/Institutions/Lesley-University/json/2016-2017/Student-Handbook-local.json

/Institutions/Lesley-University/json/2016-2017/Student-Handbook.json

Student Accounts Office and Student Health Insurance

University Hall, 1815 Massachusetts Avenue, 3rd Floor

617.349.8760

Regina Clinton, Director
DawnMarie Medina, Associate Director
www.lesley.edu/student-accounts/

Payment Information
Notification of tuition bills will be sent to your University email address on a monthly basis. To view and pay your bill, you can log onto your LOIS (Lesley Online Information System) account at www.lesley.edu/LOIS. Tuition and fee charges can be paid online via electronic check or ACH at no charge. Payments made by credit or debit cards will be assessed a 2.5% non-refundable processing fee. When mailing payments, please allow at least ten business days prior to the semester or term due date to ensure payment processing by the due date and to avoid monthly late payment fees. Checks should be made payable to Lesley University. Please include the student’s full name and Lesley ID Number on the check(s) to ensure proper application to the student account It is the student’s responsibility to ensure payments are made by the payment due date for each semester to avoid late payment fees. In order to be in good standing at the University, you must meet your financial obligations with the Student Accounts Office by the due dates of:

FALL
Fall Semester: August 15
Fall Term I: August 15
Fall Term II: October 15

SPRING
Spring Semester: December 15
Spring Term I: December 15
January/Winter Term: December 15
Spring Term II: February 15

SUMMER
Summer Semester: May 15
Summer Term I: April 15
Summer Term II: June 15

The student is responsible for updating their mailing address, telephone number (s) and email address with the Student Accounts Office.

Students who have not met their financial obligations to the University will not be allowed to register for additional courses, either via web registration or paper registration, until their student account balance is paid in full. Grades, transcripts, and diplomas will be held from students whose accounts show overdue balances. Students experiencing financial difficulties should contact Student Financial Services as soon as possible to review payment options available. If the unpaid balance is turned over to a collection agency, the student will be required to pay all reasonable collections costs and fees incurred while trying to collect the balance owed, included reasonable attorney’s fees, to the extent permitted by law. All student accounts turned over for further collection activity will be reported to all major credit bureaus.

Pending financial aid amounts shown on the student’s account statement are anticipated funds not actual credits. Further action may be required on the student’s part for these anticipated funds to be disbursed to the student account. Pending awarded financial aid is deducted from the balance on the first ebill each semester. Please note that loan amounts may be a percentage less than the pending award amount noted on the student account statement. It is the responsibility of the student to check with Student Financial Services to ensure that all required documentation is complete. Incomplete documentation or missing signatures will prevent aid and/or loan disbursements to the student account. While the Student Financial Services staff are happy to assist with determining tuition balances, it is the student’s responsibility to make sure the balance is paid in full by the determined due dates.

Confidentiality

Student Financial Services communicates with the student directly. If a student would like the Student Financial Services to speak with his/her parent(s), grandparent(s), aunt, uncle, or others, this information must be communicated to the office in writing. Student account information will not be provided to individuals who are not granted this permission. Permission must be granted via the Parent Portal (http://www.lesley.edu/lois/parent-portal/).

Payment Plans
To help students and their families manage the cost of education, the University has made arrangements with Tuition Management Systems (TMS) to offer semester based interest free monthly payment options. The payment plan offers a flexible payment option that divides tuition and fees into monthly payments that are due to TMS by the 15th of each month. Each plan requires a non-refundable enrollment fee due to TMS with the first payment. Students can submit their payment plan application by calling TMS directly at 800.722.4867 or online at www.afford.com/lesley. All payment plan options must be completed one month prior to the student’s graduation date.

Student Health Insurance Requirement

Massachusetts state law requires all students enrolled at least full or three quarter time have adequate health insurance coverage. To read the details on this law and health insurance requirements, go to https://betterhealthconnector.com/help-center. Students who meet the above stipulation will be automatically enrolled in a student health insurance plan (SHP) for coverage effective August 15 – August 14 the following year serviced by Gallagher Student Health and Special Risk.

Students will be automatically enrolled for the year, spring semester, January 1 – August 14 or the summer semester, June 1 – August 14 once the enrollment requirements are met. This charge can be waived provided you (the student) are covered by insurance of a comparable plan. Comparable plan information can be found at https://intranet.lesley.edu/student-accounts/. Waivers can be completed online at https://www.gallagherstudent.com/lesley/.

Course credits taken at any school under a Consortium Agreement, does not count towards a student's total credit load for automatic enrollment in the student health insurance plan.

Students must waive the Student Health Insurance Plan if currently enrolled in a health insurance plan of comparable coverage.  Please note that Lesley reserves the right to re-enroll you in the Student Health Insurance Plan if it is determined that the plan you indicated on your waiver form is not deemed comparable coverage.  The student health insurance charge will be reassessed to your student account and payment will be due immediately.

Comparable coverage means that your current insurance plan provides access to local doctors and other health care providers in the Cambridge area, diagnostic testing, lab and x-ray services, prescription drugs, mental health services, inpatient and outpatient hospital services, urgent care and emergency services.  Out of state Medicaid programs, Commonwealth Care, and insurance plans not covered in Massachusetts are not comparable coverage.

Policy must be in effect from August 15 to August 14. The deadline to waive annual coverage is August 15 to avoid late payment fees. The deadline to waive spring coverage is December 15 to avoid late payment fees.

Online Waiver Process

To waive the Student Health Insurance Plan for the academic policy year, log onto: https://www.gallagherstudent.com/lesley/.  On the left navigation, under "Student Access," click on "Student Waive/Enroll."  Log-in.  Your user name is your Lesley email address.  Your temporary password is your student ID number preceded by two leading zeroes.  You will be required to reset your password for security purposes and will be sent an email to your Lesley email with a reset password link.  Complete the Health Insurance Decision Form.  You will immediately receive a reference number confirming the form was submitted.  If you waived the Student Blue Plan, the charge for it will be removed from your Lesley Student Account within 3-5 business days.

If you accept the insurance, you will receive an email confirming your acceptance.  Gallagher will mail your new insurance card to you.

Avoid Paying for Insurance You Do Not Need
Complete the online waiver form by the deadline date! Failure to complete the online Insurance Waiver Form by a student, whose academic status is full or three-quarter-time, will result in the student being automatically enrolled and billed for the student insurance. If a student withdraws after the add/drop period, their insurance will not be cancelled as Lesley University will already be billed for the fall semester at that point. If a withdrawn student wishes to waive the insurance, they must contact Gallagher Student Health and Special Risk directly at 800.401.6068 and submit a petition to waive. A petition is not a guarantee that the waiver will be approved.

Late Waivers
The University is not responsible for any waivers that are submitted late. Failure to complete the online waiver by the due date will subject the student to automatic insurance enrollment. Once the due date has passed, the student must file a petition with Gallagher Student Health and Special Risk in order to have the insurance charge waived. Please note that a petition is not a guarantee that Gallagher Student will approve a waiver. Gallagher Student petitions can be found at https://www.gallagherstudent.com/lesley.

Tuition Insurance Plan
The University takes the cost of higher education seriously. There are situations in which a student suffers a serious illness or accident and has to withdraw before the semester is completed. In many instances, this means not only the loss of time invested in studies, but also a financial loss of the semester’s cost.

We are pleased to offer tuition insurance to our undergraduate student population through the Tuition Refund Plan at AWG Dewar, Inc. that will help minimize the financial loss. This elective insurance plan provides coverage for tuition, room, and board charges for the academic year. Please note that students are automatically enrolled in this insurance program unless they submit a waiver of benefits. This waiver is available via the student's LOIS account.

The University’s refund policy provides a partial refund of tuition through the fourth week of classes. There is also a prorated withdrawal policy through the seventh week of classes for room and board (see http://intranet.lesley.edu/student-accounts/ for refund policy information). The tuition insurance plan offers a 70% refund of tuition in the event of a complete withdrawal under the terms of the plan. If you elect to waive this coverage, you will be subject to the University’s refund policies. Refunds for students receiving Title IV financial aid will be calculated in accordance with federal guidelines.

To facilitate enrollment in the program, undergraduate students will be automatically billed for the premium cost. If you do not want the coverage, you must waive the insurance online at www.lesley.edu/lois. Once waived, the full year cost, which is charged in the fall semester only, will be credited (removed) from your student account. You must waive this charge by August 15, if you do not wish to protect your tuition payments.

Tuition Refunds
Overpayment, scholarship credits, adjustments in financial aid payments may result in a credit balance on the student account. If an account indicates a credit balance, it will be refunded to the student. Federal Direct Stafford Loan and private loan payments resulting in a credit balance will be refunding within 10 – 14 days of the date the credit appears on the student account. Credits resulting a Federal Parent PLUS loan will be refunded to the parent listed as the borrower.

If a student on a payment plan with Tuition Management Systems (TMS) later receives financial aid that creates a credit on the student account, the student must cancel the TMS payment plan directly with TMS in order for the refund to be generated in a timely manner. Students enrolled in an active TMS plan will not have their credit balance refunded to them until the final payment for the plan is received by the University. Refunds generated by a TMS plan will be distributed to the payer of the TMS plan.

Lesley University students are enrolled in eRefunding with lesleychoice.afford.com. When enrolled, an email from lesleyrefunds@afford.com is sent to your Lesley email address prompting you to register your desired refund preference. Preference options include prepaid VISA debit card and ACH, which deposits your refund directly to your bank account. After completing the enrollment process, you will receive an email confirming your preference. Credit balances will be refunded to any credit card payment, if applicable.

In the event of withdrawal, the following schedule is used to determine the portion of tuition that will be refunded depending upon the date a student withdraws from a course or from the University. University policy does not allow retroactive withdrawals or refunds.

Time of Formal Withdrawals Refund
Prior to the start of classes: 100%
During the 1st week of classes: 100%
During the 2nd week of classes: 100%
During the 3rd week of classes: 50%
During the 4th week of classes: 25%
After the end of the 4th week of classes: 0%

• A week is based on the first official day of classes determined by the University, not class meeting.
• For courses with fewer than five class meetings, there is a 100% refund prior to the start of classes. Once the course has begun, there is no refund.
• Actual percentage will depend on the official date of formal withdrawal received by the Registrar’s Office.
• Registration fees are non-refundable.
• Course fee(s) will not be refunded after the first class meeting.
• Resident students who withdraw prior to the seventh week of classes will receive a prorated refund on the portion of the board that is not used.

Please see the Student Health Services section for the Health Services Fee refund policy.

Please refer to www.lesley.edu/student-accounts/ for additional information regarding tuition refunds.