Policies and Procedures
The Office of the Bursar is responsible for the collection of University financial obligations. An account that is past due is encumbered by the Office of the Bursar. The Student Loan Administration may also encumber the accounts of students or former students who have not satisfied their obligations to that department. A student whose account is encumbered will be denied certain University services (e.g., registration, transcripts). Once the past due balance is paid, or appropriate credit is applied to the bursar account, financial holds will be removed.
If you don’t pay your bill and we can’t agree on a payment arrangement with you, we may report your balance to the credit bureau and place it with an outside collection agency.
You could also face legal trouble, wage garnishment, or loss of income tax refunds. You could be liable for all reasonable collection costs, including agency and attorney fees associated with collection efforts.
Email is the official means of communication at IU, and students are responsible for reading the content of the email sent from the Office of the Bursar. Students and 3rd party users are sent email notifications when a new bill is generated and have access to the statements much faster than paper bills were available, providing greater time for remitting payment by the due date (whether paying electronically or by mail). All students are sent an email to their IU email address when the monthly bill is available. In addition, any authorized payer created by the student has the option of being sent these bill notifications. Failure to receive the email notification of a bill will not be accepted as a reason for missing any payment deadline.
The return by any financial institution of a dishonored payment (check or Web ACH) issued to Indiana University will result in the assessment of a $27.50 fee per payment request against the issuer's account (or against the account of the student on whose behalf the payment was presented). Two or more dishonored payments will result in the requirement that all future University payments be made with guaranteed funds (cashier's check, money order, or cash).
Checks or Web ACH payments used to relieve an encumbrance which are subsequently returned by the financial institution will automatically result in the requirement that all future University payments be made with guaranteed funds. In addition, the University reserves the right to cancel the student's enrollment in this situation.
The Office of the Bursar conducts all of its business directly with the student. Just as monthly charges are listed in the student's name, so are any course withdrawals that might produce a refund. Therefore, refunds are drawn in the name of the student and distributed in one of the following methods:
CREDIT CARD
If the payment was made with a credit card, the refund will be made to that credit card.
DIRECT DEPOSIT
You can have your refund deposited directly into your personal checking or savings account and greatly reduce the time it takes to receive your refund. To arrange for direct deposit, login into One® and search for Direct Deposit of Bursar Refunds then follow the instructions to enter your bank information.
CHECK REFUND
A student who does not sign up for direct deposit and is to receive a refund will be issued a check. This process takes a bit longer than direct deposit. The refund will be sent to the address on file with the registrar.
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) is a federal law that protects the privacy of education records for all students at the university. The general principle is that education records are considered confidential and may not be released to third parties (including parents) without the written consent of the student. Protected elements of the student's education record include, but are not limited to, financial data, progress in courses, class scheduling, grade information, and academic disciplinary information.
Enrolled students have the ability to authorize another person, such as a parent or guardian, to view and/or pay their bill and/or discuss the student account. Such authorization also serves as a privacy release to allow the Bursar staff to discuss details of the student account with the 3rd Party User.
Qualified individuals, their spouses, registered domestic partners, and dependent children are entitled to Tuition Benefit. Qualified individuals include full-time employees of Indiana University appointed on a full-time basis by the end of the first week of classes for the semester or first summer session. For a list of all qualifying classification, please see the plan eligibility requirements on the University Human Resources (UHRS) web site. Tuition Benefit does not apply to special fees, such as those for laboratories, applied music, student teaching, early education experience, dissertation research fee, or rental of special equipment and facilities.
Indiana University recently formalized our policy and procedures on the Senior Citizen Fee Waiver. This policy applies to all Indiana University campuses and programs.
IU Kokomo must comply with federal regulations for disbursement of Title IV financial aid (Federal Direct Loan, Pell Grant, Perkins Loan, Graduate PLUS Loan, Parent PLUS Loan, etc.). Without a signed Authorization, Title IV aid can be applied only to certain charges (tuition, mandatory fees, course-related fees, program fees, contracted housing and dining charges). With a signed Authorization, Title IV aid can be applied to all IU charges (Health Center charges, parking permits, library fines, optional fees, etc.). Even with a signed Authorization, current academic year (fall and spring terms) Title IV aid cannot pay more than $200.00 for any prior year charges. The regulation is contained in § 668.164 (d) Crediting a student's account at the institution.
TITLE IV AUTHORIZATION FORM
Read and submit this form for the most inclusive use of your Title IV federal financial aid.
The Title IV Authorization form is accessed in One Start Student Self Service by following these steps.
- Sign into One (one.iu.edu)
- In the search bar type in Title IV Financial Aid Authorizations
- Choose Start
- Select your Campus and then Grant Authorization
The Office of the Bursar will consider fee refund requests due to involuntary withdrawals where the enrollment record denotes W's or correspondingly the enrollment record reflects FNN resulting in non-attendance. Unless substantiated with medical or other extraordinary circumstances, non-attendance is NOT considered valid for this purpose. Appeals based on not knowing procedures or dates, forgetting, personal time conflicts (employment), are seldom approved. Normally, such requests are not granted for more than one term.
In order to be considered for a refund or waiver of fees, a student must:
- Submit the fee refund request form within one year following the close of the term in question. Include name, address, student ID, semester and course(s) for the student making the request. Requests must be submitted by the student; requests on behalf of a student will be considered if submitted by a parent or guardian where the student is incapacitated.
- Provide a written summary with documentation* which describes the circumstances resulting in involuntary withdrawal or in the case of FNN letter grade, a detail not only the circumstances but substantiates that classes were never attended.
- Record last date of attendance. Note: Faculty is required to indicate on grade rosters the last date of attendance if a student has not officially withdrawn.
- Contact the Financial Aid office before submitting any fee refund requests as any changes to their account could affect their Financial Aid Award and place the student in repayment.
DOCUMENTATION
The review process requires documentation. For example, a claim of unexpected illness or injury should be supported by a letter from a physician. Similarly, if a student has experienced a death in the immediate family, a death certificate or newspaper clipping must be provided with evidence of student's relationship to the deceased.
Once all documentation is in order, the Bursar will consider the fee waiver. The student will be advised of the decision within 2-4 weeks at their address on record with the Office of the Registrar. If the decision is denied by the Bursar, the student may appeal that decision to a Committee for their review. A committee review is a final step in an appeal process.
COMMITTEE REVIEW
A five-member committee comprised of student service staff members, a faculty member, a staff member not connected with student services, and one student will review appeals and will meet on an as-needed basis. A guiding principle in the review is "student responsibility". From the IU Kokomo Bulletin: "Knowing and adhering to the rules and regulations is an obligation of each student as a member of the IU Kokomo Community." From the Schedule of Classes: "All students are expected to be familiar with such rules and regulations as stated in the class schedule and the bulletin." Every student should be familiar with The Registration Agreement, which covers the student's responsibility for paying for course fees or notifying the University if they decide not to attend.
Documentation should be submitted using the Fee Refund Exception Form.
Lost and Found is now located with the Indiana University Police Department.