Payment Policies
St. Mary’s Ecumenical Institute allows students to register for classes by paying the term’s registration fee. Full payment of tuition and student services fee, or partial payment with a deferred-payment contract, is due no later than the first day of classes. Deferred-payment contracts, whereby the tuition is payable in installments, without finance charges, are available to new students and continuing students who maintain good credit at St. Mary’s. Payments may be made by check, money order, or credit card (VISA, MasterCard, American Express, or Discover).
Each student is fully responsible for his or her own financial obligations. Students who fail to make their full tuition payment, or first installment on a deferred-payment contract, by the first class meeting may have their registrations cancelled. Students who fail to make a scheduled tuition payment are invoiced and assessed a late-payment fee for each occurrence. Repeated or extended delinquency within a term may result in an administrative withdrawal from the term’s class(es). Students who are administratively withdrawn (a) lose all monies paid, (b) are responsible for tuition for the course according to the tuition reduction and refund policy printed below, and (c) receive no credit for the classes in which they were enrolled. Students who fail to meet their financial obligations on time, write checks with insufficient funds, or otherwise establish poor credit at St. Mary’s may not be permitted future registration with a deferred-payment contract.
Students with outstanding financial obligations are not permitted to register for classes; receive credit for the courses for which tuition monies are due; or receive a grade report, transcript, certificate, or diploma.
A student’s financial obligations are considered fulfilled when a check paid to St. Mary’s clears the bank or a credit-card transaction is approved.
Tuition Reduction and Refund
Students who withdraw from a course are obligated to fulfill their financial obligations for the course. The schedule printed below lists the deadlines by which an official written and signed withdrawal notice (download the Add/Change/Drop Form here) must be received by the Registrar in order for the student to be eligible for the corresponding percent of reduction in tuition:
Time of Official Withdrawal |
Percentage of Tuition Reduction*
|
Before the second class session |
100%
|
Up to 8 hours of meeting time |
2/3
|
Up to 12 hours of meeting time |
1/3
|
After 12 hours of meeting time |
0%
|
Any student who fails to withdraw officially or who is administratively withdrawn is not entitled to a reduction or refund.
Charges or Refunds for Changes in Registration Status
Students who change from audit to credit must pay full credit tuition regardless of the date their change in registration status becomes effective.
Students who change from credit to audit pay audit tuition. This change must be made by the mid-point of the term (the specific date is published in the school calendar). The change is made by submitting to the Registrar a signed copy of the Request for Change in Course Status. A student who fails to submit a signed form will not be switched to audit status. A student who submits a signed form after the published deadline must pay full credit tuition.
Financial Records Policy
Financial documents that relate to a student’s stay at St. Mary’s may be examined only by those parties at St. Mary’s who are directly responsible for students’ accounts or billing matters.