2011-2012 Estimated Costs

The following is a schedule of estimated expenses for full-time undergraduate students for the 2011-2012 academic year. Tuition and fees are prorated for part-time students. Please note that tuition and fee charges are subject to change by official action of the State University of New York. Questions concerning these charges should be referred to the Student Financial Center.

The amounts include direct expenses billed by the Student Accounts Office (e.g., Tuition, Fees, Room, Board) and also indirect expenses that are not billed by Student Accounts (e.g., Books, Travel). Although indirect costs do not appear on the Student Accounts invoice, both direct and indirect costs are used by the Financial Aid Office in developing a student’s budget and in making financial aid commitments. The total cost (direct and indirect) for one semester of full-time undergraduate study for a typical New York State resident student living on campus is about $10,210 of which approximately $8,894 is directly billed charges.

Payment Policies

Following registration, students are billed for tuition, fees, room and board. The University issues electronic invoices. Notice of an electronic invoice is sent to a student's UAlbany email account. Students are directed to view their bills on epay.albany.edu. On the E-Pay website, students may also elect to enroll in the E-Payment Plan at a cost of $45 a semester. Depending on date of enrollment, you may make up to four installments per semester. To avoid administrative/late payment fees, students should check their UAlbany email account after the 20^th of each month for notice of an electronic bill. Students may pay their invoices online at epay.albany.edu. Payments made by U.S. postal mail should allow at least five business days prior to the due date on the invoice. Students must have proof of approved aid, waivers, or scholarships in order to defer payment. Without satisfactory evidence to defer, students are expected to pay charges up front and wait for reimbursement when the aid, waiver, or scholarship funds are actually received.

Students with unpaid financial obligations will have a “hold” placed on their records, and will be unable to register for future terms, order official transcripts, and receive diplomas. In addition, the University assesses an Administrative or Late Payment Fee of up to $50 each time an invoice is issued and not paid or not covered by approved financial aid by the invoice due date. Invoices are issued on a monthly basis to students with outstanding balances. Students with past due charges from any SUNY unit are not permitted to register at the University at Albany.

Delinquent accounts are transferred to private collection agencies and/or the New York State Attorney General’s Office for collection. Delinquent accounts are subject to interest and collection fee charges.

Residency for Tuition Rate Purposes

Students are charged in-state or out-of-state tuition rates based on their residency status. The Student Accounts Office follows SUNY policies in determining residency for tuition rate purposes. Generally, students are not considered in-state residents until they have established their domicile (permanent home) in New York and maintained it for 12 months. Please note, however, that the domicile of an unemancipated student is considered to be that of the parent or other legal guardian regardless of the length of the student’s presence in New York.

Certain non-resident students may be eligible for the resident tuition rate if: they attended an approved NYS high school for two or more years, graduated from an approved NYS high school and applied for admission to the University within five years of receiving a NYS high school diploma; or attended an approved NYS program for a GED exam preparation, received a GED and applied for admission to the University within five years of receiving the GED. Students who think they qualify for this exception should complete and submit a residency application.

Students who wish to appeal their out-of-state designation should contact the Student Financial Center or visit albany.edu/studentaccounts/ for an application and copy of the residency application guidelines. Applications for New York State Residency Status for Tuition Billing Purposes must be received in the Office of Student Accounts no later than the close of business on the deadline date for the semester in order to be considered for residency status for that semester. Deadlines: October 1, Fall; March 1, Spring; June 15, Summer Sessions starting through May; and August 1, Summer Sessions starting through July.

Failure to submit an application by the deadline date will result in full liability for tuition at the out-of-state tuition rate.

The following charges are estimates for the 2011-2012 fiscal year.

*Tuition and fee charges are subject to change by official action of the State University of New York.

Students who officially depart from the University or reduce the number of credits for which they are registered may be entitled to a proportionate refund of tuition paid or proportionate adjustment of tuition charges according to the schedule below. Refunds or adjustments of charges are based on the date the departure form is officially received by the Office of the Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education (LC 30) or the date the drop is officially processed by the Registrar’s Office, not on the date of the last class attended.

Students who register for courses and who do not drop their classes on MyUAlbany before the end of the fourth week of classes are liable for full charges. Please refer to the “Withdrawing from the University” and “Dropping Courses” sections of this bulletin for additional information.

For refund purposes, the first week of classes shall be deemed to have ended when seven calendar days, including the first day of scheduled classes, have elapsed. The first day of classes as scheduled by the campus shall be deemed to be the first day that any classes are offered. Refund schedules are subject to change by official action of The State University of New York. See https://www.albany.edu/studentaccounts/liability.php for liability schedules.

Semester Liability

A student who believes the unpaid balance on her/his account as a result of the adjustment for dropping or withdrawing from classes is incorrect has the right to file an appeal with the Tuition Adjustment/Refund Appeals Committee.

Appeals must be filed no later than 30 days after the last day of classes for the semester.

Refund Policy for Recipients of Title IV Financial Aid

Eligibility for aid earned is based on the date of the student’s withdrawal from the University. Withdrawing students with federal Title IV aid may have a portion of their aid returned to the individual aid program, thus reducing the original amount of aid awarded. Federal regulations determine the amount to be refunded and the order in which the programs are repaid. As of the date of this publication, federal regulations require that funds be returned to the program in the following order: Unsubsidized Direct Stafford, Subsidized Direct Stafford, Perkins, PLUS, Pell, ACG, SMART, and SEOG. Please contact the Student Financial Center for additional details.