Procedure: Financial Appeals
Financial Appeals
Nipissing University can assist students in a variety of ways, including an assessment for financial appeals.
Acceptable Reasons:
A student may submit a financial appeal if they experience a serious documented medical illness or a death of an immediate family member that causes them to drop courses. Some consideration may be given for other life crises outside of a students control; however, supporting documentation must be included.
Financial appeals are granted at the discretion of the Student Financial Services Department of Nipissing University and will be considered for a period of six months after the occurrence of the illness or death.
Unacceptable Reasons:
Being Unaware of the University Policies and Regulation: By the action of registration the student becomes bound by the policies and regulations of Nipissing University. All students are responsible for familiarizing themselves with this information.
Being unaware of the academic versus financial drop deadlines: Financial deadlines are different than academic deadlines associated with dropping a course. Therefore, not meeting deadlines such as grade deadlines are not grounds for a financial appeal.
Not Attending Classes: Simply not attending classes or failing to drop unwanted courses are not sufficient grounds for a financial appeal. You must also be aware that there are financial penalties for dropping courses after the start of classes (see the Refund Policy & Course Drop Deadlines). You are responsible for the full fee for any courses added to your record, regardless of when in the term you added them.
Financial Difficulties: If you experience difficulty keeping your student account in good financial standing, it is advised that you contact Student Awards and Financial Aid Office to discuss the financial resources available to you. You may e-mail them at: finaid@nipissingu.ca
Graduate Student Finishing Early in the Final Term: Aside from withdrawal from the program, Masters & PhD Students must register and pay per term, until graduation. Accordingly, there is no adjustment of fees for early completion within the last term of study.
How to Submit a Financial Appeal:
- If you haven't already done so, drop the course(s) for which you are requesting a credit/refund
- Contact Student Financial Services, finance@nipissingu.ca; you will be sent a link to the Financial Appeal form.
- Read the Financial Appeal Guidelines below.
- Complete the form: Financial Appeal Form, and upload all relevant documents.
- You will be notified by email in 6 to 8 weeks of the outcome of your appeal, or once a decision has been made
- The decision of the Financial Appeals Committee is final.
Who is on the Financial Appeals Committee?
Financial Appeals Committee Members and Impartiality
The Financial Appeals Committee is composed of four members: Director of Finance; Manager, Student Financial Services & Financial Aid; Accounts Receivable Financial Coordinator; and the Student Awards Coordinator.
The issues of fairness and impartiality of the Financial Appeal Committee are considered crucial. Therefore, a member of the Committee will be excluded from a particular appeal discussion when they feel that, in the circumstances, they are not sufficiently objective to evaluate the appeal, they have any emotional or financial interest in the outcome of the appeal, or they have any affiliation with either party of such a nature or proximity as to give the appearance of partiality or bias.
Financial Appeal Guidelines
This policy applies to all students attending Nipissing University who are charged full, or part time fees related to the enrollment in their academic program or individual courses. Financial Appeals apply to TUITION FEES ONLY and do not include ancillary or other fees, which will remain the responsibility of the student. The administration of this form is born by the Nipissing University Student Financial Services Office, which reserves the right to make any necessary changes to this policy without notice. It is the sole responsibility of the student to submit a Financial Appeal. Please read the following guidelines carefully.
- All students are responsible for paying all applicable fees related to their program of study before the appeal process has begun. Students must also drop the courses in question, and/or withdraw from their program in order to be eligible.
- Students are expected to familiarize themselves with the Nipissing University Fees Policy, the Payment Due Dates, Refund Policy and Schedule.
- Appeals will not be considered on the grounds that the student was unaware of or did not understand the University policies.
- Financial Appeals will not be considered past 6 months after the semester in which the fees apply.
- Financial Appeals will not be considered for completed courses, or courses the student intends to complete. Under special circumstance, exceptions to this guideline will be made upon supporting documentation being provided.
- Fees that have been paid through OSAP or other external funding may be refunded directly back to the funding agency.
- Financial Appeals will be considered when appropriate grounds exist for the appeal. The following is a list of appropriate grounds on which to base an appeal:
- Medical Reasons – Includes the unforeseen onset of a physical or psychological illness, condition, or crisis. Under these circumstances, students will need to provide all supporting medical documentation issued by a physician or psychologist.
- Compassionate Grounds – Includes extenuating circumstances such as eviction, death of a family member, or other life crises.
- Removal of Financial Restriction.
- Other Reasons– Includes an unforeseen event or circumstance that resulted in time delays/additional fees.
- All supporting documents must be included along with the Financial Appeal at the time of submission. Any additional information may not be accepted later.
- Financial Appeals can take 6-8 weeks to process. The student will be contacted once a decision has been made by the Nipissing University Financial Appeals Committee.
- Any information submitted during the Financial Appeal Process will be held private as per the Nipissing University Privacy Policy.
Student Financial Services
t: (705) 474-3450 x4419
e: finance@nipissingu.ca
Financial Obligations and Collection of Overdue Accounts
Financial Obligations and Collection of Overdue Accounts
The Board of Governors sets all Nipissing University tuition and ancillary fees and reserves the right to modify published fees and the regulations governing refunds without advance notice. By the action of registration all students become bound by the policies and regulations of Nipissing University. All students are responsible for familiarizing themselves with student financial information.
Payments for tuition, ancillary fees and other charges, as outlined on Student’s Statement of Account, must be received according to the Fee Payment Deadlines schedule. Fees for late registrations, after the published fee payment deadline dates, are due within 2 business days to avoid late payment fees.
A 1.5% monthly (19.56% effective annual rate) late fee will be assessed to accounts with outstanding fees after the published due date.
Non-payment of fees will render a student ineligible for registration in future sessions. In addition, students who are in financial arrears to the university will be deregistered from all future courses. Further, overdue accounts will be placed under Financial Restriction. When an account has a Financial Restriction academic transcripts of record, statements of standing, confirmations of enrolment, degrees, diplomas, certificates, referral to the Ontario Collage of Teachers, and any other related evidence of academic progress will not be issued until the Financial Restriction is cleared. Finally, T2202s will not be issued for unpaid tuition.
While every effort is made to avoid errors in fee assessment, should an error occur, it will be corrected, and every effort made to notify affected students. However, lack of notification does not exempt a student from paying the appropriate fee.
Please see Appendix A for Timelines and Impact to Student Accounts.
Please direct all questions to finance@nipissingu.ca.
Student Responsibilities
It is the student's responsibility to:
- Familiarize themself with the financial and academic regulations of the University (e.g. Tuition Fees and Payments, Drop Deadline Dates, Refund Policies, Academic Calendar, etc.).
- Regularly view the status of their Student Account on WebAdvisor, and report any discrepancies or concerns.
- Add or drop courses from their timetable using the Register/Drop Classes function in WebAdvisor.
- All charges and outstanding fees accrued to the date of drop/withdrawal will remain due and payable on the student's account. The partial or total reimbursement of tuition fees depends on the official date of withdrawal as registered on the student's file.
- Monitor their Nipissing University e-mail account for all University correspondence using Student Mail in My Nipissing.
Overdue Accounts
Students are expected to pay their tuition fees, residence fees, administrative fees, accrued late fees and all other outstanding fees in full by the corresponding due dates.
Students with an unpaid balance will not be permitted to register in subsequent terms, and will be deregistered from all future terms, until their account has been paid in full. Unpaid accounts will be restricted; students will not have access to final grades, or any academic records until their balance is fully paid. The University will engage the services of outside collection agencies and reserves the right to use any legal means to reclaim outstanding balances on account.
Nipissing University will make every reasonable attempt to contact a student who has an outstanding account balance to collect the overdue amount. Therefore, it is in each student’s best interests to keep their contact information current on WebAdvisor, even after they graduate. If a student doesn’t remember their username or password, they can contact UTS for support.
If contact attempts are unsuccessful, the account will be referred to a collection agency. The provisions of the Financial Restriction will remain in effect until the balance is paid in full. Once an account is fully paid, it will be returned to Good Standing without penalty, and students will have full access to academic transcripts of record, statements of standing, confirmations of enrolment, degrees, diplomas, certificates, and referral to the Ontario Collage of Teachers.
Please see Appendix B for the Collections Timeline.
Payment Methods
Acceptable payment methods include on-line banking, cash, certified cheque, debit card, bank draft or money order payable to Nipissing University. Credit card payments are accepted using our third-party partner, PayMyTuition.
Student Support
Information on financial assistance for current students is available on the Student Awards and Financial Aid website, or by email: finaid@nipissingu.ca.
Financial Appeals
Nipissing University can assist students in a variety of ways, including an assessment for a financial appeal.
Sponsorships
Students who are sponsored by an agency must provide written confirmation (ex. EI, Indigenous community band council’s education department, other). A copy of the sponsorship letter must be provided to the Student Financial Services department by the term’s fee due date. The letter can be e-mailed to finance@nipissingu.ca. Letters will only be accepted from Sponsors whose accounts are in good standing.
Collection Services Information Contact
Collections Email: finance@nipissingu.ca.
Phone: 705-474-3450 x4619