Tuition & Refund Policies
What is the one essential Board tuition or refund policy that you wish someone had highlighted for you when you opened your school or accepted the directorship?
Methods for establishing the Date of Determination when a student either withdrawals or is dismissed.
We are a small school and had one student drop out. We went to our Resource Book, re-read the policy for refunds and made the appropriate refund. Our school takes attendance so that made it a little easier.
Regarding the withdrawal guidelines, extremely important for the directors to fully understand.
But as a whole - it can get pretty confusing. In my opinion, I think there is too many holes for a student who stops attending as a decision on their own.
I think tuition and refund policies are the toughest for students and staff to understand. It is such a black and white area that it is critical to understand each and every policy because the penalties for an error can be extremely costly to a new or continuing school
I would agree with Kristi in that clock hour program tuition can be tricky at times. While the policies are clear, I think there are always ways to continue helping people understand tuition charges that are "different" than credit hour.
I think the refund policies are clearly stated by the board. I have a small school and have not had this problem of making a refund. But the policies are clearly stated and on the first day of class we have a 4 hour orientation in which we will discuss all of the school and tuition policies and answer any questions.
Teresa,
You would need to address those questions with the U.S. Department of Education, as they are the agency that regulates federal financial aid.
Kimberly Stein
I think I would have like to have more clarification on clock hour programs tuition works prior. It sometimes can feel overwhelming and challenging.
I think it would be very beneficial to discuss the regulations on stipends, i.e. Can a school choose to not give out stipends? Can they limit stipends? Can they require documentation of reason for stipends?
I have both clock hour and credit hour programs so it would have much more beneficial for me to have had the section on the differences covered more, I would have saved myself a lot of time and shredded documents if I had been better prepared in that area.
Before we opened our school in Ohio, we read the Chapter 3332 statutes and regulations prior to seeking our initial Certificate of Registration. This included sections on tuition and refund policies. I think it is vital that any new school or director read these. In addition, there was not an online course when we gained our initial Certificate of Registration, so I think this course will help highlight the importance of all rules and regulations.
