Graduate Catalog

Billing and Payment Standards

Student and Departmental Account Services produces electronic statements (e-bills) itemizing the activity on student accounts. Lewis & Clark does not mail paper statements. Notification is sent to the student’s Lewis & Clark email address when a new statement is available for viewing in the Student Account Center. It is the student’s responsibility to log in to the Student Account Center and review their bill. Student Account Center access and information is available at: https://www.lclark.edu/offices/account_services/student_statements/.

Fall semester statements are generated in July and spring semester statements are generated in November. Summer statements begin being generated in April. To avoid late payment penalties, your account must be settled by the due date, whether or not you have retrieved your statement. If class registration occurs after the semester due date has passed, payment is due at the time of registration. Monthly statements will be generated if your account is carrying a balance due. Details on accepted methods of payment and expectations for settling the account balance are available at: https://www.lclark.edu/offices/account_services/.

Certain forms of financial aid, such as Federal Direct PLUS Loans for graduate and professional students, and Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loans, are scheduled for disbursement at the beginning of each semester. If you have elected to borrow under an educational loan program and have completed the additional steps outlined in the financial aid award guide to secure loan funding, Lewis & Clark will consider those funds to be fully processed.  Fully processed financial aid will appear as “Pending Aid” on the student account statement. You are required to pay only those balances not covered by the net proceeds of fully processed financial aid.

If your anticipated financial aid funds are not posted to your student account shortly after the start of the semester, this may indicate that additional action is required. Please refer to the award notification information to confirm that you have completed the steps necessary to receive funding. Contact the financial aid office at 503-768-7090 or fao@lclark.edu for guidance.

Nonpayment of Charges

Students with outstanding balances will not be allowed to register or attend courses for future semesters. Lewis & Clark reserves the right to withhold grade reports, transcripts, and diplomas. Registration for future terms may also be canceled as a result of an outstanding student account balance. Full payment of any balance due is required to facilitate the release of these documents and/or to clear a student for class registration. 

Additionally, Lewis & Clark reserves the right to assess late fees for all past-due student accounts. Late fees are assessed as follows: balances of $399 and below are subject to a $10 per-semester late fee, balances of $400 and above are subject to a $100 per-semester late fee.

Dishonored Payments

A $20 fee will be placed on the student's account for any payment returned by the bank to Lewis & Clark, or its payment processing partner, Nelnet. This fee may not be reversed. Email notification is sent to the student of the dishonored payment. The student must make restitution and remit immediate payment of the dishonored payment plus the fee. The school reserves the right to refuse a personal check for payment in certain circumstances.

Audit Fee

Lecture courses may be taken for no credit on a space-available basis. The audit fee is the same as the regular tuition for the course.

Withdrawal from Lewis & Clark

Students who find it necessary to withdraw from Lewis & Clark are eligible to have their tuition charges adjusted according to the schedule that follows. Course fees will not be adjusted after the first day of class. Before any adjustment to a student's tuition charges can be calculated, the student must initiate formal withdrawal by completing documentation available in the Registrar's Office or online. The date of notification appearing on the completed official withdrawal form is the date used to determine any adjustment to tuition charges.

Tuition Adjustment Policy

0%-1.0% of course(s) completed:
Reverse 100% of tuition charge

1.01%-10.00% of course(s) completed:
Reverse 80% of tuition charge

10.01%-25.00% of course(s) completed:
Reverse 50% of tuition charge

25.01%-50.00% of course(s) completed:
Reverse 25% of tuition charge

50.01% or more of course(s) completed:
No reversal of tuition charge

In accordance with federal regulations, students who receive financial aid and withdraw from courses during a semester are subject to a recalculation of eligibility assistance. As a result, it may be necessary to return applied Federal Title IV Aid funds to the appropriate aid programs. If after all adjustments are complete, and the amount of assistance you are eligible to retain is in excess of your costs, these funds will be released to you. Please review the Financial Aid Withdrawal Policy and contact the Financial Aid Office for details on the financial aid implications of a withdrawal.

Refund of Credit Balances

Student account refunds will be processed on or after the first day of classes each semester and only when a credit actually exists on a student's account. Following the first day of classes, refunds will be released weekly, on Mondays. If the credit is the result of a reduction in a student's charges, the refund will be issued after all necessary adjustments are complete. If the credit is the result of financial aid, the refund will be issued only after the funds are posted to the student's account. Pending financial aid does not qualify for a refund. Please plan accordingly.

Refunds resulting from an over payment of financial aid are to be used to cover education-related expenses such as off-campus living expenses, transportation and/or books and supplies.

Credit balances will be refunded either via electronic payment or paper check. Electronic payments will be initiated for students who have provided their bank information through the Student Account Center portal. Paper checks will be printed for students who have not enrolled in electronic payment. Refund checks payable to the student will be mailed immediately to the student's preferred mailing address on record unless that address is an international address. Checks issued to a student with an international address listed as their preferred mailing address, will receive notification to retrieve their check from Student and Departmental Account Services during our hours of operation.

If all of a student's expenses are covered by a formal billing arrangement between Lewis & Clark and the student's employer, a government agency or other third-party sponsor, credit balances will be refunded to the sponsor. Any exceptions to this standard will be at the discretion of the sponsor. In all other cases, credit balances on a student's account will be refunded in the name of the student.

Procedure for Appealing Tuition Charges

Any student wishing to appeal tuition charges may do so in writing to the Graduate Registrar. The written appeal must state the circumstances that have contributed to the student's need to seek a tuition charge appeal and provide documentation verifying these circumstances.

Mitigating circumstances are generally unavoidable events that are beyond the student's control. Examples of such circumstances include death in the immediate family, hospitalization or documented medical problems, work-related transfers, natural disasters, and family emergencies.

The Graduate Registrar will review the appeal, along with the chair of the student's academic department. The Dean of the Graduate School will then review for final consideration.

In order for a tuition charge appeal to be considered, the student's written petition and accompanying documentation must be submitted by the end of the first week of the semester immediately following the semester in which the student is requesting an adjustment to their charges.

Please contact the Graduate Registrar if you have any questions regarding the appeal process.