Account balances not paid by the payment deadlines are assessed a 1.5% Late Payment Charge per month on any unpaid balance. Bursar holds will be placed on student accounts with past due balances and will restrict specific student privileges until the hold is resolved.

Past Due Balances

• Past due balances greater than $500 will prevent a student from receiving a diploma from the University.
• Past due balances greater than $1,000 will prevent a student from pre-registering for any upcoming semester, charging Bookstore purchases to the student account, or receiving a diploma.
• Past due balances greater than $5,000 will prevent students from continuing enrollment into the upcoming semester, charging Bookstore purchases to the student account, or receiving a diploma.

Consequences

Students who fail to meet their financial obligation in accordance with established University regulations will have the status of their account reported to the University Student Account Committee for appropriate action, including cancellation of enrollment/dismissal.

The University reserves the right to refuse to furnish grades, certificates, diplomas, letters of honorable dismissal or recommendations, for students who fail to pay their student account balances. When required, the University may utilize the service of a commercial collection agency to assist in the collection of unpaid student accounts.

Additional Information

Refer to the Brown University Bulletin Financial Information for additional details.

Undergraduate and Graduate Students: Students who leave the University during or at the end of Term I are not charged for Term II.

Students who leave the University (except under conditions noted below) or change their enrollment status during a term are eligible for tuition payment refunds during the first five weeks of the term according to the schedule.

Refund Schedule

• If a partial refund is made, no portion of the tuition paid and not refunded is credited toward the total tuition required for the degree.
• When no refund is made, the four tuition units paid are credited toward the total tuition required for the degree, and the number of terms to which the student is entitled for full-time enrollment is appropriately reduced.

Federal Financial Aid Recipients

Federal financial aid recipients are also bound by the Federal refund policy for financial aid funds. Please contact the Office of Financial Aid for more details.

Students receiving federal awards are required to complete a Title IV authorization form. The authorization provides instructions to the University on how to apply excess Title IV funds from the student's account. Your authorization also instructs the University on refunding over-payments or on holding funds on the account for a future date. The Title IV Authorization can be found in selfservice.brown.edu under the students Financial Aid Requirements.

Parent PLUS Loan borrowers, refer to the steps outlined in the PLUS Loan Application process.

Brown University will only accept payments to cover educational expenses that are posted on the student account. Brown reserves the right to return any overpayments made in excess of the balance due or retain the overpayment to be applied to future charges. Only loans and scholarships disbursed to the student account, in excess of tuition and fee charges, are an exception to this policy.

Any payment made, even if on a timely basis, that results in being returned for insufficient funds, lack of authorizing signature, etc. will result in the reversal of the payment and a $20 returned payment charge. In addition, a returned payment for a student account may result in a late payment charge if no other form of payment is received prior to the payment due date.  

• Payers with two returned ACH payments due to insufficient funds within six months, will be restricted from making electronic payments through payment.brown.edu. 
• Payers enrolled in Brown’s Installment Payment Plan (IPP) with one returned payment due to insufficient funds within the plan period, will be removed from the IPP and will need to make other payment arrangements.

Inquiries or information concerning payment options, changes in billing name or billing address, late payment charge assessment, refunds, and the Installment Payment Plan (IPP) are handled by Student Financial Services. Refer to our contact information to email, call, or schedule an appointment.

However, since most of the charges or credits that appear on the statement do not originate in Student Financial Services, questions about a specific item should be directed to the office responsible for the charge.

All housing information and policies are handled by Residential Life. Residential Life submits charges to Student Financial Services to be reflected on the student's account. For questions regarding changes to housing students should reference their room agreement.

All meal plan information and policies are handled by Dining Services. Dining Service submits charges to Student Financial Services to be reflected on the student's account. For questions regarding changes to housing students should reference their meal plan agreement.

Department contact information can be found in the department links on the fee charts.

In case of billing errors, the amount in question need not be paid while we are investigating the matter provided that documentation is submitted to Student Financial Services prior to the payment due date. However, the remainder of the bill, which is due and not in question, must be paid by the due date.