Student Account Policies

FERPA

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) was enacted to give students access to their education records and to protect their privacy. Unless a student is legally dependent, the University is prohibited by FERPA from releasing student account information to a parent or guardian or other unauthorized third party without the student's consent.
Learn more about FERPA

Authorized Users

In order to be compliant with FERPA privacy regulations, only students or their authorized users are able to view the student account and make a payment. Parents, guardians, or bill payers must be set up as Authorized Users by the student in order to view or get this information. If a bill payer is not set up as an Authorized user, staff will not release student information to them.
How to set up Authorized Users

If you believe your bill is incorrect, or if you would like more information about a transaction on your bill, please contact us via email. Please make sure to use your Suffolk email address when making the request.

You must contact Student Account Services within 60 days of the charge posting on your account. Please include in your email:

• Your name, the student's name and student ID number.
• The dollar amount of the suspected error.
• A description of the error and an explanation, if possible, of what you believe is the basis for the error. gated to pay the portion of your bill that is not in question.

To request a copy of a past semester bill, contact Student Account Services directly.

Delinquent Accounts

Students whose accounts are not paid/settled by the due date will be charged a monthly late payment fee and will risk getting de-registered from their semester registration. If you are a resident student, this means you might possibly lose University housing. Holds will prevent access to future registration and receipt of diplomas.

All delinquent accounts could be reported to collections and be assessed additional collection fees. 

Late Payment Fee

A late payment fee is applied monthly to a student account with an unpaid balance after the published semester due date.

To appeal this charge, please complete the Late Payment Fee Waiver form available in Workday. On this form, please describe the reason for submitting the request to have your fee waived.

Please note:

• Appeals are generally considered if there is an error by the University or if unforeseen circumstances apply.
• Appeals will only be considered if the total balance on the account has been fully resolved;
• Appeals need to be submitted prior to the end of the semester for which the waiver is requested.
• Appeals for late fees from prior semesters will not be accepted.

Collections Policy

Students with overdue balances will be referred to a collection agency. All accounts referred to the collection agency will also be reported to the national credit bureaus. The student will be responsible for all collection fees associated with efforts to collect monies owed. A Collection hold will be placed on the student account. This hold prevents future registrations, release of transcripts, and also prevents the student from making any payment on SU Pay. Students assigned to collections must make payment to the collection agency directly.

Returned Check Policy

Students whose check payments are returned to Suffolk by our bank for any reason will be assessed a $25.00 returned payment fee. The original payment amount will be reversed off the student account.

A student with two (2) returned checks or ACH payments will have their check and ACH privilege revoked. Future payments will need to be made with secure funding such as a cashier's check or money order.

Returned eRefunds will be assessed a $25.00 returned payment fee. A student must ensure all the banking information for eRefund processing is current on their SU Pay portal to avoid any delays in receiving funding.

International Overpayments

Suffolk University does not allow overpayments.

If you transfer more funds than what is due on the student account, we may return the total or overpayment amount to the originating bank.

Students may opt to keep the credit on their student account to cover future charges. These overpayments will not be refunded.

If you drop a course that was paid for with TransferMate and you have a credit on your student account, that credit will be returned to the source of the wire or the credit may be kept on the student account to cover future charges

Refund Policy

Refunds will not be available until the start of the semester for which the credit applies. To learn when your refund or advance will be available, please contact the Ram Registration and Financial Services Center.

Financial aid awards may be reduced or cancelled due to course withdrawal or taking a leave of absence. Any outstanding balance would then become the responsibility of the student to pay. For more information on determining potential financial liability, please contact the Financial Aid Office.

Students are responsible for notifying the University if they plan to withdraw. Non-attendance or non-payment does not constitute official withdrawal or dropping a course.

Residence Hall Refund Policy

Room and meal plan charges are not subject to the Suffolk University refund policy. Once the student signs the housing license agreement, the student is responsible for paying all room and board charges for the term of this agreement. Students should review the housing license agreement for exceptions to this policy.

The primary means of communication is via email and Workday notifications. Emails are sent to the Suffolk student email. Authorized users are emailed to the address that has been set up in SU Pay. Students are expected to check this email account and share important information and deadlines with parents/bill payers.

Please refer to the Terms and Conditions section of the Master Promissory Note to understand your rights and responsibilities.