Student Account Payment Disclosures

STUDENT ACCOUNTS TERMS AND CONDITIONS DISCLOSURE STATEMENT

1. Introduction: The payment of tuition and all other applicable fees becomes your obligation upon registration at The George Washington University (“the University”). Payment is ordinarily due no later than the first day of each semester. These terms constitute part of your agreement to pay tuition and fees to GW, and they become fully operational upon your registration at GW.

In accordance with the Federal Truth-in-Lending Act, this statement discloses of the terms and conditions governing the payment of these obligations and the method of calculating any applicable Finance Charges. Thus, students and parents should read carefully the following disclosures, terms and conditions, and we recommend that you keep this document for your own reference.

In this document the words “we,” ”our,” and “us” refer to The George Washington University. The words “you” and “your” refer to you (the student, and also any responsible parent(s) and other payor(s)).

2. Financial Regulations: The University reserves the right, with or without prior notice, to change requirements, rules, programs, policies, tuition, and fees whenever, in the University’s judgment, such changes are warranted.  This includes, but is not limited to, changes to the form, location, and mode of instruction and changes to the academic calendar.  Such changes shall go into force at the time specified by the University, and the University will provide advance notice of such changes when practicable.  The University assumes no liability for any changes it determines are warranted.  The University may, in its sole discretion, refund tuition or fees in whole or part, on account of any changes the University determines are warranted, but it is not required to make any such refunds.  For complete financial information and regulations, please refer to The George Washington University Bulletin. The University separately provides detailed disclosures on its website (https://studentaccounts.gwu.edu/disclosures), and students should refer to them when a question arises."

3. Payment Requirement: The payment of tuition and all other applicable costs fees becomes your obligation upon registration at GW. GW does not extend consumer credit or allow bills to be paid in installments unless the student is enrolled in the monthly payment plan. There is no right to defer payment of any individual’s Student Account. For a full list or description of rules relating to your Student Account please refer to the University Bulletin.

4. Access: Your Student Account and payment activity is available to you on the GW Student Account eBill Solution 24 hours per day, 7 days per week except during system maintenance windows.

5. Payment Terms: Payment in full is ordinarily due no later than the first day of each semester as defined on the University Registrar’s Academic Calendar as the date of “Classes Begin”. Please refer to your most current statement for the applicable payment due date. If you are enrolled in the monthly payment plan, your most recent statement will reflect the pending principal and the due date. Payment after the applicable due date may result in your Student Account being placed in a HOLD status prohibiting future registration, access to grades, housing assignments,  diplomas, and other services. Students whose registration privileges have been revoked or canceled for failure to make timely payments are not permitted to attend class or occupy University housing.

6. Your Statement: Statements are rendered on a monthly basis. Payment is due on or before the due date printed on the statement. The due date is usually 25 days after the closing date printed on the statement.

7. Late Payment Fee: Starting with the fall 2023 semester, late payment fees are applied as follows on any accounts with outstanding balances at the time fees are assessed. Fees will be assessed after the due date listed on the prior statement.

Semester	$75 Late Fee	5% Late Fee*
Fall	November	December
Spring	March	April
Summer	July	August

 *unless a lower amount is required by law

All accounts with outstanding balances are initially subject to a flat $75 late fee on the schedule above. If the account continues to have an outstanding balance as of the second month indicated, it will be charged a fee that is five percent (5%) of the outstanding balance as of that date.  This cycle repeats each semester on the same system if there are outstanding balances at the indicated point in the semester.

The Late Payment Fees will be applied to the account after the due date listed on the prior statement.

9. Holds: Students with a financial hold on their account are restricted from accessing university services including but not limited to registration, grades, housing assignments, and diplomas.  Students whose registration privileges have been revoked or canceled for failure to make timely payments are not permitted to attend class or occupy University housing. Students whose balances are dismissed as part of bankruptcy proceedings will be required to prepay for any subsequent registration.

Balance holds are applied to current students with a past due balance of $2,500 or more will have a financial hold placed on their accounts, or to inactive students, (students not currently enrolled or registered) with a past due balance, regardless of the amount, will have a financial hold placed on their accounts. The balance of these inactive student accounts must be zero before the student’s privileges above can be restored. Returned Payment Holds are placed on an account if a payment, previously credited to the account, is returned unpaid by a financial institution for any reason, in any amount. The student must remit a replacement payment; if the replacement payment is made via ACH or other non-certified funds, there will be a 10-day waiting period for the payment to clear before the hold will be removed. 

8. Accounts Past Due Semester End (more than 90 days): At the end of each semester, accounts with balances greater than $2,500 and all balances that predate the semester that has just completed enter the university’s pre-collection service.  Students whose accounts are in pre-collection process/cycle are eligible to enroll in a payment plan, depending on their balance, and may request the financial hold be removed in order to register for future semester classes. Accounts in the pre-collection service for 90 days or more and not enrolled in a payment plan will be subject to additional collection activity. Accounts placed with a collection agency may make payment agreements with the agency but are prohibited from accessing university services until the balance on their account is zero.

10. Not Secured Credit: Your Student Account is not secured or unsecured credit.

11. Your Current Contact Information:  You are responsible for ensuring your Student Account has your current and correct contact information. To change the billing address on your Student Account, please go to the Personal Information Menu located in GWEB Information System. Statements are distributed electronically to all students. Students who are not currently registered will also receive a statement by U.S. mail at their permanent address on file with the University unless another billing address is specified. Late payment fees will not be cancelled for improper addresses supplied by you or for your failure to properly and timely provide an updated or correct address. If GW mails you a letter, notice, or statement to the last address you provided, you agree that you will be bound by the information contained in that mailing. 

12. Questions About Payments to Your Student Account: All questions about your Student Account statements or payments to or suspected errors in your Student Account should be made directly to the Student Accounts Office (“SAO”). There are four ways to contact the SAO: Via telephone, at: (202) 994-7350 Via email at: SAOgwu [dot] edu  In writing at:  The George Washington University, Student Accounts Office, 44983 Knoll Sq, Suite 290, Ashburn, VA 20147  In person at:  Student Services Hub, University Student Center, Ground Floor, 800 21st Street NW, Washington, DC 20052

13. Your Billing Rights: If you think your bill is wrong, or if you need more information about a transaction on your bill, write us via email at saogwu [dot] edu (sao[at]gwu[dot]edu) or via mail at The George Washington University, Student Accounts Office, 44983 Knoll Sq, Suite 290, Ashburn, VA 20147. We must hear from you no later than 60 days after we sent you the first bill on which the error or problem appeared. You can telephone us, but doing so will not preserve your rights.

In your message, give us the following information:

• Your name and account number.
• The dollar amount of the suspected error.
• Describe the error and explain, if you can, why you believe there is an error. If you need more information, describe the item about which you have a question.

 

After we receive your written notice, we must acknowledge your letter within 7 days from our receipt of your letter unless we have corrected the error by then. Within 90 days from our receipt of your letter, we must either correct the error or explain why we believe the bill was correct. After we receive your letter, we cannot try to collect any amount you question, or report you as delinquent. We can continue to bill you for the amount you question, including finance charges. You do not have to pay any questioned amount while we are investigating, but you are still obligated to pay the parts of your bill that are not in question. If we find that we have made a mistake on your bill, you will not have to pay any finance charges related to any questioned amount. If we didn’t make a mistake, you may have to pay finance charges, and you will have to make up any missed payments on the questioned amount. In either case, we will send you a statement of the amount you owe and the date that it is due.

If you fail to pay the amount that we think you owe, we may report you as delinquent. However, if our explanation does not satisfy you and you write to us within ten days telling us that you still refuse to pay, we must tell anyone we report you to that you have a question about your bill. And, in such circumstances, we must tell you the name of anyone we reported you to, and we must tell anyone to whom we report you as delinquent that the matter has been settled between us when it finally is.

If we don’t follow these rules, we can’t collect the first $50 of the questioned amount, even if your bill was correct.

14. Change in Terms: If the University makes any changes to these terms and conditions, it will promptly post notification of such changes on the SAO website.

 

If there are any questions, please call the Student Accounts Services Office at 202-994-7350.

(Last Revised July 1, 2024)