Deposits & Refund Policies

Course Catalog

Required Deposits

Admissions. All incoming students are required to make a non-refundable deposit of $500 in accordance with the terms of the letter of admission to the university. This deposit will be credited to the student's first semester billing.

Other Deposits may be required of students enrolled in specific courses or programs.

Credit and Refund Policies

Tuition and room fees will be credited to students’ accounts who give written notification of withdrawal from the university, subject to the conditions which follow. The date of receipt of the written notice by the Office of the Registrar will be considered the official date of withdrawal. No credit of tuition or room fees will be made after the midpoint of the term or semester. No refund will be made if academic credit is earned. Prior to the midpoint of the term or semester, tuition and room fees will be credited as follows:

Timing of Withdrawal	Amount of Tuition and Room Fees Credit
Prior to first day of classes	100 percent credit
From first day of classes through the mid-point of the term or semester	The amount of credit issued will be reduced by two weeks of tuition and room fees for each week, or partial week, completed.
After the mid-point of the term or semester	No credit will be issued

The student fees will be credited, in full, in the case of voluntary withdrawal prior to the first day of classes. No portion of the fees will be credited after classes begin.

For students suspended or dismissed for disciplinary reasons, the university will not issue credit for tuition or room fees.

Active Duty Withdrawal: Students who must withdraw because they are called to active duty and who receive no academic credit for the semester will receive a full tuition refund. If academic credit is awarded, the refund will be prorated according to the amount of that academic credit. The student fees also will be credited in full, and room fees will be credited based on the number of unused days.

Board charges are credited on the basis of the unused portion of a board contract for all withdrawals, suspensions, and dismissals. Board charge credits are subject to a forfeit fee not to exceed $50.

For off-campus or summer programs, there will be no credit for the cost of personal services, travel expenses, supplies, or services furnished by outside contractors, which have been used prior to withdrawal or for which no credit is available to the university.

For students other than full-time undergraduate students, the "100 percent credit" period will extend through the end of the last day of the formal drop/add period.

Protection for Health Related Withdrawals: Bucknell is pleased to offer a way to help families protect their substantial financial investment in a college education. The Tuition Refund Plan is an optional private insurance plan through A.W.G. Dewar, Inc., that assures subscribers who withdraw for illness or accident a refund throughout the semester, even if Bucknell’s own refund policy has expired. For costs, benefit levels, further information, or an application form, please contact John Strain at Dewar, 4 Batterymarch Park, Suite 320, Quincy, MA 02169-7468, 617-774-1555.

Residence Hall Damage Charges

The university holds resident students responsible for any unassigned loss, damage, repair or replacement of the furnishings, door, windows, walls, and the condition of the room during the term of occupancy. Furthermore, since living in a university residence is a privilege accompanied by certain responsibilities associated with community living, resident students assume responsibility for any unassigned loss or damage to any property in the public area (lounges, hallways, bathrooms, etc.) within the community. The charge for communal damage is posted on the hall as those damages occur. However, individual room damages and unassigned damage occurring in communal areas are posted on a resident's bill at the conclusion of each semester.

Refunds

Credit balances appearing on the student's billing account will be refunded in accordance with the following guidelines:

Refunds will be issued when a credit balance actually exists on the student's billing account.
If the total Title IV, HEA program funds credited to your account exceeds the amount of tuition, room and board, you may authorize Bucknell in writing or electronically to pay other current charges that were incurred at Bucknell for educationally related activities. These charges may include books, supplies, telephone toll charges, etc., which were incurred either before or within 14 days of the credit balance occurring.
If the credit balance is a result of excess payments, the credit balance will be refunded to the student or another individual upon the student's written request.
If a refund is not requested, the credit balance will remain on the account to help offset future charges.

Note: Specific credit and refund guidelines exist for students receiving financial assistace under Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended. This refund policy is printed in its entirety later in the university Catalog. Questions concerning these guidelines should be directed to the Office of Financial Aid by phone at 570-577-1331 or email finaid@bucknell.edu.

Financial Obligations

No student will be enrolled or graduated, and no student will be given a transcript of record, until all accounts have been paid or satisfactory arrangements have been made with the Office of Finance.

Accounts are due upon receipt of the billing invoice. A late fee of 1 percent of the outstanding balance of any student account will be assessed each billing period until the account is settled.

A past due balance may result in the suspension of Bucknell charging privileges. The charge privileges will not be reinstated until the account is paid in full. A penalty fee of $25 will be charged for any payment made by check, if the check is returned to the university. If any account is forwarded to our collection agency, the individual will also be responsible for paying any collection costs associated with the collection of this debt.

Bucknell University offers a Monthly Payment Plan, administered by Key Education Resources, as a convenient alternative to lump-sum semester payments. For additional information about the plan, you may contact Key Education Resources at 1-800-KEY-Lend or visit their website.

Return of Federal Student Aid*

The federal government requires Bucknell to publish the federal refund policy under Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 as amended. This refund policy sets guidelines for students who withdraw from the university if they receive financial assistance from the federal government.

The Department of Education, under the Higher Education Amendments of 1998, Public Law 105-244 stipulates the way funds paid toward a student’s education are to be handled when a recipient of the Federal Student Aid (FSA) funds withdraws from school. A statutory schedule is used to determine the amount of FSA funds a student has earned when he or she ceases attendance based on the period the student was in attendance. Up through the 60 percent point in each payment period or period of enrollment, a pro rata schedule is used to determine how much FSA funds the student has earned at the time of withdrawal. After the 60 percent point in the payment period or period of enrollment, a student has earned 100 percent of the FSA funds.

In general, the Amendments require that if a recipient of FSA assistance withdraws from a school during a payment period or a period of enrollment in which the recipient began attendance, the school must calculate the amount of FSA assistance the student did not earn and those funds must be returned. The percentage earned is one of the following:

If the day the student withdrew occurs on or before the student completed 60 percent of the payment period or period of enrollment for which the assistance was awarded, the percentage earned is equal to the percentage of the payment period or period of enrollment for which assistance was awarded that was completed.
If the day the student withdrew occurs after the student has completed 60 percent of the payment period or period of enrollment, the percentage earned is 100 percent.

The percentage and amount not earned is the complement of the percentage of FSA assistance earned multiplied by the total amount of FSA assistance that was disbursed (and that could have been disbursed) to the student, or on the student’s behalf, for the payment period or period of enrollment, as of the day the student withdrew, or the date of the institution's determination that the student withdrew.

If the student receives less FSA assistance than the amount earned, the school must comply with the procedures for post-withdrawal disbursement specified by the department in regulations. If the student receives more FSA assistance than the amount earned, the school, or the student, or both, must return the unearned funds as required, and in the order specified. The school must return the lesser of:

The amount of FSA funds that the student does not earn; or
The amount of institutional costs that the student incurred for the payment period or period of enrollment multiplied by the percentage of funds that was not earned.

The student (or parent, if a Federal PLUS loan) must return or repay, as appropriate, the remaining unearned FSA grant and loan funds. However, a student is not required to return 50 percent of the grant assistance received by the student that would be the responsibility of the student to repay.

The student (or parent, if a Federal PLUS loan) must return the unearned funds for which they are responsible to loan programs in accordance with the terms of the loan, and to grant programs as an overpayment. Grant overpayments are subject to repayment arrangements satisfactory to the school, or overpayment collection procedures prescribed by the Secretary of the Department of Education.

FSA funds for the payment period or period of enrollment for which a return of funds is required must be returned in the following order:

Unsubsidized Federal/Direct Stafford Loans
Subsidized Federal/Direct Stafford Loans
Federal Perkins Loans
Federal/Direct Grad PLUS Loans
Feder/Direct PLUS Loans
Federal PELL grants for which a return of funds is required
Academic Competitiveness Grants for which a return of funds is required
National SMART Grants for which a return of funds is required
Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants for which a return of funds is required
Other assistance under Title IV regulations for which a return of funds is required

The student will be issued the larger of the institutional refund or the federal refund. Any questions should be directed to Accounts Receivable at 570-577-3733.

*Source: 2006-07 Federal Student Aid Handbook