TUITION AND FEES REFUND REGULATIONS

A student enrolled in Sam Houston State University may receive a refund of tuition and fees for dropping a class or resigning.

Dropping Courses - A student who drops one or more courses for any given semester/summer session, but remains enrolled in at least one course for the remainder of the semester as a student at this University may be eligible for refunds. There is a 100% refund (does not apply to students dropping to "0" hours) for dropping classes for the first 4 class days during the Summer Sessions ( June 3 through June 6 for Summer Session I and July 8 through July 11 for Summer Session II) and the first 12 class days (August 25 through September 10) for the Fall Semester. The last day to drop a class for a refund is Friday, June 6 for Summer Session I, Friday July 11 for Summer Session II and Wednesday September 10 for the Fall Semester. Drops must be processed by 5:00 p.m. on the day of the deadline.

Special note regarding the dropping of classes:

Under section 51.907 of the Texas Education code, "an institution of higher education may not permit a student to drop more than six courses, including any course a transfer student has dropped at another institution of higher education." This statute was enacted by the State of Texas in spring 2007 and applies to students who enroll in a public institution of higher education as first-time freshment in fall 2007 or later. Any course that a student drops is counted toward the six-course limit if "(1) the student was able to drop the course without receiving a grade or incurring an academic penalty; (2) the student's transcript indicates or will indicate that the student was enrolled in the course; and (3) the student is not dropping the course in order to withdraw from the institution." Some exemptions for good cause could allow a student to drop a course without having it counted toward this limit, but it is the responsibility of the student to establish that good cause.

Any college student affected by this statute that has attended or plans to attend another institution of higher education should become familiar with that institution's policies on dropping courses.

Policies and procedures for implementation of this statute are being developed and will be published as soon as they are available.

You cannot drop your only class. You must resign in person, by mail ( P.O. Box 2029, Huntsville, TX 77341), or by Fax (936/294-1737). Be sure to include your social security number or SAM ID and a written signature.

Refunds and credits from one department will be applied to any other outstanding balances in other departments. Any remaining refund will be available to you based on the preference you have selected through BearkatOne.com. The University may refund tuition and fees paid by a sponsor, donor or scholarship to the source rather than directly to the student who has withdrawn if the funds were made available to the University.

Counting Class Days For Refunds : Class days are University class days, not the number of days an individual class meets. Class days are to be counted from the first class meeting of on-campus daytime courses as indicated in the Academic Calendar.

Resignations/Withdrawals - A student who resigns withdraws from all of his/her courses for a given semester/summer session. The student who officially withdraws from Sam Houston State University may be eligible for a refund of tuition and the specified fees, based upon the highest number of hours in which he or she is enrolled for the semester. Refunds are made in accordance with the following refund schedule.

Summer and Fall Resignation Refund Schedule

* Less $15 Matriculation Fee

***Resignations must be processed by 5:00 p.m on the deadline day.

Students who receive Title IV aid in the form of a Pell Grant, Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant, Federal Stafford Loan or PLUS Loan and resign on or before completing 60% of the semester will be required to repay the percentage of unearned financial aid according to the federal "A Return to Title IV Aid* formula from the 1998 Re-authorization of the Higher Education Act. The percentage of aid to be repaid to SFA programs is equal to the number of calendar days remaining in the semester divided by the number of calendar days in the semester.

Refunds are to be returned to lenders or program accounts in the following statutorily specified order provided the student has received funds from the account:

The above schedule assumes the student has paid his or her fees in full. A different schedule applies to the installment payment plan participants - the primary difference in the schedule being the requirement for the University to compute the refund based on the assumption that the full amount of tuition and fees has been collected. Therefore, it is possible, and probable, that a student in the installment plan could owe more in tuition and fees than already collected by the University. These extra amounts, if any, would be due and payable before the student would be allowed to resign from the University.

First Class Day for Summer Session I is June 3

First Class Day for Summer Session II is July 8

First Class Day for the Fall Semester is August 25

PAYMENT OF ADDITIONAL TUITION AND FEES

Students are responsible for making an additional tuition and/or fees payment if they:

1. Process a Schedule Change (drop/add) after making an initial tuition payment. They will owe additional tuition and/or fees because they increased semester credit hours by adding a lab or other fee (excluding drop and add fees).
2. Have Past Due Charges. This includes non-paid charges from prior semesters - police, library, health center, residence life/dining etc., that are posted to an account after the Fee Statements are made available, past due amounts will be deducted from a students payment before applying the balance of the payment to summer or fall tuition, housing and dining charges leaving an additional tuition and fee payment due immediately. If a student is on the installment pay option plan, 50% of the total tuition/fees are due by the payment deadline.

Additional tuition/fees must be paid by 4:00 p.m. on June 6 for Summer Session I, July 11 for Summer Session II and September 2 for the Fall Semester.

If the additional tuition and/or fees are not paid by the stated deadline, course(s) will be dropped from the student's schedule. Students who still owe money when all but their last class has been dropped will be resigned. Fee statements will not be sent.

Students who received funds through the Financial Aid Office must check with that office to determine if funds are available to cover the additional tuition and/or fees due. If you drop and add the same number of semester hours, there may not be additional tuition/fees due, UNLESS a course requiring a lab or other fee was added, which must be paid by the deadline.

Students may determine their account balance via the Internet. They should select the "Financial System " option from the SamWeb link at the home page. (www.shsu.edu)

TUITION AND FEES

These fees are correct as of date of printing, but are subject to change by action of the State Legislature or by the Board of Regents of The Texas State System. Out-of-state tuition is calculated each year by the Coordinating Board of Higher Education.

The Tuition and Fees Schedule for the Summer Sessions can be located at:

http://www.shsu.edu/~csh_www/tuitionfeessummer/tuitionfeessummer2008.html

The Tuition and Fees Schedule for the Fall Semester can be located at:

http://www.shsu.edu/~csh_www/tuitionfeesfall/tuitionfeesfall2008.html

SPECIAL FEES

*RECORDS FEE

A mandatory fee paid each semester that a student attends SHSU. The fee covers five official transcripts per semester as long as the student is currently enrolled and five official transcripts for one year after receiving a confirmed degree from SHSU. This fee also eliminates the drop/add fees and late registration fees beginning with the Fall Semester 2007.

TUITION FOR EXCESSIVE UNDERGRADUATE HOURS

Undergraduate students initially enrolled after the Fall 1999 semester that exceed by more than 45 hours the number of hours required for their degree at a Texas public institution of higher education may be charged at a higher rate of tuition for those excess hours. For more information refer to "Tuition for Excessive Undergraduate Hours".

TUITION FOR COURSES TAKEN MORE THAN TWICE

Section 50 of Article III, House Bill 1, 78 th Legislative Session (the General Appropriations Act) directs the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board to delete semester credit hours for formula funding when the courses are attempted more than twice since September 1, 2002.

Effective with the Fall 2004 semester, The Texas State University System has authorized Sam Houston State University and all other components, to charge students the statutory tuition up to the non-resident rate as calculated by the Texas Higher Education coordinating Board if the student is attempting the course for the third time (or beyond).

TUITION REBATES FOR CERTAIN UNDERGRADUATES

Texas residents who attempted no more than three hours in excess of the minimum hours required for their degree may be eligible for a tuition rebate of up to $1000. Students must apply for the rebate prior to receiving their baccalaureate degree in the Office of the Registrar. For more information refer to "Tuition Rebates for Certain Undergraduates".

HOPE SCHOLARSHIP INCOME TAX CREDIT AND LIFETIME LEARNING TAX CREDIT

As of January 1, 1998, taxpayers (students or their parents) may be eligible to claim a non-refundable Hope Scholarship Tax Credit against their federal income taxes. The Hope Scholarship Credit may be claimed for the qualified tuition and certain related expenses (not housing/dining) of EACH student in the taxpayer's family (i.e., the taxpayer, the taxpayer's spouse, or an eligible dependent) who is enrolled at least halftime in one of the first two years of post secondary education and who is enrolled in a program leading to a degree, certificate, or other organized educational credential. The credit that may be claimed varies, depending on the family and student financial situation, but may be as much as $1,500 for a freshman or sophomore.

Another tax credit known as the Lifetime Learning Credit applies to junior, senior and/or graduate students enrolled at least halftime in an institution of higher education. Congress has established that the Lifetime Learning Tax Credit begins for payments made after July 1, 1998.

For more information, refer to Hope Scholarship Income Tax Credit And Lifetime Learning Tax Credit.