Financial Responsibility Agreement

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Financial Responsibility Agreement

Before registering for classes at Illinois State University for each term, you must understand the following list of items regarding charges you may owe Illinois State University and acknowledge that you understand them.

By registering for classes at Illinois State University for the current term, you accept fiscal responsibility for payment in full of all student account charges (including charges for tuition and other fees as outlined in the University’s Billing Brochure), late charges, and any additional costs which may be incurred by the University in collection of these debts. Failure to pay your student account charges or any monies due to Illinois State University by the scheduled due dates, Illinois State University may:

• Delay your ability to register for classes for the current and/or future terms.
• Place a late charge (or additional charges) on your account.
• Illinois State University will assess late payment charges at the rate of $20 per month on the past due portion of your student account until your past due account is paid in full.
• Refer the debt to the State Comptroller’s Offset Program, to authorize collection of the debt by offsetting amounts normally due to you (i.e. payroll, tax refunds, etc.);
• Refer the debt to a collection agency, to an attorney, or other authorized legal debt collection procedures.

You further understand and agree your registration and acceptance of these terms constitutes a contractual agreement in which Illinois State University is providing you educational services, deferring some or all of your payment obligation for those services, and you promise to pay for all assessed tuition, fees, and other associated costs by the published or assigned due date.

Under such circumstances, you are responsible for all reasonable costs incurred by the University in the collection of the past due debt, including but not limited to actual collection costs, collection agency fees, charges, and reasonable attorney fees incurred in the collection efforts of the past due debt. All outstanding debts to the University that constitute a financial obligation in the form of an educational loan as defined by the U.S. Bankruptcy Code at 11 U.S.C. §523(a)(8) may not be dischargeable in bankruptcy proceedings.

You also authorize Illinois State University and its agents and affiliates to contact you regarding your outstanding debts, including repayment of loan(s), at the current or any future email and/or number that you provide for your cellular phone or other wireless device using automated telephone dialing equipment or artificial or pre-recorded voice or text messages.

Furthermore, you understand that you may withdraw your consent to call or text your cellular telephone using automated telephone dialing equipment by submitting a clear revocation request to Student Financial Services Collections or to the applicable contractor or agent contacting you on behalf of Illinois State University.

Additionally, you understand and agree to the following:

Updating Contact Information: You understand and agree that you are responsible for keeping Illinois State University records up to date with your current mailing addresses, email addresses, and phone numbers by following the procedure at How to Update Contact Information. The linked procedure is incorporated herein by reference. Upon leaving Illinois State University for any reason, it is your responsibility to provide Illinois State University with updated contact information for purposes of continued communication regarding any amounts that remain due and owed to Illinois State University.

Method of Communication: You understand and agree Illinois State University uses e-mail as an official method of communication with you, and that you are responsible for reading the e-mails you receive from Illinois State University on a timely basis.

Withdrawal: If you determine you must drop any of your courses or withdraw for this semester, please refer to the Withdrawal Checklist for information on how to withdraw and what steps should be followed to complete the process. The checklist also includes instructions on how to return to Illinois State to finish your degree in the future.

You understand and agree if you drop or withdraw from some or all of the classes for which you register, you will be responsible for paying all or a portion of tuition and fees in accordance with the published tuition refund schedule at Course Drop and University Withdrawal.

You have read the terms and conditions of the published tuition refund schedule and understand those terms are incorporated herein by reference. You further understand your failure to attend class or receive a bill does not absolve you of your financial responsibility as described above.

Financial Aid: You understand that aid described as “estimated” on your Financial Aid Award does not represent actual or guaranteed payment. You understand it is an estimate of the aid you may receive if you meet all requirements stipulated by that specific aid program.

You understand your Financial Aid Award is contingent upon your continued enrollment and attendance in each class upon which your financial aid eligibility was calculated. If you drop any class before completion, you understand your financial aid eligibility may decrease and some or all of the financial aid awarded to you may be revoked.

If some or all of your financial aid is revoked because you dropped or failed to attend a class, you agree to repay all revoked aid disbursed to your account and which resulted in a credit balance that was refunded to you.

Prizes, Awards, Scholarships, Grants: You understand all prizes, awards, scholarships, and grants awarded to you by Illinois State University will be credited to your student account and applied toward any outstanding balance.

You further understand your receipt of a prize, award, scholarship, or grant is considered a financial resource according to federal Title IV financial aid regulations and may therefore reduce your eligibility for other federal and/or state financial aid (i.e., loans, grants, Federal Work-Study) which, if already disbursed to your student account, must be reversed, and returned to the aid source.

Method of Billing: You understand Illinois State University uses electronic billing (On-Demand Statements) as its official billing method, and you are responsible for viewing and paying your student account statement by the scheduled due date. You further understand failure to review your statement does not constitute a valid reason for paying your bill after the due date. On-Demand Statement information is available at My.IllinoisState.edu .

Billing Errors: You understand administrative, clerical, or technical billing errors do not absolve you of your financial responsibility to pay the correct amount of tuition, fees, and other associated financial obligations assessed due to your registration at Illinois State University.

Returned Payments/Failed Payment Agreements: If a payment applied to your University student account is returned by the bank for any reason, you agree to repay the original amount of the payment plus a returned payment fee of $25. You understand that, per University policy, if multiple returned payments and/or failure to comply with the terms of any payment plan or agreement you sign with Illinois State University may result in cancellation of your classes, suspension of your eligibility to register for future classes, and/or the inability to pay with the method of payment that failed.

Privacy Rights & Responsibilities: You understand Illinois State University is bound by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) which prohibits Illinois State University from releasing any information from your education record without your written permission. Therefore, you understand if you want Illinois State University to share information from your education record with someone else, you must provide written permission by following the procedure outlined on the University Registrars website. You further understand you may revoke your permission at any time as instructed in the same procedure.

IRS Form 1098-T: You agree to provide your Social Security number (SSN) or taxpayer identification number (TIN) to Illinois State University upon request as required by Internal Revenue Service (IRS) regulations for Form 1098-T reporting purposes.

If you fail to provide your SSN or TIN to Illinois State University, you agree to pay all IRS fines assessed as a result of your missing SSN/TIN. You consent to receive your annual IRS Form 1098-T, Tuition Statement, electronically from Illinois State University.