Business office

Business Office

Personal checks may be cashed without charge in the Business office, Room 148, Alexandria Hall.  Appropriate identification must be provided.  Checks may not exceed $50.00 a day.  A fee of $20.00 will be assessed for NSF checks.  Check writing privileges will be denied to anyone who has written more than one NSF check to the University. The Business office hours are 7:45 am – 5:00 pm Monday – Thursday; 7:45 am – 12:00 noon Friday.

FINANCIAL POLICIES

Louisiana Christian University seeks to provide fair and equitable financial policies. The goal is to balance the benefit of the policies between both the student and the University. These policies and regulations are established by the Board of Trustees. Students should determine if they can fulfill these financial obligations before enrolling.

STUDENT ACCOUNTS

Payment is due in full by the last day of the drop/add period for any balance remaining after the application of anticipated financial aid for tuition, fees, room, and board. In an effort to help students who may find payment in full to be a financial hardship, the University will offer payment plans to students, except as outlined below:

  • 100% Online Students

Students that are enrolled 100% online will not be allowed to participate in a payment plan due to the discounting of tuition. Schedules will be permanently dropped, and enrollment canceled on all students who have not properly completed finalizing their enrollment and have not paid their balance in full by the last day of drop/add.

  • International Students

International students who are attending under the provisions of the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) are required to provide proof of financial position. By providing this documentation the student is stating he/she has sufficient funds to cover the cost of attendance; therefore, international students will not be allowed to participate in a payment plan. Schedules will be permanently dropped, and enrollment canceled on all students who have not properly completed finalizing their enrollment and have not paid their balance in full by the last day of drop/add.

Payment Plans will allow students to spread their out-of-pocket costs for tuition, fees, room, and board over the course of a few months. Payments must be current and sufficient to cover the outstanding balance. Payment plan participants with past-due payments or returned checks will have their plan canceled after 15 days. Therefore, the student must make immediate payment of the outstanding balance to the school.

Title IV regulations prohibit the use of federal financial aid funds to pay prior period charges in excess of $200. Therefore, students will not be allowed to have a schedule entered until any prior balance is paid. In the instance where a student pre-registers during the early registration period, and subsequently finishes a semester with an unpaid balance, the student’s schedule for the upcoming semester will be dropped.

All students who have registered for classes must finalize and confirm their enrollment through the online portal by the last day of drop/add as established by the Academic Calendar. In order to properly finalize, students must financially settle their student accounts, as well as successfully complete the student check-in process online.

The student account is considered financially settled if one of the following applies:

  • The balance is paid in full.
  • All necessary actions have been taken to have financial aid processed and award amounts are sufficient to cover the outstanding balance.
  • The student has enrolled in an approved payment plan that is in good standing.
  • Balance due is covered by a documented third-party payment (VA, LA Start, etc.).
  • A combination of any of the above is sufficient to cover the outstanding balance.

Access to CANVAS will be suspended for all students, with the exception of international students and those enrolled in 100% online programs (See Policy applicable to these students), who

  • Fail to submit the Student Check-In form through the MyLCU portal, and/or
  • Fail to financially settle their student account by the last day of drop/add

Access to CANVAS will be reinstated on a student-by-student basis as they accomplish the necessary action(s) required to finalize. If these steps are not accomplished within 7 days after initial suspension from CANVAS, the student’s schedule will be permanently dropped.

Students with outstanding balances will not be able to receive transcripts (official or unofficial), view grades, or re-enroll in subsequent semesters until the balance is paid in full. Additionally, the Federal Return to Title IV Calculation may result in a balance owed to the Federal Student Aid Program for which the student will be responsible.

UNIVERSITY REFUND POLICY

Students wishing to withdraw from all classes must officially resign from the University by submitting a resignation form with the Office of the Registrar. The resignation process will be complete once the resignation form has obtained signatures by all departments and has been presented to the Business Office. Students who unofficially "withdraw" by ceasing to attend class will not be eligible to receive a refund of tuition, fees, room, or board. Additionally, students who are administratively withdrawn due to disciplinary action will not receive a refund of tuition, fees, room, or board. 

Refund Resignation Schedule

Students who drop individual classes or submit a resignation for all their classes will be eligible to receive a full refund of tuition, refundable fees, and room charges through the official drop/add period posted on the Academic Calendar.

Through the last day of drop/add period per the academic calendar ........... 100%

Individually dropped classes after the drop/add period will receive no refund of tuition or fees.

A resignation of all classes after the drop/add period will be eligible for a refund of tuition and room charges based on the refund schedule below.

Through the 15% point of the semester ............................................................. 75%

Through the 20% point of the semester ............................................................. 50%

Through the 25% point of the semester ............................................................. 25%

After the 25% point of the semester...................................................................... 0%

*This refund schedule begins the first official day of class which is defined as the first day classes meet and not the first day of class attendance by the student.

NOTE: Students enrolled in 100% online programs will not be eligible for any refunds of tuition or fees after the drop/add period.

Refunds for board charges (less associated Cat Cash) will be calculated on a prorated basis of eight weeks from the first day of class in the fall and spring semesters. After eight weeks of the semester, there will be no prorated refund of board charges.

Distribution of Refund Checks

Refunds resulting from drop/adds or resignations will not be made until after an audit of fees has been performed. Refunds resulting from resignations will not be disbursed to students until both Federal and Institutional financial aid sources have been reimbursed according to Title IV regulations. Credit balances resulting from the application of financial aid will be available for refund according to Federal guidelines.

Return of Title IV Funds

Withdrawal Process

The Registrar’s office must be notified if a student decides to withdraw from all courses at the University. The notification may be in writing, by phone, by e-mail, or in person. The student’s withdrawal date is the date the student began the withdrawal process or officially notified LCU of intent to withdraw by contacting the Registrar’s office.

For students who fail to officially withdraw, the institution may administratively withdraw the student. The withdraw date for an administrative withdrawal will be determined at the University’s option to be 1) the midpoint of the enrollment period, or 2) the last documented date of attendance at an academically related event, or 3) the date an event occurred which prevented the student from officially withdrawing from the institution. Such events include illness, grievous personal loss, or other such circumstances beyond the student’s control.

To be considered ‘withdrawn’ a student must have ceased enrollment in all. If a student reduces their course load from 12 to 9 hours for example, the reduction represents an enrollment change, not a withdrawal.

Students Who Receive Federal Title IV Financial Aid (R2T4 Policy)

General Information

The US Department of Education requires institutions to apply the Return to Title IV Funds policy for students withdrawing from a University who receive Title IV financial aid. The Title IV programs include: Federal Pell Grants, Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grants, TEACH Grants, Direct Loans, Direct Plus Loans and Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (FSEOGs).

The requirements for Title IV program funds when you withdraw are separate from any refund policy that your school may have. Therefore, you may still owe funds to the school to cover unpaid institutional charges. LCU will charge the student for any Title IV program funds that LCU was required to return.

A student who withdraws after the 60% point of a semester is entitled to retain all Title IV aid for that semester. However, if the student withdraws prior to the 60% point of the term, unearned Title IV funds as determined by the federal policy must be returned to the various programs. These funds must be returned even if the University provides no refund to the student. This means the student could owe the University and/or the U.S. Department of Education a significant amount of money.

Post Withdrawal Disbursement

If the student did not receive all of the funds that were earned prior to withdrawing, a post-withdrawal disbursement may be due. If the post-withdrawal disbursement includes loan funds, the student must give permission before the funds can be disbursed. LCU may automatically use all or a portion of the post-withdrawal disbursement of grant funds for tuition, fees, and room and board charges. Permission is required to use the post-withdrawal grant disbursement for all other school charges. Students will be notified of post-withdrawal disbursement eligibility within 30 days of the date of withdrawal determination. The school must return the Title IV funds within 45 days of the date the school determines the student withdrew.

Documenting Attendance

Before processing a Return to Title IV Funds, the University must verify the student began attendance in all classes used to determine financial aid eligibility. The University will contact all instructors to verify class attendance. If a faculty member indicates that a student never attended, the University will first adjust the disbursed aid if there is a resulting change in eligibility and then calculate the Return of Title IV Funds. As a result, the student may end up owing the institution for the amount of unearned aid. If the student never attended any classes, all aid will be cancelled and the student billed for all outstanding charges.

Determining Earned Aid

Though your aid is posted to your account at the start of each semester, you earn the funds as you complete the semester. Title IV financial aid is earned by the calendar day, not class day. This includes weekends, holidays, and breaks of less than five consecutive days. The University is required to determine the amount of Title IV aid the withdrawing student has earned and then either disburse any additional funds the student may be entitled to up to the amount earned, or return funds in excess of the amount earned which the student has already received.

If you withdraw during your enrollment period, the amount of Title IV program assistance that you have earned up to that point is determined by a specific formula. If you received (or your school or parent received on your behalf) less assistance than the amount that you earned, you may be able to receive those funds. If you received more assistance than you earned, the excess funds must be returned by LCU.

When a student receiving Federal Title IV financial aid withdraws from LCU during the enrollment period, the amount of the Title IV funds (not including Federal Work Study) that the student earned during the enrollment period is calculated as of the student's withdrawal date.

Title IV funds are earned at a fixed rate on a per day basis up to the 60 percent point in the enrollment period. Title IV funds are 100 percent earned if the withdrawal date is after the 60 percent point in that period.

If the date a student withdraws from LCU is prior to or on the 60% point of the semester, LCU is required to determine the portion of the aid disbursed that was "earned" by the student before the withdrawal date. The "unearned" Title IV funds must be returned to the respective federal aid programs. Unearned aid is the amount of disbursed Title IV aid that exceeds the amount of Title IV aid earned based on attendance in the enrollment period.

For example: If $1000 in federal aid is disbursed, and the student withdraws at the 30% point of the term, $700 of the aid is unearned and needs to be returned to the identified aid program.

The following formula is used to determine the percentage of unearned aid that has to be returned to the federal government:

  • The percent earned is equal to the number of calendar days completed up to the withdrawal date, divided by the total calendar days in the payment period (less any scheduled breaks that are at least 5 days long)
  • The payment period is the entire semester. For students enrolled in modules (courses which are not scheduled for the entire semester or term), the payment period only includes those days for the modules(s) in which the student is registered.
  • The percent unearned is equal to 100% minus the percent earned.

Order of Aid to be Returned

In accordance with federal regulations and LCU policy, if you are eligible for a refund of tuition and fees and housing/meal plan costs, and you are a Title IV aid recipient for the enrollment period, the refund will be returned to the student aid programs. Returned Title IV Funds are allocated in the following order:

    • Direct Unsubsidized Loans
    • Direct Loans (subsidized)
    • Direct PLUS Loans (Graduate student)
    • Direct PLUS Loans (Parent)
    • Federal Pell Grants
    • Federal SEOG
    • TEACH Grant
    • Iraq Afghanistan Service Grant
    • Other Federal Sources of aid
  • Other State, Private and Institutional Aid.

Grant Overpayment

Any amount of unearned grant funds that the student must return is called an overpayment. The maximum amount of a grant overpayment the student must repay is half the grant funds that were received or scheduled to receive. The student does not have to repay a grant overpayment if the original amount of the overpayment is $50 or less. Arrangements must be made with LCU or the Department of Education to return the unearned grant funds. The student will be notified of any grant overpayment within 30 days of the date the school determined the student withdrew.

Notification to student

Once the Return to Title IV Funds caLCUlation has occurred, the Financial Aid office will notify the student of the results of the calculation and the aid that was returned. The Business office will notify the student of any outstanding balance now due to the institution as a result.

Unofficial withdrawals

Title IV aid recipients who fail to withdraw but stop attending class are considered unofficial withdraws. The Return to Title IV Funds policy requires LCU to calculate the "earned" amount based on the last day of attendance of the semester. If the student stopped attending prior to the 60% point of the term, the student will be billed for the outstanding charges as a result of the Return of Title IV funds. Unofficial withdrawals are processed within 30 days of determining the student was an unofficial withdrawal.

Please contact the Business office at 318-487-7452 with any further questions.