Understanding your bill

Where the bill lives

Your student account is in MyPorter under Billing & Payment. It updates continuously — a dropped course, a new parking permit, or a posted scholarship can all change the balance between the day you look and the day it is due. The "Amount due now" line is the one that matters for holds and late fees.

The university does not mail paper bills. It emails your Porter address when a statement is ready; forwarding that address elsewhere is fine, but you are still responsible for what it says.

What the charges are

Tuition is charged by the credit up to a full-time plateau, then flat from 12 to 18 credits. Segregated fees fund the Forge Recreation Center, health services, the Porter Loop, student government, and technology, and are the same for nearly everyone. Course fees appear on labs, studios, and clinicals that carry real material or placement costs.

Housing and dining are billed by term if you live on campus. Books are not on the university bill unless you used a book-advance voucher against your aid.

When it is due

Fall charges are due in mid-September, spring in mid-February — roughly two weeks after classes begin. The exact date is on the statement and the academic calendar. A balance left unpaid after the due date adds a monthly late fee and a financial hold that blocks registration, transcripts, and diploma release.

Payment plans

The term payment plan splits the balance into four or five monthly payments for a small enrollment fee and no interest. Enroll before the first due date; once a hold posts, the plan will not clear it retroactively. Plans are per term — re-enroll each semester.

Third-party sponsors (an employer, an agency, the VA) pay against an authorization you upload; until it is on file the charges are yours on paper.

Refunds when aid exceeds charges

When grants, scholarships, and loans post and exceed what you owe, the difference is refunded to you — by direct deposit within a few days if you set up an account in MyPorter, otherwise by a check that takes longer. That money is meant for books, rent, and living costs; it is still borrowed if any of it came from loans.

Refunds usually land in the second week of the term. Do not count on the exact date for a rent payment.

Disputing a charge

Start with the office that generated it: the Registrar for a tuition line after a schedule change, Housing for a room charge, Parking for a permit or citation. Most corrections are same-week once the underlying record is fixed.

If a charge is still wrong after that, Student Financial Services will open a review. Pay the undisputed part by the due date so a hold does not stack on top of the dispute.

The 1098-T at tax time

A 1098-T tuition statement is available in MyPorter each January and reports payments toward qualified charges and the scholarships that offset them. It is informational; a tax preparer or the free VITA clinic on campus can tell you whether an education credit applies to your household.