644  Installment Payment Plan

Approved by Board of Trustees
Effective Date: December 5, 2017
Responsible Division: Business and Finance
Responsible Office:  Business and Finance
Responsible Officer:  Associate Vice President, Business and Finance

I. Purpose

This policy outlines significant provisions for consistent administration of the installment payment plan for payment of tuition and all student fees at Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU or University).

II. General Provisions

A.  The installment payment plan for tuition and student fees is only available for tuition and student fees incurred at the time the first payment for either the Fall academic term or the Spring academic term is due.

B.  Eligibility

1.  All students in good financial standing with MTSU, and with no outstanding account balances from previous terms, may be eligible to participate in the installment payment plan.

2.  Students who have failed to make timely payments in previous terms may be denied the right to participate in the installment payment plan in additional enrollment periods.

3.  The minimum balance due by the student for the academic term to which the installment payment plan would apply must be at least four hundred dollars ($400.00).

4. The University reserves the right to decline or deny students participation in this plan.

C.  Payment Terms

1.  All financial aid awarded, including, but not limited to, student loans, scholarships, and discounts, must be applied toward payment of total fee balances before the installment payment plan may be utilized.

2.  The remaining balance after financial aid and discounts are applied will be divided into four (4) equal payments, with the first (1st) payment due before the first (1st) day of class and the remaining payments due on the 30th of each subsequent month. All installment payments should be scheduled so that the entire balance due is paid by the end of the academic term.

D.  Service Charges and Fines

1.  A service fee of fifty dollars ($50.00) will be charged to help defray administrative costs associated with each installment payment plan.

2.  An additional late payment charge of twenty-five dollars ($25.00) may be assessed on each installment payment which is not paid on or before the due date and each thirty (30)-day period past the second (2nd) installment payment, up to a maximum of one hundred dollars ($100.00).

3.  Withdrawals from classes will not alter any remaining balance due, except to the extent that any refund may be applied in accordance with institutional policy. 

E.  Approval of Exceptions

1.  In accordance with this policy, the President or his/her designee has the authority to determine the applicability of the provisions of the installment payment plan and to approve exceptions in instances of unusual circumstances if doing so is to the benefit of the student.