Tuition and Fees

 

Tuition and Fees Schedule 2011-2012 Academic Year

All tuition and fees are subject to change by action of the State Legislature or the Board of Regents of The Texas State University System. Nonresident tuition (out-of-state and international) is calculated each year by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board.

Fall and Spring

 

Summer 2012

 

*Included in the amounts above are Tuition and Designated Tuition, Student Service Fee, Student Center Fee, Computer Use Fee, Library Fee, Recreational Sports Fee, International Education Fee, Advisement Center Fee, Medical Fee, OneCard Service Fee, Records Fee, and Intercollegiate Athletic Fee.

Course-related or program-related fees are examples of fees not included in the above estimates. Please review Explanation of Fees in this catalog. Additional information is available at www.shsu.edu/schedule.

Explanation of Fees

Tuition and Designated Tuition: Resident students pay $50 tuition per semester credit hour during fiscal year 2005-06; and $50 tuition per semester credit hour during fiscal year 2006-07. Nonresident and foreign students currently pay $306 tuition per semester credit hour. The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board calculates each year the nonresident and foreign tuition. The designated tuition is $60 per semester credit hour for fiscal year 2005-06 and $60 per semester credit hour for fiscal year 2006-07.

Graduate Tuition: A graduate tuition differential of $33 per semester credit hour will be assessed for fiscal year 2005-06, and $44 per semester credit hour for fiscal year 2006-07.

Student Service Fee: The student service fee per semester credit hour is $21 for fiscal year 2005-06 (not exceeding $189 per each fall and spring semester and $105 per summer session) and $23 per credit hour for fiscal year 2006-07 (not exceeding $207 per each fall and spring semester and $115 per summer session). The fee supports the Intramural Program, Student Life Support Programs, and Extramural Programs. The fee provides admission to athletic events at Sam Houston State University under the auspices of the Department of Athletics.

Student Center Fee: The student center fee is $60 per semester ($30 per summer session) for fiscal year 2005-06 and fiscal year 2006-07 and is used to fund Lowman Student Center programs and activities.

Medical Fee: A Medical Fee of $30 is charged per student for each fall and spring semester and $15 per student for a summer session in accordance with the provisions of V.T.C.A. Education Code, Section 54.5089. This fee is assessed and collected to update clinical services, to make additional medications available for pharmacy services, and to increase health education.

Computer Use Fee: The computer use fee is $13 per semester credit hour for fiscal year 2005-06 and 2006-07 and issued for the training of students, faculty and staff, and for providing support services for operation, maintenance, and replacement of computer hardware and software.

Recreational Sports Fee: The recreational sports fee is $75 per each fall and spring semester ($37.50 per summer session) for fiscal years 2005-06 and 2006-07. It is used to purchase equipment and/or construct, operate, and maintain recreational sports facilities and programs.

International Education Fee: The international education fee is $1 per semester or summer session and will be used only to assist students participating in international student exchange or study abroad programs.

Library Fee: The library fee is $30 per each fall and spring semester and $15 per summer session for fiscal years 2005-06 and 2006-07. The Newton Gresham Library uses this fund to purchase books, electronic databases, and journal subscriptions. Advisement Fee: The Advisement fee is $50 for each fall and spring semester and $25 for each summer term (session). The fee is used to fund the Student Advising and Mentoring Center (SAM Center).

Late Registration Fee: A late payment fee of $10 is charged to all students who register on or after the first class day of any semester or summer session. Matriculation Fee: A matriculation fee of $15 is charged if a student resigns before the 1st class day of the semester or summer session.

Miscellaneous Fees (Not included in the previously listed Tuition and Fees Schedules):

Add/Drop Fee (per course)	$2
Audit Fee (per course)	$50
Course Fee (per course)	$5-$100
Distance Learning (per course), in addition to tuition and fees (Student Service, Student Center, and Recreational Sports Fees are waived, if only on-line courses are taken.)	$303
Laboratory Course Fee (per course)	$58
Music Fee for Individual Instruction (per course with suffix of "x"):
1 semester credit hour	$30
2 semester credit hours	$60
3 semester credit hours	$75
4 semester credit hours	$75
University Center Fee (per semester credit)	$50

General Property Deposit. Each student is required to make a General Property Deposit of $10 which will remain with the University through his/her career here except as noted below. All charges for property losses, damages, and breakages in libraries or laboratories must be settled promptly. However, any unpaid current charges will be deducted from the deposit before a refund is made.

Refund of General Property Deposit. The General Property Deposit, less charges, will be returned to the student at the end of his/her career as a student. However, any General Property Deposit which remains without call for refund for a period of four years from the date of last attendance at this university shall be forfeited. The deposit will then become a part of, and operative to, the permanent use and purpose of the University Student Deposit Fund.

Residence Classification for Tuition Purposes

The Texas Legislature and the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board establish the rules and regulations for determining residence classification. Texas residency for tuition purposes is generally obtained by residing and/or being gainfully employed in Texas for 12 consecutive months immediately prior to enrollment in any college or university, by being a dependent of a Texas resident (an individual who is claimed as a dependent for federal income tax purposes by the individual’s parent or legal guardian at the time of registration and for the tax year preceding the year in which the individual registers), or by being classified as a Texas Resident for the first five of the six years immediately preceding registration (not living out of the state more than 12 months immediately prior to registration).
               
A nonresident student may qualify to pay in-state tuition by meeting the requirements of a tuition waiver. Current tuition waiver options include but are not limited to 1) the student or his/her spouse or parent is a member of the U.S. Armed Forces and their home of record is Texas; 2) the student or his/her spouse or parent is employed at least half-time by an institution of higher education in Texas as a teacher or professor; 3) the student or his/her spouse or parent has a teaching or research assistantship at any Texas institution of higher education on at least a half-time basis; 4) the student holds a competitive scholarship awarded by the University of at least $1,000 for the academic year or summer; or 5) the student or student’s family has been transferred to Texas by a company in keeping with the state’s Economic Development and Diversification Program.

By state law, the student has the responsibility of registering under the proper residence classification. If a student has knowledge of an error in his/her residence classification for tuition purposes, it is the student’s responsibility to notify the Graduate Residence Classification Officer immediately. For more information concerning the rules and regulations for determining Texas residence classification, please contact the Graduate Residence Classification Officer, Sam Houston State University, Box 2478, Huntsville, Texas 77341-2478, or call (936) 294-3704 or (936) 294-1971.

 

Payment Information

The Texas Legislature has authorized collection of tuition and fees during a fall or spring semester by one of two methods: payment in full or in an installment plan (one-half payment of the tuition and fees at registration and separate one-quarter payments due prior to the sixth and eleventh class weeks). By state code, some fees cannot be paid by installment and are due in the initial payment. Parking permits and late registration fees are examples of charges which must be paid in full and are not eligible for installment payment. There is a processing fee for administration of the installment payment plan. Failure to make timely installment payments will cause accrual of late charges. Installment payment plans are not available during the summer sessions; payment is due in full at registration.
               
Payments made for registration purposes may be made by cash, cashier’s check, personal check, money order, or credit card (MasterCard and American Express only). All checks and money orders are accepted subject to final payment. Students may access account balances online. For additional information, see www.shsu.edu/saminfo/financial-menu.html. To make credit card payments online, visit www.shsu.edu/saminfo/credit.cgi.
               
Payments may be mailed to the Cashier’s Office, Sam Houston State University, Box 2273, Huntsville, TX 77341-2273 or paid in person in the Cashier’s Office, Estill Building, Suite 103, 1903 University Avenue, Huntsville, TX 77341

Payment Deadlines

To avoid loss of classes, students should refer to the payment deadlines listed in the online Schedule of Classes. Students who do not make a payment by the specified payment deadline will have schedules deleted; such students must then repeat the registration process for re-enrollment.               

A student who fails to make full payment of tuition and fees, including any incidental fees but excluding that portion of the registration fee that may be temporarily deferred but payable later in the scheduled payments as part of an installment payment agreement, may be prohibited from registering for classes until payment is made. A student who fails to make full payment prior to the end of the semester may be denied credit for work completed that semester.

Financial Responsibility

 

Students are expected to meet financial obligations to the University within the designated time allowed. Payment deadlines are listed in the Academic Calendar and are available through the Cashier’s Office. Students will not be admitted to classes until their financial obligations are met.
 
Failure to pay the amount owed in full, including appropriate penalty and late fee charges, prior to registration for a future semester or prior to the last class day for the current semester or summer session can result in any or all of the following sanctions: 1) withholding of future registration privileges; 2) withholding award of degree; 3) withholding of recommendation for certification; and 4) withholding of an official transcript.
                 

Students who pay fees with a returned check may suffer the above sanctions as well as those shown in the Returned Check Policy section of this catalog.

Student Accounts

 

Students may contact the Office of Student Accounts to discuss the status of their University financial records (e.g., payments made or owed, due dates for payments). For more information, call (936) 294-1089 or visit www.shsu.edu/saminfo/financial-menu.html.
               
Any financial aid, tuition waivers, grants or deferments will be used to reduce the amount owed by the student, with the remaining balance eligible for the installment payment plan. There is no installment payment plan during the summer sessions; payment in full is due at registration. The Texas Legislature has reserved the right to discontinue the installment payment plan.

Collections for Nonpayment

Nonpayment by the end of the semester may result in transfer of the student’s account to a contracted collection agency and assessment of a collection fee of at least 25 percent of the outstanding balance. The University may also choose to litigate an account on advice of University legal counsel. Should an account be litigated, the student will be responsible for all litigation expenses including attorney’s fees and court costs. Accounts that are referred to a contracted collection agency may also be reported to credit bureaus.

Returned Check Policy

A returned check, written by the student or on behalf of the student by another party, is defined as one returned to the University rightfully unpaid due to no fault of the bank or the University. The University reserves the right to refuse personal checks of any student who previously has had checks returned.

Each returned check is subject to a $25 check processing fee. Students have 10 days from the date on which notice is sent from the Business Office in which to pay the returned check and the returned check processing fee or inform the Business Office of their intent. Thereafter, the student may be resigned from the University. It should not be assumed the University will resign the student. A student who discontinues going to class without officially resigning from the University will be subject to the grade of “F” in each course. Students who have been resigned are eligible for reinstatement upon redemption of such check or checks, plus the returned check processing fee and the payment of a reinstatement charge of $50. A student who fails to make payment prior to the first day of final exams may not receive credit for the work done that semester and will not be allowed to register for future semesters until the delinquent amount is paid. In addition, unpaid returned checks may be turned over to other agencies for prosecution and collection.

Students will be given the opportunity to be heard regarding any special circumstances. Such circumstances will be given full and fair consideration, and exceptions to the returned check policy may be granted by the Director of the Business Office or a delegated employee based on the evidence presented.

 

Refund Information

A student enrolled at Sam Houston State University may receive financial refund of tuition and fees as outlined in the following schedules.

Refunds and credits from one department will be applied to any other outstanding balances in other departments. Any remaining refund will be distributed per the student’s Bearkat OneCard preferences. The University may refund tuition and fees paid by a sponsor, donor, or scholarship to the source rather than directly to the student if the funds were made available to the University.
               
Refund policies were established by the applicable federal regulations dealing with first semester financial aid students and by Senate Bill No. 604 of the 65th Legislature adopted by the Board of Regents, The Texas State University System, in August of 1977.

Dropping Courses

A student who submits a request to drop one or more courses in any given semester or summer session but remains enrolled in at least one course may be eligible for refunds. The refund schedule for dropping courses follows.

 

NOTE: Class days are university class days, not the number of days an individual class meets. Class days are to be counted from the first class meeting of on-campus daytime courses as indicated in the Academic Calendar.

Resignations/Withdrawals

A student who officially withdraws from all courses at Sam Houston State University in a given semester or summer session may be eligible for a refund of tuition and the specified fees, based upon the courses in which the student is enrolled on the official date of withdrawal. Refunds are made in accordance with the following schedules.

State Statutory Refund Schedule of Tuition and Fees

 

 

NOTE: Class days are University class days, not the number of days an individual class meets. Class days are to be counted from the first class meeting of on-campus daytime courses as indicated in the Academic Calendar.

The previous schedule assumes that all fees have been paid in full. A different schedule applies to the installment payment plan participants, the primary difference in the schedule being the requirement for the University to compute the refund based on the assumption that the full amount of tuition and fees has been collected. Therefore, it is possible and probable, that a student in the installment plan could owe more in tuition and fees than already collected by the University. These extra amounts, if any, would be due and payable before the student would be allowed to resign from the University.

Students who receive Title IV aid and resign on or before completing 60% of the semester will be required to repay the percentage of unearned financial aid according to the federal “Return to Title IV Aid” formula derived from the 1998 Reauthorization of the Higher Education Act.

Repayments are to be returned to lenders and/or program accounts in the following statutorily specified order provided the student has received funds through the program:
    1.   Unsubsidized Federal Stafford Loan
    2.   Subsidized Federal Stafford Loan
    3.   Federal Perkins Loans
    4.   Federal PLUS Loans
    5.   Other federal, state, private or institutional sources of aid
    6.   The student

More details regarding the “Return to Title IV Aid” policy may be obtained through the Financial Aid website or from the Financial Aid Office.