELLATION
OF CLASSES AND TOTAL WITHDRAWAL FROM THE UNIVERSITY

Tuition charges will be adjusted based on the following schedule for students who totally withdraw from the University. 

Per Federal Regulation, a credit balance resulting from a withdrawal calculation MUST be returned to the Federal Financial Aid programs first. Once all required reductions in financial aid programs have been completed, any remaining funds will be refunded to the student.

Attribution of Refunds to Aid Programs

• Unearned funds must be returned to the funding source(s) in accordance with federal, state, and institutional policies.  
• Federal aid programs must be returned in the following priority sequence: Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loans, Federal Direct Subsidized Loans, Federal Direct PLUS Loan, Federal Pell Grant and Federal SEOG.
• Any portion of the unearned financial aid not attributed to federal Title IV programs will be returned to non-federal funding sources in the following priority sequence: state grant, SMU gift aid, private gift aid, private loan, and student/parent.
• In no case will funds returned to a source exceed the disbursement for that payment period made from the source.

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