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Administration  

Student Account Policy

Policy Number: 13

  • Approval Authority: Department
  • Policy Type: Divisional Policy
  • Policy Owner: Finance and Campus Operations
  • Responsible Office: Finance and Campus Operations - 828.251.6742

Revision History

  • Origination Date: June 23, 2009
  • Last Amended: August 25, 2011
  • Approval Date: August 25, 2011
  • Next Review: August 25, 2014

I. Student Account

A student account is established for each student at the time they are admitted to the University. This account is used to record student charges and payments. Each student is responsible for the proper settlement of their student account. UNC Asheville upholds Federal laws and regulations which give students certain rights to privacy of their education records and rights of access to their education records.

II. Payment-Tuition and Fees

Tuition and fees for all pre-registered students are due on August 1st for the fall semester, December 15th for the spring semester, and May 20th for the summer semester. Those students who are not pre-registered must pay tuition and fees prior to registering for classes.

III. Consideration of Estimated Financial Aid

Students who receive awards through the UNC Asheville Financial Aid Office are responsible for paying any balance that is not covered by their award. Listed below are examples of these awards:

  • Pell Grants
  • Stafford Student Loans
  • Perkins Loans
  • N.C. Veteran Scholarships
  • Vocational Rehabilitation
  • University Scholarships
  • State Grants

If a student will receive an outside scholarship that will be paid directly to UNC Asheville, the student should notify the UNC Asheville Financial Aid Office. The scholarship will be notated on the student’s financial aid account. The scholarship will not be reflected on the student’s account or shown as a reduction on their bill until the actual scholarship is received by UNC Asheville. While the student may consider these scholarships as a reduction of the amount owed, the student will be responsible for paying any balance that the scholarship does not cover or if the scholarship is not received.

If a financial aid award is adjusted or reversed for any reason and creates a balance on the student’s account, the balance becomes the student's responsibility and is payable upon notification of the adjustment or the reversal.

IV. TMS Monthly Payment Plan

Students enrolled in a payment plan with Tuition Management Systems (TMS) and who are current with their TMS payments will be allowed to make monthly payments instead of paying the full balance at the start of the semester. If calculations show that the student’s TMS payments will not cover their account balance the account will be deemed as short. Upon notification of the shortage, the student must either pay the shortage or increase their payment plan. A registration and a transcript hold will be placed on the student’s account until the shortage is resolved.

If a student is behind on their monthly payments a registration and transcript hold will be placed on their account until the account is brought current.

V. Outstanding Balances

Students with outstanding balances greater than $50.00 at the time of pre-registration for the next semester are not allowed to pre-register or receive official transcripts until the outstanding balance is paid.

Students with an outstanding balance less than $50.00 will be allowed to pre-register, however they will not be allowed to receive official transcripts until the outstanding balance is paid.

If an outstanding balance remains unpaid, the student will be subject to the collection policies of the University and the State of North Carolina.

VI. Collection

Students who have an account balance at the end of the semester and who are not pre-registered for the following semester are considered to have an account that is past due.

For a student account with a balance of $9.99 or less the following steps will be taken:

A transcript hold will be placed on the student’s account. Late fees and interest will be calculated as of the past due date and charged to the student’s account in accordance with North Carolina General Statutes.

For a student account with a balance from $10.00 to $49.99 the following steps will be taken:

Students will be sent a final bill at the end of the semester and a transcript hold will be placed on their student account.

If the student does not respond to the final bill within thirty days they will be sent a First Notice letter. The student will have thirty days to respond to the First Notice. If there is no response, the student will be sent a Final Notice letter. The student will have an additional thirty days to respond to the Final Notice letter before being assessed late fees and interest. Late fees and interest will be calculated as of the past due date and charged to the student’s account in accordance with North Carolina General Statutes.

Thirty days after the Final Notice letter, the account will be sent to the North Carolina Attorney General’s office (AG) for collection. The AG’s office will send a letter to the student allowing thirty days to pay the account. If a student does not respond, the AG’s office may make a recommendation to send the account to an outside collection agency. If the University receives this recommendation from the AG’s office, the University will assign the account to a state contracted outside collection agency.

For a student account with a balance of $50.00 or more the following steps will be taken:

Students will be sent a final bill by the end of the semester and registration and transcript holds will be placed on their student account.

If the student does not respond to the final bill within thirty days they will be sent a First Notice letter and a notice that the account will be sent to the Setoff Debt Collection Program (SODC) as outlined below. The student will have thirty days to respond to the First Notice and SODC letters. If there is no response, the account will be placed with SODC and the student will be sent a Final Notice letter. The student will have an additional thirty days to respond to the Final Notice letter before being assessed late fees and interest. Late fees and interest will be calculated as of the past due date and charged to the student’s account in accordance with North Carolina General Statutes.

Thirty days after the Final Notice letter, the account will be sent to the North Carolina Attorney General’s office (AG) for collection. The AG’s office will send a letter to the student allowing thirty days to pay the account. If a student does not respond, the AG’s office may make a recommendation to send the account to an outside collection agency. If the University receives this recommendation from the AG’s office, the University will assign the account to a state contracted outside collection agency.

VII. Setoff Debt Collection Program (SODC)

SODC is a program where the NC Department of Revenue withholds the state income tax refund due to a student. The NC Department of Revenue notifies the student that the University has a claim against their income tax refund. The amount owed to the University plus a SODC collection fee is deducted from the student’s state tax refund. The amount owed is then forwarded to the University and the collection fee is retained by the NC Department of Revenue. The University will apply the funds received as a payment against the student’s outstanding balance. The University will send a letter to the student informing the student that they have 30 days to contest the balance due.

VIII. Write-off of Student Accounts

Prior to writing off of a student account, the University will have pursued collection of the account as stated above. An account will be considered for write-off if after three years there has been no payment activity. All accounts will be reviewed to determine that appropriate collection efforts were followed and that each account qualifies for write-off. These accounts will then be submitted to the AVC of Finance/Controller and the Vice Chancellor for Finance and Operations for authorization to write-off.