Financial Policies
Southern Virginia University reserves the right to make changes to requirements, fees, course offerings, or other specified policies at any time. The university neither gives final examinations, grants a degree, nor issues grade reports or transcripts of credits unless satisfactory arrangements have been made with Student Financial Services for payment of all fees. Should payment of any fee become delinquent (five days overdue) the student may be excluded from classes, and future use of credit may be denied.
Financial Arrangements
Students who fail to make financial arrangements by the appropriate deadline may incur a late fee equal to 3% of their unpaid balance and may be deregistered or required to register during a late registration period.
The cumulative total for each student, including payments, scholarships, grants or loans, must equal or exceed the net amount due for the student in order for financial arrangements to be considered arranged. Students who increase or decrease their hours during the add/drop period will have their bills and scholarships adjusted accordingly at the end of the add/drop period with fees payable upon receipt of the bill.
Nonpayment
No student may be enrolled in or attend classes until financial arrangements as described above have been made. Nonpayment of Tuition Installment Plan payments may result in the student being administratively dropped from classes. No grades for classes, transcripts, or diplomas will be issued to a student with unpaid bills.
By federal law, students for whom the Veteran’s Administration has not yet paid tuition and fees for their veteran’s benefits under the Post 9/11 GI Bill ® (Chapter 33) or Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment Services (Chapter 31) are not subject to the university’s usual holds, restrictions, or late fees for such monies.
Withdrawal
The student’s responsibility for payment of financial obligations to the university applies regardless of whether the student withdraws from school voluntarily or involuntarily for any reason, or whether his or her financial arrangements, such as loans, grants, or other student financial aid are not approved or reduced or remanded because of his or her premature withdrawal.
Scholarship Policies
Scholarships are awarded to full-time students and are applied to tuition. Most Southern Virginia University scholarships are awarded for an academic year unless otherwise stipulated. Students attending only one semester will have their award adjusted to accommodate the one semester of attendance.
Students who drop below full-time status (12 credit hours) will lose their scholarships for that semester. Part-time students may receive additional funds from federal, state, and private sources other than the university.
The amount of institutional scholarships is contingent upon the availability of funds.
Miscellaneous & Student Incurred Fees
| Transcript Fee* | $5 |
| Student ID Card Replacement | $25 |
| Key Replacement | $25 |
| Late Tuition Payment | $30 |
| Check Cancellation & Reissue | $40 |
| Returned Check | $40 |
| Graduation Fee** | $100 |
| Student Teaching Fee | $2,500 |
| Course Fees*** | Varies |
*First ten transcripts are free for graduates.
**Must be paid irrespective of participation in commencement exercises.
***Only applicable in specified courses.
Refund Policies
Students who withdraw from Southern Virginia or receive excess financial aid may be eligible for a refund.
Note: Southern Virginia University operates on an annual budget with commitments for faculty salaries and educational and operating expenses made a full year in advance. Therefore, Southern Virginia’s refund policy is equitable to the university and its students. Amounts owed to Southern Virginia University—such as tuition, room and board, parking fines, or disciplinary fines—will be deducted from any refund due before it is disbursed.
Refunds Prior to Attendance
Students who notify the university that they will not be attending Southern Virginia prior to the first day of classes will receive a full refund of any monies paid toward that semester’s term’s expenses, including tuition, room, board, etc.
Deposits will not be refunded if notification is received after May 1st (for Fall Semester) or December 1st (for Spring Semester). Please allow two to three weeks for refund processing.
Refunds Due to Excess Funds
When the university receives a payment on behalf of the student for federal, state, or other non-institutional aid (scholarships, grants, loans, etc.), it is applied to the student’s account. Any excess funds will be refunded to the student.
The university may not receive many types of aid, particularly federal student aid, until after the census date, which typically occurs shortly after the two-week add/drop period ends. There may be other factors that delay payment including when the aid was applied for and consummated. In no case will the university make any remittance or advance prior to actually receiving the payment from the paying institution. Students should make arrangements to sustain themselves until the remittance can be made.
Refund Check
Southern Virginia makes refunds due from federal funds available in check form or via electronic deposit to a bank account that the student designates. Student Financial Services refunds within the federal standard of 14 days from the time the credit appears on the student account after the transaction has been posted (this generally occurs the week after Add/Drop has ended). This means that checks or electronic deposits are typically ready about one month after the semester has begun.
Because the credit from a loan or scholarship can appear on a student’s account at different times after the beginning of the semester, financial aid will not be applied to a student’s account until he or she has completed all of the applicable requirements determined by federal, state, and institutional policies.
Refunds Due to Withdrawal
If a student withdraws from the university at any time before the “Add/Drop deadline,” he or she will receive a 100-percent refund of tuition paid by or on behalf of the student from private resources (as opposed to payments from federal, state or university financial aid programs, including the Guaranteed Student Loan program). They also will forfeit the $250 Registration deposit.
If a student withdraws or separates from the university following the “Add/Drop deadline” for Fall or Spring Semester, refunds for tuition will be granted according to the academic week within which the student withdraws or is withdrawn, as displayed in the table below. An academic week is defined as beginning on Monday and ending the following Sunday, or any part thereof.
| Week 1 | 100% |
| Week 2 | 100% |
| Week 3 | 75% |
| Week 4 | 50% |
| Week 5 | 25% |
| Week 6 | 25% |
| Week 7 | 25% |
| Week 8 | 25% |
| Week 9 | No Refund |
If the student withdraws after nine weeks of classes in the fall or spring semester, whether voluntarily or involuntarily, tuition is non-refundable. Should a student withdraw the first day of classes or after, the costs will be charged in accordance with both the refund policy of the university and federal student aid refund policy.
The student’s responsibility for payment of financial obligations to the university applies regardless of whether the student withdraws from school voluntarily or involuntarily for any reason, or whether his or her financial arrangements, such as loans, grants, or other student financial aid are not approved or reduced or remanded because of his or her premature withdrawal.
Note: The date of withdrawal used to compute refunds is the date determined by the Registrar’s Office and indicated on the withdrawal form. The withdrawal process must commence through the Registrar’s Office where withdrawal forms are located.
Meals and Residence Fee Refunds
If a student withdraws or separates from the university before the first day of classes for the Fall or Spring Semester, the full amount of the residence fee and meal plan already paid by or on behalf of the student from private resources (as opposed to payments from federal, state or university financial aid programs, including the Guaranteed Student Loan program), will be refunded.
These funds only will be refunded if written notice is presented to Student Financial Services prior to the first day of classes. If a student withdraws or separates from the university on the first day of classes or later for the Fall or Spring Semester, refunds will be granted according to the table below.
| Week 1 | 90% |
| Week 2 | 80% |
| Week 3 | 70% |
| Week 4 | 60% |
| Week 5 | 50% |
| Week 6 | 40% |
| Week 7 | 30% |
| Week 8 | 20% |
| Week 9 | 10% |
| Week 10 | No Refund |
Students in student housing will be charged according to the table above for each week they lived on campus. Any excess balances will be refunded.
The date of withdrawal used to compute refunds is the date that a completed withdrawal form is presented to the appropriate person in the Registrar’s Office. The withdrawal process must commence through the Registrar’s Office where withdrawal forms are located.
Federal Aid (Title IV Funds) Refunds
Federal regulations require federal financial aid recipients who completely withdraw from the university on or before the 60-percent point in the enrollment period to return a percentage of the federal aid funds disbursed. This amount is calculated according to Federal Title IV refund regulations. For Federal Title IV refund purposes, the university is not an attendance taking institution. See “Withdrawal from the University” in the university’s catalog for instructions on officially withdrawing from the university. For federal financial aid purposes, a student is considered unofficially withdrawn from the university when they fail to enroll in an immediately subsequent semester without having completed the official withdrawal process.
Southern Virginia must return the unearned aid for which the university is responsible by repaying the funds to the following sources, in order, up to the total net amount disbursed from each source:
- Unsubsidized Stafford Loan
- Subsidized Stafford Loan
- Plus Parent Loan
- Pell Grant
- Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (SEOG)
After Southern Virginia has returned unearned funds to the federal government, for which it is responsible, the student must return assistance for which the student is responsible. Returning funds to the federal government may result in the student owing a balance to the university.
The university does not have a federal financial aid leave of absence policy.
Federal Aid (Title IV) Refund Example
To illustrate how a refund of federal Title IV financial aid could work, imagine the Ken Smith is enrolled at the university and suddenly learns of a family emergency and needs to withdraw from all of his courses and return home. He contacts the registrar’s office and initiates a formal withdrawal from the university. The financial aid office is notified that Ken has left to help at home and is provided with the last date that Ken participated in his courses. The financial aid office applies the university’s institutional refund policy and then calculates the number of days Ken completed during the semester (30 days), divides that by the total number of days in the semester (109 total days), and thereby determines the percent of the semester that Ken completed. In Ken’s case, it was 27.5% (30/109 = 27.5%); this is the total amount of federal financial aid that Ken can keep for the semester. Ken received $4,000 in federal aid ($2,500 in Pell Grant and $1,500 in a direct loan) so he can use $1,100 ($1,100 in Pell, $0 in direct loan) to help pay for his institutional charges. The remaining funds, $2,920 ($1,400 in Pell, $1,500 in direct loan), the university will need to return to the federal government. Ken will not need to return any funds to the federal government.
Within thirty days of the date of determination by the university, that Ken has withdrawn the financial aid office will provide Ken a written notification, in the form of an email, of the return of Title IV refund calculation. This notification will include:
- The type and amount of funds that he was allowed to keep and that was returned by the university;
- The option to accept or decline some or all of the Title IV aid that has not yet been disbursed;
- An explanation that Ken must reply within fourteen days of the date of the notification regarding his decision to accept or decline some or all of the Title IV aid that has not yet been disbursed and is available to him (the university must receive and document confirmation from Ken);
- A reminder that Ken has an obligation to repay any loan funds disbursed to him.
Virginia Tuition Assistance Grant (VTAG) Refunds
If a student withdraws prior to the last day of add/drop (the census date), the student is ineligible for VTAG; however, the student will still be responsible for the financial obligations to the university that would have been covered by the VTAG. If the student withdraws after the last day of add/drop (the census date) that student will receive a prorated award based on the tuition refund policy of the university.
Unearned Military Tuition Assistance Funds
If a student withdraws from the university at any time before the “Add/Drop deadline,” he or she will receive a 100-percent refund of tuition paid by or on behalf of the student from private resources (as opposed to payments from federal, state or university financial aid programs, including the Guaranteed Student Loan program). They also will forfeit the $250 Registration deposit.
If a student withdraws or separates from the university following the “Add/Drop deadline” for Fall or Spring Semester, refunds for tuition will be granted according to the academic week within which the student withdraws or is withdrawn, as displayed in the table below. An academic week is defined as beginning on Monday and ending the following Sunday, or any part thereof.
| Week 1 | 94% |
| Week 2 | 88% |
| Week 3 | 82% |
| Week 4 | 76% |
| Week 5 | 71% |
| Week 6 | 65% |
| Week 7 | 59% |
| Week 8 | 53% |
| Week 9 | 47% |
| Week 10 | 41% |
| Week 11 | No Refund |
If the student withdraws after ten weeks of classes in the fall or spring semester, whether voluntarily or involuntarily, tuition is non-refundable. Should a student withdraw the first day of classes or after, the costs will be charged in accordance with both the refund policy of the university and federal student aid refund policy.
The student’s responsibility for payment of financial obligations to the university applies regardless of whether the student withdraws from school voluntarily or involuntarily for any reason, or whether his or her financial arrangements, such as loans, grants, or other student financial aid are not approved or reduced or remanded because of his or her premature withdrawal.
Note: The date of withdrawal used to compute refunds is the date determined by the Registrar’s Office and indicated on the withdrawal form. The withdrawal process must commence through the Registrar’s Office where withdrawal forms are located.