Policies and Forms

The Bursar's Office is responsible for managing student accounts receivable and university cashiering. This includes processing payments and credits, billing tuition and fees, processing miscellaneous charges and manual account adjustments, publication of monthly billing statements, processing inter-fund transactions, processing student and third-party refunds. The Bursar's office also provides related customer service while monitoring and managing student account compliance and collection.

Student account tuition and fee transactions, miscellaneous charges, payments, and other account activity are accounted for in separate accounts receivable subsidiaries:

• S/A Student Accounts: The Business office is responsible for processing all S/A charge and payment transactions. This subsidiary encompasses all standard degree seeking St. Louis and U.S. domestic campus accounts. This also includes students admitted to a domestic Webster University campus who are studying abroad at one of our international sites as well as international site students studying abroad in the United States. S/A charge and payment transactions are always accounted for in U.S. dollars.
• SYMP Community Music School (CMS): The Business office is responsible for processing all CMS charge and payment transactions. This subsidiary encompasses music lesson charges and related payments in Webster's Community Music School located on the main campus in St. Louis, Missouri. CMS charge and payment transactions are accounted for in U.S. dollars.
• NGEN Geneva Student A/R: This subsidiary includes charges and payments for students admitted directly to the Geneva campus. Geneva charge and payment transactions are accounted for in Swiss Francs. Geneva accounts receivable are managed locally in Geneva, Switzerland.
• NLEI Leiden Student A/R: This subsidiary includes charges and payments for students admitted directly to the Leiden campus. Leiden charge and payment transactions are accounted for in euros. Leiden accounts receivable are managed locally in Leiden, the Netherlands.
• NVIE Vienna Student A/R: This subsidiary includes charges and payments for students admitted directly to the Vienna campus. Vienna charge and payment transactions are accounted for in euros. Vienna accounts receivable are managed locally in Vienna, Austria.

China and London accounts receivable are managed by the respective campuses in a separate system outside subsidiaries directly accessible by the Business Office.

The Bursar's Office is organized into two departments: the Business Office and the Collections Department. Business Office operational practices are organized into the following areas:

The Collection Department's operational practices are organized into the following areas:

• NSF and returned checks
• Internal collections: delinquent accounts
• Collection agency assignments

Additional Bursar Office Policies

• It is the policy of the Bursar's Office to provide outstanding customer service. Students, parents and University departments will be treated with courtesy and respect at all times. The Business Office uses the Cisco phone system to monitor and assess telephone inquiry responsiveness.
• It is the policy of the Bursar's Office to maintain an effective and secure environment with internal controls and efficient business processes. This policy is subject to system limitations.
• It is the policy of the Bursar's Office to pay all office invoices in a timely and accurate manner. This includes armor car services, bookstore invoices and payment plan vendor fees.
• It is the policy of the Bursar's Office to comply with University document management, storage and archival standards.

Student account payments are accepted for currently registered students and open student account balances. The Bursar's Office is responsible for processing student payments and student account credits in a timely and accurate manner. Accepted payment options and methods as defined in this policy are subject to change.

Students may select one or more of the following student account payment options when registering:

• PD — Payment in Full: This option should be selected if the student is paying for tuition, fees and other student account charges. This option may also be selected to supplement other payment options that do not cover all charges.
• TM — Payment Plan: This option is selected when a student enrolls in Webster's monthly payment plan.
• FA — Financial Aid: This option is selected when all or part of the student's account charges will be paid by grants, scholarships and loans awarded through the Financial Aid department.
• ER — Employer Reimbursement: This option may be selected if the student is reimbursed by their employer for all or part of their Webster attendance charges. Payment is due to Webster University from the student at the beginning of the term. Payment is normally made to Webster University before employer reimbursement is received by the student, so this option is often combined with other payment options. Transcripts are not released when an unpaid balance exists.
• DB — Direct Billing: This option is selected by students being sponsored by a third party such as an employer. The Bursar's Office will directly bill a third-party sponsor with appropriate authorization. Students are responsible for payment of their balance if payment is not received from the third-party sponsor when due. Students are also responsible for timely payment of any charges not covered by the third party.
• TA — Tuition Assistance: This option may be selected by students eligible for tuition assistance benefits from the military or federal government.
• VA — Veterans Affairs Benefits: This option is selected by students eligible for VA benefits that will pay for most or all student account charges.
• VR — Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) Benefits: This option is selected by students eligible for VR benefits.
• TR — Tuition Remission: This option is selected by eligible University employees and for employee's tuition remission eligible spouse, dependent or other designee.

Wire Payments

View our wire payment instructions (Excel).

Private Scholarship Check Payments

Private scholarship check payments may be received by the Bursar's Office from a third party, the student or the Financial Aid office. Private scholarship checks are posted to the student's account if the check is made payable to Webster University and the student is enrolled in the scholarship's designated academic period.

In the event that the scholarship check is made co-payable to the student and Webster University, the student is contacted by phone or email to inform them of the need for the student's endorsement. If the student is attending the St. Louis campus, the student is instructed to stop by the Bursar's Office to endorse their check. If the student is studying at a Webster University campus outside the St. Louis area, the Business Office will overnight the scholarship check to the student's campus to obtain the necessary student endorsement. If the student is studying abroad during the semester, arrangements can be made to provide Webster University with power of attorney, so the check can be negotiated without the student's endorsement. These arrangements should be complete prior to the student leaving the country.

If the student's account is paid in full, the University may endorse the check and release it directly to the student.

It is the policy of the Bursar's Office to coordinate with the Financial Aid office by providing a copy of the scholarship checks to the Financial Aid Coordinator responsible for loans to ensure the private scholarship has been properly tracked as a funding source in the student's Financial Aid record.

Non-Federal Alternative Student Loans

Private educational loans are available to eligible students and are provided by outside financial institutions. The Financial Aid office assists students and parents with questions they may have regarding alternative loans and possible funding sources. As alternative loan processing depends on operations inside and outside of Webster University, approximately six to eight weeks processing time must be anticipated. Students may contact their alternative loan lender with any status inquiries.

When a student has been approved for a non-federal alternative student loan, the student must inform Webster's Financial Aid Office of their approval in order to have the Financial Aid Office also approve this loan to the student's alternative loan lender. Financial Aid Office-approved non-federal alternative student loan proceeds are paid directly to the student's Bursar student account upon receipt by Webster's Financial Aid Office. If the student has a Bursar student account balance due, the alternative loan's proceeds are first applied to this balance with any excess refunded to the student via BankMobile.

Financial Aid Disbursements

Webster University institutional, state and federal financial aid funds are awarded and processed by the Financial Aid office and posted to students' accounts through a system process in the Bursar's Office. The Bursar's billing coordinator schedules the financial aid posting process to run five times a week, Monday through Friday morning. The system financial aid posting program checks financial aid compliance requirements to ensure students pass compliance at the time grant, scholarship and loan funds are posted to the student account.

The Bursar's Office notifies students by an email message when federal Direct Loan funds are posted to their account in compliance with Title IV regulations.

Payment Plans

Student account balances are due at the beginning of each semester or term. Students have the option to defer the balance due on the current term with regular monthly payments by enrolling in an online payment plan. Enrollment is available online through Connections with a non-refundable $35 enrollment fee. Electronic check or credit card payments may be automatically scheduled to process on the 20^th of each month.

Once a students enrolled in an online payment plan all payments must be made online or through auto-pay. No additional fees are assessed on electronic check payments. A 2.75% convenience fee is applied to all online credit card payments by Webster University’s third-party processor. It is important for students to read the terms and conditions provided at the time of enrollment.

For student convenience, payment plan balances may equal to the current student account balance less pending financial aid that has not yet paid to the student account. It is the student’s responsibility to follow-up on expected loans, scholarships or grant that have not paid to the student account after the second week of classes.

Tuition Remission and Exchange Programs

Webster University tuition remission forms are available from Human Resources. Tuition remission and exchange program credits are manually posted to student accounts based on supporting documents and the student's registration record. Tuition remission forms must have the eligible employee's supervisor approval before they are routed to the Bursar's Office for processing. The Bursars Office reviews the approved forms. Active adjunct faculty tuition remission requests require additional approval from Academic Affairs (Rita Smith). Tuition Remission requests for disabled, retired and deceased employees require additional approval from Betsy Schmutz in Human Resources.

Copies of the tuition remission forms are forwarded to Accounting (Amanda Jenkins), so taxation requirements can be coordinated with the Payroll department.

Registration activity on tuition remission accounts is monitored manually, so tuition remission adjustments can be identified and processed.

Graduate and Teaching Assistants

Graduate Assistant and Teaching Assistant credits are processed by the Bursar's Office. Graduate Assistant and Teaching Assistant contracts are forwarded to Judy Helfrich in the Bursar's Office. Graduate and Teaching Assistant data including dates and hours are recorded in a Bursar Office spreadsheet. Credits are manually posted to the student account. Copies of the contracts are forwarded to Accounting (Amanda Jenkins), so taxable amounts can be processed in coordination with the Payroll department.

Registration activity on Graduate Assistant and Teaching Assistant accounts is monitored manually, so adjustments can be identified and processed.

Resident Assistants

Resident Assistant (RA) credits for approved Webster room and board amounts are posted to the student account through the Payroll department. The student information and RA credit amounts are provided by the Coordinator, Office of Housing and Residential Life (currently Rei Oliveros).

Military and Third-Party Billing and Payments

The Bursar's Office receives payment directly from the VA for CH33 military benefits through a VA benefit certification process. Students are required to provide billing authorization form from their sponsor to the Bursar's office to bill other third-party sponsors for covered tuition and fee charges. The Bursar's Office processes third-party billing authorizations by crediting the student account and debiting or charging the third-party account. Actual third-party payments are normally posted to the sponsor's account to offset the transferred charge. Payments for late authorizations may be posted directly to the student account if the authorization wasn't processed.

Advance Program Deposits

Some programs require advance payments. Advance payments are released and applied to open charges on the student account at the end of the term's designated add/drop period to be applied against tuition charges.

Other Miscellaneous Credits

A Miscellaneous Credit form must be submitted with AVP or higher administrative approval for manual posting of any miscellaneous credits to established rates. One example may be the reduction of the on-line course tuition rate to an in-class rate because of insufficient course enrollment.

Credit transactions may occasionally be posted to write off small student account balances. Small balance write-offs require Bursar or higher administrative approval with a Miscellaneous Credit form.

Application Fee Payments

Application fee payments are deposited into the designated general ledger account by cashiers in the Bursar's Office. These payments are not posted to the student account.

Webster University provides the following services to the University community at the Business Office cashier windows:

Petty Cash Vouchers

Petty cash vouchers may be submitted for a prepaid card reimbursement to the cashier windows during business hours. There is a $50 maximum. Vouchers must be approved and signed by a department head with a valid Webster University account number. The individual receiving the prepaid card funds is also required to sign the Petty Cash Voucher (requires login) that verifies receipt of funds.

Departmental and Organization Deposits

The Business Office accepts and deposits all University funds.

• A Webster University Cash Receipt form is completed by the depositing department that identifies the account to credit with supporting detail of each deposit item.
• All deposited checks must be restrictively endorsed for deposit only.
• Checks are deposited on a daily basis through the U.S. Bank OED system. Scanned images of paper checks are maintained and the paper check is destroyed.

Tuition, fee, room and board rates are set and approved by the Board on an annual basis. Webster publishes tuition and fee rates on the University's website. Tuition and fee rates are also available in the Graduate and Undergraduate catalogs.

The Bursar's Office is responsible for assessing student specific tuition and fee charges and other assessments incurred in course of pursuing an education at Webster University.

The Bursar's Office has no authority to change or adjust rates associated with educational charges assessed on student accounts. Adjustments to approved charges or fee waivers may occasionally be necessary. The Bursar's Office will post adjustments and waivers in accordance with established procedures and documented approval.

The following types of charges have been approved for assessment and collection through the student account managed in the Bursar's Office:

• Tuition and fees
• Matriculation fee
• Student activity fee
• Study Abroad fees
• Graduation candidacy fees
• Room and board charges
• Insurance and health services
• Parking
• Textbook charges
• World Traveler charges
• Various fees such as ID replacements and Higher One card replacement fees

Capsim Simulation Fees

A $99 Capsim fee may be charged as a course lab fee for a Capsim program provided with online business capstone courses. Capsim creates and supports business simulations including Foundation, Business Simulation and Comp-XMR for higher education and corporate training. Additional information about Capsim services is available on the Capsim website . Webster University uses a new enhanced version of the capstone material that is tailored to Webster University. Questions about this fee should be directed to Doug O'Bannon, chair of the Business Department.

World Traveler Charges

The WWTP Webster World Traveler program is considered a financial aid award. An airfare charge is posted to the student account for all WWTP award recipients for the cost of airfare purchased by the University. These charges are paid by Financial Aid. The Study Abroad Office provides student account and charge amount information to both the Bursar's Office and the Financial Aid Office to ensure these transactions are processed.

Tuition Withdrawal Waivers

Students may ‘drop' a course at 100% before scheduled deadlines or ‘withdraw' from courses during the refund periods. Different refund schedules are defined for undergraduates, graduates, semesters, and terms within the semesters, and California. Students attending on-campus classes in California will receive a pro rata refund of tuition if the withdrawal is within 60 percent of the beginning of the enrollment period. Undergraduate and graduate refund schedules are based on the course (not student).

Undergraduate Appeals

Undergraduate appeals are reviewed and approved by the Tuition Adjustment Committee for undergraduates as discussed above. The Business Office also receives ‘overload' waivers from Sandy Tomey, and the office posts the account adjustments. Overload situations are caused by registrations exceeding 18 hours, and waivers may be approved when the student subsequently withdraws below the 18-hour threshold. Overload waivers do not need to be reviewed or approved by the Tuition Adjustment Committee.

Webster Groves Campus Graduate Appeals

Academic Advising coordinates appeals for graduate students attending programs in St. Louis, and the Director of Academic Advising Center (currently Tom Nicolai) approves these appeals (except School of Education) before they are submitted to the Business Office for posting. The School of Education Dean's Office handles graduate requests for the School of Education. A standardized Request for Tuition Refund form is used by the Academic Advising Center.

Extended Site, International and Online Graduate Appeals

A Coordinator in the Academic Affairs area (currently Michelle Lynch) handles extended site and online graduate student appeals. These appeals must be approved by one of the Associate Vice Presidents.

Miscellaneous Credit Forms

Miscellaneous Credit forms may be used to submit various waivers, discounts, or other credits to the Business Office. Miscellaneous Credit forms require signature approval by an appropriate AVP level administrator or another approval authority delegated. Delegated approval authority for purposes of Miscellaneous Credit form approvals must be documented in writing and on file in the Bursar's Office.

Student Deaths

It is the policy of Webster University to forgive current student account charges in the case of a student death. Manual charge adjustments are made to reverse 100% of tuition and parking fees on the student account when a student passes during an academic term. Room and board charges are pro-rated with a Residence Life request. Bookstore charges, lab and matriculation fees remain on the student account.

The Student Dean's office will provide a Tuition Adjustment form to the Business Office to request the 100% tuition adjustment as a result of student death. This adjustment is processed the same as other tuition adjustments.

Financial aid may be returned in accordance with Financial Aid policies. Any remaining credit may be refunded to the family.

Approved Rate Discounts

Webster University provides discounts for approved populations. Discounts are currently processed for Wal-Mart employees and high school students. School of Education waivers are processed by School of Education staff.

Military Discounts

Military discounts are built into published rates for students attending at a military base or active military students attending the main campus or one of the metro campus sites. See Payment and Student Account Credits for additional information about military benefits used to make payment on a student account.