Mission, Responsibilities & Contacts

Student Accounts/Business Office Mission

To provide quality professional customer service while adhering to established policies, procedures, and laws with a focus on financial integrity and accountability, accurately collecting and disbursing student funds, and responding to student financial inquiries in a helpful, informed and courteous manner.

Student Responsibilities

Students who attend Southern West Virginia Community & Technical College agree to be held accountable for:

• The full payment of tuition and fees generated from their registration.
• The full payment of any applicable miscellaneous or special fees related to attendance.
• The payment of a $25 fee for any item(s) returned by their bank as “Non‐Sufficient Funding”.
• The maintaining of a current mailing address with the Office of the Registrar.
• The acknowledgement that their southernwv.edu email is the official means of communication to students.
• The task of reading their southernwv.edu email on a daily basis.
• The reading of and compliance with the rules as stated within the college catalog and/or student handbook.

Contacts

Boone Campus

• Susan Trammell | Program Assistant I | [email protected] | (304) 307-0703

Logan Campus

• Casandra Goble | Accounting Assistant I | [email protected] | (304) 896-7373
• Margaret Ferguson | Lead Cashier | [email protected] | (304) 896-7347
• Patricia Miller | Manager Business/Auxiliary Services | [email protected] | (304) 896-7351

Williamson Campus

• Martha Paige | Accounting Assistant I | [email protected] | (304) 236-7643
• J. Christopher Gray | Manager Business/Auxiliary Services | [email protected] | (304) 236-7614

Wyoming/McDowell Campus

• Donna Lafferty | Program Assistant I, | [email protected] | (304) 294-2002

Lincoln Site

• Angela Bell | Site Coordinator | [email protected] | (304) 307-0718

You may also email the Business Offices at [email protected].

Tuition and Fees

Tuition and Fees are subject to change. Registration is NOT complete until tuition and fees are paid.

Tuition Schedules

Fall 2019, Spring 2020, and Summer 2020

* Residents of the following Kentucky reciprocity counties are assessed at the WV resident rate: Boyd, Lawrence, Martin, and Pike Counties

** Non-resident rate is subject to change in July 2019

Course Fees (per credit hour)

Other Fees

In addition to tuition, Southern also assesses the following fees to all students who register for classes on their campuses or sites.  These fees are non-refundable after the first day of the academic term.

Technology Fee

• Assessed to all students who register for 7 or more credit hours each academic term.
• $100.00 flat fee

Wellness Fee

• Assessed to all students who register for 3 or more credit hours each academic term.
• $10.00 flat fee

Math ALEKS (Textbook Fee)

• Assessed to all students who register for MT 121 and/or MT 130 each academic term.
• $100.00 flat fee

Comprehensive Assessment Fee

• Assessed to all students
• $100.00 flat fee

The Assessment Fee is a five-year one-time fee for the implementation of an ePortfolio system. The ePortfolio system will be used across campus to provide students ways to engage in a richer learning experience. The ePortfolio will deepen your engagement in learning, allow you to capture critical learning moments, track your learning progress over time, and create a compelling picture of achievement which can be shared with others.

Special Fees

Important Dates

Payment Due Dates

Please note: Failure to receive a billing statement will not be accepted as a reason for missing the payment deadline.

Spring 2020

• January 8, 2020 — Payment Due Date for full term 16-week courses. After this date, students MUST make payment arrangements at the time of registration or they will be dropped from their courses.
• February 12, 2020 — Payment Due Date for Alternate term (12-week) classes
• March 18, 2020 — Payment Due Date for Alternate term (Second 8-week) classes

Summer 2020

• May 20, 2020 — Payment Due Date for Full and 1st 5 week terms.  After this date, students MUST make payment arrangements at the time of registration or they will be dropped.
• June 24, 2020 — Payment Due Date for Alternate term (Second 5-week term).

Financial Aid Completion Deadlines

Spring 2020

• December 2, 2019 full term (16-week classes) All required paperwork must be submitted to Southern’s Financial Aid Office in order to be complete and authorized for the Spring 2020 semester.
• After December 2, 2019 financial aid processing will continue, but students who submit required documentation after this date are not guaranteed their aid will be processed in time to avoid being dropped for nonpayment. Students who submit required documentation after this date may be able to register for alternate term (12-week) classes which start at a later date.

Summer 2020

• Please check with the Financial Aid Office to see if there are funds available for Summer Term classes. Availability varies due to enrollment and financial aid packaging.

To Meet the Deadline:

Meeting the deadline dates means all of the requested forms and paperwork have been received by the Financial Aid Office including an electronic copy of your Student Aid Report and full admission to Southern West Virginia Community and Technical College. This does not mean that you file the FAFSA by the deadline date; but, rather that you file the FAFSA so the Student Aid Report is received in the Financial Aid Office, along with all requested forms and paperwork, by or before the deadline date. Students who do not meet the priority processing deadline dates may have to pay for all expenses (tuition, fees, and books) from their own resources.

To ensure that you meet the priority processing deadline date you should file the FAFSA at least one month prior to the deadline date. No funds will be disbursed to you unless your financial aid file is complete.

Missing the above deadlines, with the exception of summer, does not prevent you from receiving financial aid; however, it may delay the receipt of the aid. Students failing to meet the above deadlines MUST be prepared to cover college expenses from their own resources or contact the Business Office to make arrangements to use the installment tuition payment plan.

Methods of Payment

Students are not considered registered for any courses until all tuition and fees are paid or other payment arrangements have been made by the fee payment deadline. Southern reserves the right to cancel all registration and withdraw students from courses due to nonpayment

Payment Options

On-Campus

• Cash
• Check or Money Order
• Credit/Debit Card (Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and Discover)

Online

Through mySouthern the College accepts Visa, MasterCard, and American Express and Discover.

To pay online, you will need to log into your mySouthern account. You have several options to access the online payment system in mySouthern:

• Select Credit Card Payment on the Main page of mySouthern
• At the bottom of the page of each Account Summary by Term and Account Summary there is a link for Credit Card Payment

Payment Arrangements

Installment Tuition Payment Plan

• The Installment Tuition Payment Plan allows students to make two payments on their tuition and fees. The initial 60 percent is due by the payment deadline date: or, after the payment date at the time of registration
• Payment Plan only offered for the Fall and Spring semesters
• After all financial aid is applied to the student’s account, at least 60 percent (60%) of the student tuition and fees must be paid by the tuition due date for the term.
• If your Financial Aid award does not fully cover your tuition and fees, you MUST sign up for the Payment Plan to cover the remaining balance
• All Students who participate in the Payment Plan, including Financial Aid recipients, MUST sign a form at the Campus Business Office
• The remaining balance (40%), including interest, must be paid by the due date of the plan
• Failure to pay remaining balance by due date will prohibit a student from having this payment option in the future. Interest and/or a service fee, on the remaining 40 percent (40%) may be charged at a rate not to exceed the legal limit.

Financial Aid

• The Financial Aid Office must complete the student award package and authorize it for disbursement before the aid can be viewed and accepted as guaranteed payment for the semester by the payment due date.
• Refer to the Financial Aid pages of the website for detailed information.

Third Party Sponsor

• Third Party Authorization – If tuition is to be paid by an agency, employer, or other third party outside the college, the student must present a letter of authorization guaranteeing payment from that agency, employer, or organization to the campus Business Office by the payment due date for each academic term. The letter of authorization must be on the company’s letterhead and contain specified limits (if restricted) and the address to bill. If the third-party payor fails to pay any charges billed, the student will be responsible for payment of the charges.
• Third party billing is subject to the same federal reporting requirements as other financial aid.
• If an outside agency, independently submits to Southern an authorization to pay part or all of a student’s tuition, fees and/or textbooks, (i.e. Vocational Rehabilitation, Veterans Administration, WIA or others) that authorization MUST be in the Business Office by the payment due date of each term.
• NOTE: Once your authorization has been received, it will appear on your student account. This does not mean that Southern has received payment on your behalf, it means Southern has billed your sponsor for your charges. Payment is not guaranteed until funds are actually received by the College from your sponsor. If payment has not been received by the end of the fiscal year, your contract will be deleted and cannot be reinstated until guaranteed funds are received. Thus, students are ultimately responsible for the contracted balance if their sponsor does not pay in a timely manner. Southern reserves the right to discontinue future third-party billing for agencies that are delinquent in making payment.

Refunds

Once classes begin, there is no refund for a reduced schedule. The refund policy applies only when a student officially withdraws from all classes or Southern cancels a class. The Health/Wellness fee, Technology Fee, Math ALEKS fee, and the Comprehensive Assessment fee are non-refundable as of the first day of the academic term.

Explanation of Refund Policy

The following schedule for calculating refunds shall be adhered to for those students who withdraw from the institution via the official withdrawal process and who are eligible to receive refunds. Students qualify for a full refund (100%) of tuition/fees, if they drop any or all of their courses prior to the start of classes for the semester/term. Once classes begin for the semester/term, there are only two ways students may qualify for a tuition/fee refund. The first is to completely withdraw from the institution for the semester/term (this means carrying zero credit hours for the semester/term). This includes any courses that have not started for the semester/term, including all non-traditional courses. The second way to qualify for a refund is if the institution cancels a course. The student will get 100% refund for any course that is canceled.

All refunds are calculated based upon the total tuition and fees owed at the beginning of the semester (less any nonrefundable fees as stated above). Refunds will be issued within 30 days of the official withdrawal date and delivered to the student’s BankMobile account. Payments made by credit card will be refunded to the original credit card within 30 days.

A refund schedule for summer sessions and nontraditional terms (terms that have a shorter duration period than the standard 16-week term) shall be determined by the College’s Business Office based upon the first day of class in the earliest term that the student is in. If the refund calculation designates a partial day, the full day will be included in the higher refund period.

Refund Schedules

The refund schedule below is for the full semester (16 week) classes:

Fall 2019

Spring 2020

Summer 2020

Note: Summer full semester classes are 10 weeks.

Refund Policy

SCP-5050: Assessment, Payment, and Refund of Tuition and Fees

Textbooks

Spring 2020 Textbook List

Book Vouchers

Book Vouchers are codes given to financial aid or third party students who have excess funds available to purchase textbooks after their payment of tuition and fees. The book voucher allows students to charge their textbooks against their unused financial aid until the disbursement of financial aid to their student account. These codes can only be used at the Southern Online Bookstore.

How students receive book vouchers

Financial Aid or Third Party Students

• Your book voucher will be sent to your Southern student email account no earlier than 10 days prior to the start of a term.
• Your Book Voucher email will be sent to your student email account from [email protected]

Effective dates of Book vouchers

• Book vouchers are activated 10 days prior to the beginning of an academic term.
• The vouchers will expire on the Friday of the second week of classes within that term.

Note – If you do not receive an email with your book voucher code from [email protected] by the expected activation date below, please contact [email protected] or [email protected] using your Southern student email account.  Please include your student ID number in the message that you send.  The usual limit on book vouchers is $900.00.  This amount can be increased (if needed) if you have available funds left from your grants or scholarships. To request that your voucher be increased, please contact one of the above employees using your student email account.

Book Vouchers Dates

Spring 2020

• Activation Date January 11, 2020; Expiration Date January 31, 2020 (16-week classes)
• Activation Date February 7, 2020; Expiration Date February 28, 2020 (12-week classes)
• Activation Date March 13, 2020; Expiration Date April 3, 2020 (Second 8-week classes)

Summer 2020

• Activation Date May 16, 2020; Expiration Date June 5, 2020 (full term and First 5-week classes)
• Activation Date June 13, 2020; Expiration Date July 10, 2020 (Second 5-week classes)

Bookstore website

1098-T

The American Opportunity (formerly Hope) and Lifetime Learning tax credits may be available to you if you pay higher education costs. To assist you in claiming these credits, Southern will file form 1098-T with the Internal Revenue Service by January 31 each year. This information in no way represents tax advice from the college, as it is the responsibility of the taxpayer to determine eligibility for the credit. Please do not contact Southern regarding your eligibility for this credit.

Who gets a 1098-T?

You will receive a 1098-T only if you had out-of-pocket payments, whether paid by you or with a loan, for “qualified educational expenses.”   IRS Publication 970 defines “qualified educational expenses” as tuition, fees, and books.

You will not receive a 1098-T on the portion of tuition paid with tax-free educational assistance.   Per IRS guidelines:  If you pay qualified education expenses with certain tax-free funds, you cannot claim a credit for those amounts. You must reduce the qualified education expenses by the amount of any tax-free educational assistance and refund(s) you received.  A 1098-T is, therefore, not issued for the portion of tuition paid with tax-free educational assistance including:

• The tax-free part of scholarships and fellowships,
• Pell grants,
• Employer-provided educational assistance,
• Veterans’ educational assistance, and/or
• Any other nontaxable (tax-free) payments (other than gifts or inheritances) received as educational assistance

How do I get a 1098-T if I qualify to receive one?

1098-Ts are mailed to eligible students from Southern by January 31.  The 1098-T reflects the previous calendar year (January through December).

Students may opt to receive their 1098-T electronically. All students will receive an email providing instructions on how to choose this option.

Is financial aid taxable?

In general, financial aid is not considered taxable income to the extent it is used toward “qualified educational expenses.”  Student loans are never considered taxable income because it is borrowed money that must be repaid.  Grants and scholarships may be considered taxable income to the extent they are not used for “qualified educational expenses.”

Are there education tax credits I may qualify for?  How do I learn more about tax guidelines regarding education?

Students may be eligible for a number of tax credits when filing a federal tax return.  We encourage you to read IRS guidelines such as IRS Publication 970, Tax Benefits for Education, regarding any tax benefits for which you may qualify and to consult your tax preparer.   Publication 970 may be downloaded from the IRS web site at www.irs.gov.

Need a Copy of Your 1098-T?

Students may request a copy of their 1098-T tax form by emailing Chris Gray at [email protected]. 

Students should send this request from their Southern student email account. Once your request is received, your replacement 1098-T will be emailed to you.

If you no longer have access to your Southern student email, you may send an email from your personal account.  This will result in your 1098-T being sent to you by USPS.

When requesting a copy, please include your full name, student ID number and the tax year needed. Students having questions concerning the amounts report may also email Chris Gray.

Note: Southern West Virginia Community and Technical College cannot offer tax advice.

Student Account

Each student has a student account in Southern’s student database. Your student account is where you can view your charge and payment history. From your student account, you can see if you have any outstanding charges or are due a refund. Financial aid awards can be viewed on your student account once they are disbursed from the Financial Aid Office.

How to access your mySouthern student account

1. Go to mySouthern
2. Log in using your Southern email address (@southernwv.edu) and email password.

How to View your student account

1. Log into your mySouthern student account
2. Click on Student Services and Business Office
3. Click on Student Records and Cashier
4. You may view your account information in two formats:

• Click on Account Summary by Term to see your account information summarized by semester
• Click on Account Summary to see an overall summary of your student account

Student Financial Responsibility Agreement

In the future, students will have to electronically acknowledge the debt incurred by registration in Southern West Virginia Community and Technical College classes. This feature is yet to come and should be implemented by Fall 2020.

E-Mail Notifications

Southern will utilize college-issued student email accounts to convey college-related, critical, and/or time sensitive information to faculty, staff and students. In some instances, email communication may be the only means by which certain information is conveyed.

The Business Office or Office of Student Accounts will use email to contact our students concerning:

• Outstanding balances on student accounts
• Notification of payment due date and amount due
• Notification of cancellation of registration due to nonpayment
• Notification of refunds including date when processed
• Responses to student inquiries

BankMobile

In order to provide more flexible options for receiving refunds, Southern West Virginia Community and Technical College has partnered with BankMobile Disbursements to deliver financial aid and other school refunds.

The new refund program will give you the following options for receiving refunds:

• Deposit To An Existing Account
• Deposit To A BankMobile Vibe Checking Account

All students will be asked to select a refund delivery preference from the options listed above. Here’s what you need to do:

1. Update your mailing address

BankMobile will mail a Personal Code to the current address you have on file with Southern West Virginia Community and Technical College. If you’re not sure that Southern has your current mailing address, please take a moment to update your address information.

2. Look for your Personal Code

Look for your Personal Code, it will arrive in a bright green envelope and via email from BankMobile. You may use either code to select your refund preference.

3. Select how you want your money delivered

Once your Personal Code arrives, go to RefundSelection.com and enter your code to get started. Then simply select how you’d like to receive your money. If you select the BankMobile Vibe checking account as your refund choice, you will receive a temporary virtual Debit Mastercard® to use until your physical card arrives in the mail.

All Southern West Virginia Community and Technical College refunds are distributed through BankMobile Disbursements. To manage your refund preferences, visit BankMobile Disbursements.

To view our institution’s contract with BankMobile, a Division of Customer Bank, click here.