Starting with the fall 2017 academic term, Oakland University will implement changes in its payment and cancellation due dates. These measures will help ensure that open class and housing spaces are not reserved for students who will not be attending OU, reduce outstanding student debt, and limit late payment penalties.
New payment due dates will be two to three weeks before the first day of classes each semester with the fall 2017 payment due date on August 15, 2017.
Students should pay their balances in full with their own funds, through an OU payment plan, or by using financial aid and/or external sources. Students who have not paid their current semester balance by August 15 will be canceled from all classes and their tuition charges reversed. These students will be allowed to re-register for classes, based on space availability.
Students with outstanding balances from prior semesters will also be canceled from all classes. Likewise, they will be able to re-register for classes, based on space availability, once remaining balances are paid in full.
"In our previous system, prospective students who signed up for classes but who ended up not attending Oakland University had been issued thousands of dollars in bills while taking away valuable class spots from our attending students," says OUSC Student Body President Zack Thomas. "I have confidence that by moving to this new system, it will help prevent those situations and will benefit our currently attending students."
With changes in payment due dates, some students will also see a direct impact on plans they have to utilize University Housing. Students not registered for classes are ineligible to live on campus, and those who have class registrations canceled due to outstanding balances will also see their University Housing assignments canceled.
As soon as outstanding balances are paid in full, students looking to utilize campus housing and who have re-registered for eight credit hours or more can contact University Housing to reapply for accommodations on a space-available basis.
"I'm appreciative to administrators from Student Financial Services and Student Business Services for proactively reaching out to our student representatives and ironing out any concerns we had in advance. Students will now still be able to sign up for a payment plan to split up payments, and they may still add/drop classes for a little while after classes start for a full refund. We have assurance that accommodations for unique situations may also be made on a case-by-case basis," says Thomas.
Oakland University offers several financial resources for undergraduate and graduate students to help make an OU education affordable, including payment plans that spread tuition and on-campus housing charges into several smaller payments. Students interested in receiving financial aid are encouraged to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) for the 2017-2018 school year as soon as possible.
OU’s payment and cancellation webpage offers more detailed information, including payment dates for the academic year as well as helpful FAQs. Students with questions are encouraged to send them to [email protected].