Overview: University Billing

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Bill Delivery and Payment Services

It is Stanford University’s policy to furnish timely and accurate billing information as well as effective payment options to students and authorized payers. Billing and payment services are delivered electronically through Stanford’s online billing and payment service, Stanford ePay.

Bill notification is sent to each student’s email address as recorded in Axess. All students with balances will receive a bill notification via Stanford ePay. For more information, reference Quick Steps: View / Pay / Print University Bill.

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Student Record Privacy

Federal regulations prohibit Stanford University from releasing student information (records) to third parties (including parents, spouses or relatives) without written consent from the student. Full details concerning the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA) can be found on the Student Record Privacy section of the University Registrars Office web site.

Students may grant Stanford ePay access to third parties. Once authorized, these individuals are referred to as "Authorized Payers", and as such, can use Stanford ePay to access the student's billing and account information, as well as make payments to the student's account. Reference Quick Steps: Authorize Others to View/Print/Pay the University Bill.

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The Billing Cycle

University billing for tuition and fees occurs monthly. All tuition and fees charged between billing cycles are grouped and displayed in Stanford ePay on the 20th of each month.

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Payment Due Dates

Due dates for tuition and fees are as follows:

Undergraduate Students

All tuition and fees are due the 15th of the month prior to the start of the semester or quarter.

Undergraduate Students
  Autumn Winter Spring Summer
Bill Sent to Students August 20 November 20 February 20 May 20
Payment Due Dates September 15 December 15 March 15 June 15

Graduate Students

Tuition and fees are due the 15th of the month after the start of the quarter.

Graduate Students
  Autumn Winter Spring Summer
Bill Sent to Students August 20 November 20 February 20 May 20
Payment Due Dates October 15 January 15 April 15 July 15

Tuition and fees are billed on the 20th of each month and due on the 15th of the following month. (Tuition and fees not paid by the above due dates are subject to a late payment fee of 1%) - See Overview: About Student Late Fees, Penalties, & Delinquent Accounts.

Effective August 20, 2009, Stanford will offer a Payment Plan allowing students to pay their tuition and other standard quarterly charges over a three-month period. A small setup fee of $25 will be charged when a student enrolls in the Payment Plan. Students will have the option of enrolling each quarter. Enrollment instructions will be available at this site on or before August 20, 2009.

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How to Read the University Bill

Charges and credits from University departments are aggregated on a student's individual account and presented on the University Bill in Stanford ePay. The bill summarizes all activity on the student account for the entire term. The Stanford University bill is made up of four sections:

Charges

Charges are the primary component of the University bill. Charges are compiled from various offices and departments and placed on the bill.

Examples of charges a student may see on the University bill include:

  • Tuition charges.    These charges depend on the number of units taken. For current year fees, see the Registrar's Tuition and Fees page.
  • Housing, room and dining charges.   These fees are charged by Residential & Dining Enterprises. Other housing charges may include early arrival fees, repair fees and termination of occupancy fees.
  • Health insurance fees.   All registered students are automatically enrolled in Cardinal Care insurance at the beginning of each quarter. For more information including how to waive Cardinal Care insurance, visit the Vaden Health Center web page Using Your Own Health Insurance.
  • Campus health service fee.    This fee supports many of the services provided by Vaden Health Center and is mandatory for all undergraduate and graduate students enrolled on the Stanford campus. The services provided by Vaden Health Center are not covered by health insurance fees. More information about the fee can be found at the Vaden Health Center - Fees page.
  • Student activity fees.   These fees are owned and governed by the undergraduate and graduate Associated Students of Stanford University (ASSU) office.
  • Telecommunications fees.   These fees are charged by the Stanford University Residential Computing office. All students who live in on-campus housing will be automatically assessed a telecommunications fee on their University bill.
  • United States Post Office Box charges.   P.O. box rental is available through the Student Service Center's P.O. Box Rental Office for the academic year – September 1 to August 31.

Students may contact the Student Service Center for an explanation of any charge on the University bill by submitting a HelpSU request.

Payment Plan Activity

The Payment Plan Activity section of the University bill is included if the student has enrolled in the Payment Plan for the quarter. This section details the installments which have become due to date as well as the current installment amount due.

Payments, Disbursed Aid and Other

This section of the University bill shows all payments and disbursed financial aid applied to the student account. Payments made via cash, paper checks, eCheck and wire transfer will reduce the amount shown in the Charges section. Also included in this section are transfers of charges to the Payment Plan or Payroll Deduction Plan.

Most disbursed financial aid will reduce the charges on the University bill. However, in some cases, disbursed aid will go directly to the student in the form of a stipend (approved allowances for eligible students).

Overpayments and stipends are given to the student in the form of a check or online direct deposit. For more information, see Overview: About Student Refunds and Overview: About Student Stipends.

Supporting Information (e.g. Payment Plan schedule, Anticipated Aid)

This section may include supporting information about Anticipated Aid and/or the Payment Plan installment schedule, if applicable.

The Payment Plan Schedule details the three-month installment schedule set up by the student upon enrolling in the Payment Plan.

Anticipated Aid is defined as any grants, scholarships, stipends, fellowships, or student loans and other aid which has not yet been applied to the charges on the University bill. Students and authorized payers may choose to subtract Anticipated Aid to calculate the amount to pay to satisfy the bill. However, Anticipated Aid is not always the amount of aid a student ultimately receives and, if the Anticipated Aid is not disbursed, is reversed, or otherwise does not repay the account balance, the student is responsible for the remaining balance on the account.

Before the term begins, Anticipated Aid displays to show what aid will be applied to the bill after the student enrolls at least half-time, and has completed all necessary loan paperwork. The bill will include a description of the aid to be applied, e.g. grant, scholarship, stipend, fellowship, or student loan.

The following rules apply to the release of Anticipated Aid:

  • Students must be enrolled on at least a half-time basis.
  • For student loans, all paperwork must be completed by the student and received by the financial aid office.
  • Students may decline all or part of a student loan; if they do, the total amount of anticipated aid will be reduced.
Notes:
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