Payment and Refund Policy

The Office of Student Business Services emails out a bill each semester, 60 days prior to the start of the semester, and the bill is due within 30 days of the start of the semester. By the stated due date on your bill, the balance due (if any) must either be paid in full or a payment plan secured to cover the cost of the semester. Due to federal regulations, the University is not allowed to have a student “carry” an outstanding balance.

The University’s primary source of communication is via your Concordia-Chicago email address. Please check your email on a regular basis. 

Please be advised that the University's refund policy may be updated at any time. This current policy will be posted daily at the Student Business Services office.

NSF Fee

There is a $36 fee for the 1st returned item, $50 for the 2nd returned item and $75 for the 3rd returned item. After the 3rd returned item, the University will not accept any further personal checks on the account. If your payment was made online as an electronic check (ACH), there is a $36 bank fee. All charges are assessed to the students.

Refunds/Credit Balances

After all tuition and fees have posted and all financial aid has posted to your account, it is possible to have a credit balance. This can be recognized by reviewing your student tuition account online. If you find a negative sign (-) in front of the balance, you have a credit that can be refunded to you. You have the options of:

Using your credit toward a book voucher* at the CUC Campus Store (Slingshot). The amount spent at the bookstore is posted to your account as a charge that will reduce your account credit.

  • You may purchase your books at the Campus Store through Concordia Connect, using your financial aid online, click on the Resources tab, go to the Campus Store (Slingshot) website and click on 'Order Your Textbooks Online.'

* Book Voucher Policy

A book voucher may be available to students enrolled for the purpose of purchasing books and supplies at the campus bookstore. In order to be eligible for a book voucher, your total authorized financial aid must exceed the cost of tuition and fees charged for the semester. This would be considered an advance of your financial aid until it is officially disbursed and not additional financial aid dollars. To determine if you have excess financial aid available for a book voucher, you may contact the Office of Financial Aid, Student Business Services or the campus bookstore. You may receive a book voucher of up to $600 as an undergraduate student and up to $400 as a graduate student for the semester. The eligible amount is based on the overall credit balance available.

Refunds for students with federal student aid (FSA) credit balances are processed within 14 days of the date the credit balance was created, per federal regulation.  A FSA credit balance is defined as a credit balance where the total federal funds on an account are greater than the total tuition and eligible fees. Federal (Title IV) funds include Direct loans, Parent PLUS loans, and federal grants.

Refunds for students with non-FSA credit balances are not required to be processed within 14 days but are processed automatically on an ongoing basis throughout the semester.

When financial aid is disbursed, notification will be sent to the student's CUC email address. The email gives instructions on how to set up the direct deposit to receive the refund. If the direct deposit information is not set up, the system will automatically send a paper check to the most recent home address on file. We strongly encourage you to verify your address and direct deposit information listed on your record via Concordia Connect annually to avoid any delays.

There MAY be other expenses that are assessed to your account AFTER the initial disbursement of your financial aid, e.g., bookstore voucher purchases, parking tickets, additional tuition, or financial aid reductions due to drop of a class, etc. These expenses, if applicable, can reduce your credit balance.

Outstanding Balances

Students with outstanding balances will be prohibited from registering for additional courses as well as future term courses. Any account with an outstanding balance will incur a 1.5% charge, or a minimum of $25.00 service charge, each month on the account until the end of the semester. After the start of a semester and the bill due date, any student who has an outstanding balance will receive an email at their Concordia-Chicago email address. This notification will inform students of their standing account balance and any service charges. Statements will continue to be emailed each month to any student with a balance. Please note, it is the student’s responsibility to check his or her Concordia-Chicago email account on a regular basis. This will help students in maintaining their tuition account information and remain in good standing. Concordia-Chicago email is the University’s primary source of communication.

Once a semester has ended, if you are also enrolled to take classes the following semester (for example, it is near the end of the fall term and you are also registered for spring), the University maintains the right to automatically withdraw you from the following semester. If amounts are owed at the end of the semester, the student will be placed in collections (see Collections Policy in the Fees section of the academic catalog). Any efforts to collect unpaid balances due to Concordia University Chicago that are made by a third-party source are the student’s responsibility. Such costs include, but are not limited to, fees from the outside collection agencies, attorney fees, court costs or service charges. The student is to also understand that these are additional costs to the tuition and fees due to the University.

Graduating students with outstanding balances will not be permitted to participate in their graduation ceremony. 

Course Add/Drop Policy

Adding a Course: Courses can be added to a student’s schedule within the first week of class. Time limits for the addition of courses are reduced proportionately in any semester where the structure of the class is changed, such as an eight-week session. View the current academic calendars.

The tuition refund policy is as follows:

  • All fees are refundable at 100% when the course is dropped within the 100% refund period.

  • If course is dropped during any other refund period, 0% of all fees are refundable.

Traditional Undergraduate Refund Policy:

16 Week Courses

  • 100% REFUND: through end of the 1st week of class
  • 75% REFUND: through the 2nd week of class
  • 50% REFUND: through the 3rd week of class
  • 25% REFUND: through the 4th week of class
  • 0% REFUND: after the 5th week of class

Classes that run for 8 weeks of the term

  • 100% REFUND: through the end of the 1st week of class
  • 50% REFUND: through the end of the 2nd week of class
  • 0% REFUND: after the 2nd week of the class

ADP Refund Policy 8-Week Classes:

  • 100% refund on or before the end of the 1st week of class
  • 50% refund on or before the end of the 2nd week of class
  • 0% refund thereafter

Graduate Refund Policy:

Classes that run 8 weeks of the term

  • 100% refund through the end of the 2nd week of class
  • 67% refund through the end of the 3rd week of class
  • 0% refund after the 3rd week of class

This refund policy may be altered at any time. A specific refund policy is written for each semester for students at all academic levels. This policy is structured by dates and percentage of refund a student would receive if applicable. Any student who does not withdraw within the refund policy dates has the right to appeal the charges by written appeal to the Dean of Students. Appeals should be submitted within the same term to be accepted for review. Any appeal that is submitted after that time may be rejected depending on the individual’s reason for the appeal.

Failure to attend class does not constitute an automatic withdrawal from the class. Student's MUST drop courses through the Academic Advising Office  before any refund will be issued. Failure to drop classes will result in no refund and a grade of "F" on the student's transcript. Students receiving an F will then be held responsible for all financial obligations which were acknowledged on the signed registration form. Students may fax withdrawal forms to 708-209-3176.

Bankruptcy

Students with outstanding balances who file for bankruptcy and list "Concordia University Chicago" as a creditor that is owed a debt will have all collection efforts ceased according to the bankruptcy law. The balance will remain on the account. With that, a bankruptcy will stop collection efforts. 

Department of Education - Campus Banking Notice

Students receiving a financial aid refund can have it direct deposited into an account at any financial institution, including a pre-existing account already belonging to the student.

For more information, visit the Department of Education website.