Student Accounts - Frequently Asked Questions
Billing
Q: When are bills mailed out and when are payments due?
A: For the Fall semester, bills will be sent late June and are due August 1. For the Spring semester, bills are sent early December and are due January 2. Students living on campus must have bills paid on or before August 1 for Fall or January 2 for Spring or jeopardize loss of on campus housing. Please see Undergraduate Billing Information or Graduate Billing Information for full details.
Q: If you only mail two paper billing statements per year, how do I check my account?
A: You can view your bill online 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at www.emerson.edu/payment. For more information, please see our Online Tuition Statement FAQ.
Payment Options
Q: How can I make a payment?
A: You may make payments online, by mail, by wire transfer, or in person. Please note, payments can not be made by phone. Please see Methods of Payment for a full details.
Q: What if I cannot pay my tuition in full? Do you offer any payment plans?
A: Emerson offers a 10-month payment plan through TuitionPay. The enrollment fee for the annual plan is $95.00. Payments begin July 1st, are payable on the 1st of each following month, and end April 1st. You may sign up for TuitionPay through August 1st with all back payments received. For example, if you sign up August 1st, you must pay the $95.00 enrollment fee, plus 2 back payments to cover the past payments due for July 1st and August 1st. The Spring only plan begins December 1st and ends April 1st. The enrollment fee for the Spring only plan is $50. Please contact TuitionPay online at www.TuitionPay.com/emerson or by phone at (800) 635-0120 to enroll.
Q: What if I have outside scholarship funds to apply to my account balance?
A: You must notify the Office of Accounts Management and provide documentation to support receipt of outside scholarship funds. To deduct outside scholarship funds from your tuition account, you must provide a copy of the outside award documentation to a financial services representative and sign an Emerson College promissory note. It is your responsibility to follow up and insure payment is received from any outside agency. If the agency needs to be billed, please notify the Office of Accounts Management by calling 617-824-8655.
Q: What if my company is paying my tuition?
A: To defer 75% of the tuition balance until thirty days after the end of the semester, you must submit a signed letter of authorization on company letterhead with the company’s policy and a signed Emerson College promissory note. You are required to pay 25% of your tuition plus all fees to settle your account. Please see Methods of Payment for more information.
Refunds
Q: When and how can I request a refund for an overpayment of my student account?
A:
- View full Refund policy for more information.
- Questions and concerns can be emailed to Bills@emerson.edu
- Students have the ability to request refunds without the consent of the primary bill payer. Only students can request a refund.
Refunds for Students with Federal Financial Aid
In compliance with federal regulations, all Federal Financial Aid recipients whose total federal funds exceed total tuition, room and board and fees will be mailed a federal refund automatically, unless the student or parent borrower (for PLUS loans) authorizes Emerson College to retain the excess funds to cover other expenses. If the student or parent borrower does not authorize Emerson College to retain the excess funds, a refund will be issued of the excess by mail to the billing address on file after all funds have been received and applied to the student account. In order to comply with this regulation an Authority to Retain Funds Form will be sent to eligible borrowers to complete and send back to Emerson College before the end of the Add/Drop period. If a form is not received by our office before the deadline, refunds will be automatically generated and mailed out.Students who use their excess funds to purchase EC Cash, Commuter meal plans, immunizations or pay for Graduate Assistantship taxes should return the authorization or there could be a balance created on their account due to the automatic refund of the excess funds. The student then will be responsible for all outstanding balances on their account. The student or parent borrower may rescind their authorization in writing; otherwise the authorization is valid for the current and future academic periods.
Withdrawal Policy
Q: What happens if I withdraw from Emerson?
A: All students are eligible to receive full credit of their tuition and fees, excluding non-refundable deposits, if they withdraw before the first day of classes. Students receiving federal financial aid funds who withdraw on or after the first day of classes will have their aid adjusted using the percentage determined by the Federal Return of Title IV Funds calculation. Adjustments will be made based on the number of days a student attends, up to the 60% point of the semester. Tuition charges on the student’s account will be adjusted by the same percentage used to adjust aid. Students who do not receive federal financial aid are subject to the Emerson College Refund policy as indicated:
- During the first two weeks of classes - 80% refund of tuition only
- During the third week of class - 60% refund of tuition only
- During the fourth week of class - 40% refund of tuition only
- During the fifth week of class - 20% refund of tuition only
- After the fifth week - NO REFUND IS MADE
No tuition refund is available when the College authorities require a student’s withdrawal or when a student withdraws from a course with a WP or WF grade. Fees and housing charges are non-refundable. Charges for meal plans may be refundable on a pro rata basis. Petitions should be filed with the Office of Housing and Residence Life.
Tuition Insurance
Q: Does Emerson offer a tuition insurance plan?
A: Elective insurance is available from the Dewar Tuition Refund Plan to enhance the existing refund policy of the College. The insurance provides coverage for medical withdrawals and leaves of absence (LOAs) above and beyond College refunds. They may be contacted at 617-774-1555. The College policy provides for a declining percentage refund of tuition for withdrawals through the first five weeks of a given term, but does not provide for refund of room and board charges. The College will not refund tuition for medical reasons beyond this five-week period; the supplemental tuition insurance must be purchased for coverage of this type. The Tuition Refund Plan will cover 100% of the insured term tuition in the case of a medical withdrawal or LOA, and 60% of the insured term tuition in the case of a psychological withdrawal or LOA, less any refund or credit due from the College. Applications must be submitted prior to the first day of classes. The premium is 1% of the total charges for the academic year. For further information, contact Student Financial Services.
EC Cash
Q: What is EC Cash and how can I get it?
A: EC Cash is a way for students to use their Emerson Student Identification as a debit card for on campus purchases. Students place pre-paid dollar amounts on the card to be used at many designated locations like the Book Store, on-campus laundry machines, Emerson library, dining halls, Emerson convenience stores and on campus vending machines. The purchased amount is deducted from student's EC Cash balance.
Students can log in to www.emerson.edu/eccash using their ECNet username and password. Students can give "Guest Access" to up to four people, which will be a great way for parents/friends to make deposits into a student's account. Deposits can also be made without logging in. Parents/others can just click the Make a Deposit link, enter the student's Emerson ID and make a deposit without logging in at all.Please do not use the online tuition payment site to deposit EC Cash to student's accounts as you will be charged a 2% convenience fee for credit card transactions. EC Cash remains on the student's EC Cash account at the end of the year and will be ready to use next semester. It can also be refunded at the end of the academic year with some restrictions.
With the new site, students will be able to see their Board Bucks and EC Cash balance and transaction history. If a student loses his/her Emerson ID card, h/she can deactivate it at the site. If h/she finds it before going to Public Safety to get a new one, then h/she can come back to the site to activate it.
IMPORTANT: You cannot add any dollar amounts to your EC Cash if there is an outstanding balance on your student account. Any funds received will be first applied towards the existing balance on the account.
