Tuition, Fees and Expenses

Tuition rates and fees are approved by the Board of Regents and may be revised during the year.

Northern State University requires full payment (tuition/fees/ room/board) the day after Census Date which is about ten (10) days after the start of each semester. Bills are posted on-line through myNSU/Self Service Banner about three (3) weeks before start of semester. Payment may be made on-line through myNSU/Self Service Banner. Credit card payments must be made on-line. (A 2.75% service fee will be charged on all credit card payments.) Registration will be canceled for students who fail to pay their fees on time unless arrangements are made with the Finance Office.

Tuition - Please see website.

Fees - Please see website.

Return Check Policy 

It is understood and agreed that upon presentation of your check as the form of payment for any Northern State University transaction, you are entering a contractual agreement that obligates you and holds you responsible for any and all fees and expenses incidental to the principle obligation on any check that is returned non-payable. Returned checks, state surcharges, sales tax and incidental fees may be debited from your account electronically or by way of paper draft.

Residence Hall Rental - Please see website.

Food Cost - Please see website.

Estimated Cost of Attendance per semester 

To help prospective students estimate the cost of one 16-week semester (15 credit hours), a list of essential items follows. This does not include any allowance for books and supplies, clothes, travel or incidental personal items. Additional information may be found on estimated costs website.

The student in professional education should anticipate an added cost for board and room during full-time student teaching. 

Classification of Students for Tuition Purposes

Students enrolled in any state college or university shall be classified as resident or non-resident for tuition purposes by the appropriate institutional officer. Questions about residency should be referred to the Registrar.

Minnesota-South Dakota Tuition Reciprocity Program. Any student who is a resident of South Dakota for tuition purposes may attend a Minnesota public institution on a space-available basis and pay the established reciprocity fee for coursework.

Similarly, any student who is a resident of Minnesota for tuition purposes may attend a South Dakota public institution on a space-available basis and pay the established reciprocity tuition for coursework. Students enrolled in those programs where special contracts exist between states are not eligible.

Senior Citizens

Senior citizens who are residents of South Dakota are eligible to receive a greatly reduced tuition rate. To qualify, you must be at least 65 years of age or will celebrate your 65^th birthday during the calendar year of enrollment. The reduction in the cost of tuition is equal to 45%. See additional notes below:

• This reduction in assessment of cost applies only to tuition, not to fees.
• The program allows for either undergraduate or graduate course work.
• Courses of interest must entail face-to-face instruction provided on a main university campus (that is, coded as state support). Courses that are offered at learning centers or other off-campus locations and those that entail distance learning are not included in this program.

Application Process:  For this particular program, you do not need to submit a formal application. Eligibility is determined based on information provided on the application for undergraduate admission; approval is automatically conferred at the point of processing and then documented in the student information system.

Refunds

Canceled Registration

If a student’s registration is canceled, no tuition and fees are due. If payments have been made, a student is eligible for a full refund.

Dropped Courses

A student receives a 100% refund of tuition and related fees for courses dropped within the drop/add period as defined by the Board of Regents.

Students will receive no refund for individual courses dropped after the 10% point and the course will remain on the student’s academic transcript with a grade of WD. WD grades do not affect grade point average. Students are allowed a maximum of six WD grades starting Fall 2015. After six drops resulting in WD grades, additional drops will be treated as F grades and will impact grade point average.

Drop/Add period:

The drop/add period is 10% of the number of calendar days between the first and last day of the class. The number of days to receive a full refund varies each semester.

The drop/add period for nonstandard classes is 10% of the number of calendar days between the first and last day of the class. Classes that meet for less than the full semester in the fall and spring are considered nonstandard classes. All summer classes are considered nonstandard classes.

Withdrawal from the University

Withdrawal Process:

The Registrar’s Office (Dacotah Hall 103) must be notified if a student decides to withdraw from all courses at the University. The notification may be in writing, by phone, by email, or in person. The student’s withdrawal date is the date the student began the withdrawal process or officially notified NSU of intent to withdraw by contacting the Registrar’s Office. For students who fail to officially withdraw, the institution may administratively withdraw the student. The withdrawal date for an administrative withdrawal will be determined by the University’s option to be 1) the midpoint of the enrollment period, or 2) the last documented date of attendance at an academically related event, or 3) the date an event occurred which prevented the student from officially withdrawing from the institution. Such events include illness, grievous personal loss, or other such circumstances beyond the student’s control. To be considered “withdrawn” a student must have ceased enrollment in all classes at all SD Regental Universities.  When a student drops all courses for a term, it is considered a withdrawal.

Refund Policy:

Refunds for room are based on the percent of the enrollment period remaining after the date of withdrawal. Board refunds are based on the account balance as of the date of withdrawal. No refunds for room or board will be issued after 60% of the enrollment period has been completed.

Students who withdraw, drop out, or are expelled from the University within the drop/add period receive a 100% refund of tuition and related fees.

Students who withdraw, drop out, or are expelled from the University after the 60% point of the enrollment period will receive no refund.

Students who withdraw, drop out, or are expelled from the University after the drop/add period and before 60% of the enrollment period has been completed may be entitled to a refund as identified below:

Students Who Do Not Receive Federal Title IV Financial Aid

The refund shall be determined by computing the percentage of the enrollment period remaining after the date of withdrawal times the tuition and fees originally assessed the student. At no time will refunds be awarded after the 60% point of the enrollment period.

Students Who Receive Federal Title IV Financial Aid (R2T4 Policy)

General Information: The U.S. Department of Education requires institutions to apply the Return to Title IV Funds policy for students withdrawing from a University who receive Title IV financial aid. Title IV funds include the following financial aid programs: Direct Loans, Unsubsidized Direct Loans, Direct PLUS Loans, Federal Pell Grants, Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grants, TEACH Grants, Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants, and other Title IV assistance.

The requirements for Title IV program funds when withdrawing are separate from the NSU refund policy. Therefore, the student may still owe funds to the school to cover unpaid institutional charges. NSU may also charge the student for any Title IV program funds that were required to be returned that were initially used to cover institutional charges.

A student who withdraws after the 60% point of the semester is entitled to retain all Title IV aid for that semester. However, if the student withdraws prior to the 60% point of the term, unearned Title IV funds are determined by the federal policy must be returned to the various programs. These funds must be returned even if the University provides no refund to the student. This means the student could owe the University and/or the U.S. Department of Education a significant amount of money.

Post Withdrawal Disbursement: If the student did not receive all of the funds that were earned prior to withdrawing, a post-withdrawal disbursement may be due. If the post-withdrawal disbursement includes loan funds, the student must give permission before the funds can be disbursed. NSU may automatically use all or a portion of the post-withdrawal disbursement of grant funds for tuition, fees, and room and board charges. Permission is required to use the post-withdrawal grant disbursement for all other school charges. Students will be notified of post-withdrawal disbursement eligibility within 30 days of the date of withdrawal determination.

Documenting Attendance: Before processing a Return to Title IV Funds, the University must verify the student began attendance in all classes used to determine financial aid eligibility. The University will contact all instructors to verify class attendance. If a faculty member indicates the student never attended, the University will first adjust the disbursed aid if there is a resulting change in eligibility and then calculate the Return of Title IV Funds. As a result, the student may end up owing the institution for the amount of unearned aid. If the student never attended any classes, all aid will be canceled and the student billed for all outstanding charges.

Determining Earned Aid: Title IV financial aid is earned by the calendar day, not class day. This includes weekends, holidays, and breaks of less than five consecutive days. The University is required to determine the amount of Title IV aid the withdrawing student has earned and then either disburse any additional funds the student may be entitled to up to the amount earned, or return funds in excess of the amount earned which the student has already received.

If an amount to be returned to a federal program is determined, then a further calculation is made to determine how much of the amount needs to be returned by the University and how much, if any, needs to be returned by the student.

For example: If $1000 in federal aid is disbursed, and the student withdraws at the 30% point of the term, $700 of the aid is unearned and needs to be returned to the identified aid program.

Order of Aid to be Returned: The amount to be returned is distributed in a specific order - Unsubsidized Direct Loan, Subsidized Direct Loan, PLUS Loan, Pell Grant, SEOG, TEACH, other Title IV assistance, other federal, state, institutional, and private aid, and last to the student.

Grant Overpayment: Any amount of unearned grant funds that the student must return is called an overpayment. The maximum amount of a grant overpayment the student must repay is half of the grant funds that were received or scheduled to receive. The student does not have to repay a grant overpayment if the original amount of the overpayment is $50 or less. Arrangement must be made with NSU or the Department of Education to return the unearned grant funds. The student will be notified of any grant overpayment within 30 days of the date the school determined the student withdrew.

Timeframe for Returning Title IV Aid: The Return of Title IV Funds calculation will occur as soon as possible but no later than 45 days after the date the University determined the student withdrew.

Timeframe for Refunding Credit Balance to Student: After the Return to Title IV Funds calculation has been completed and funds returned to the appropriate aid programs, any remaining credit balance will be disbursed to the student via check or EFT. This will be done as soon as possible but no later than 14 days after completion of the Return to Title IV calculation.

Notification to Student: Once the Return to Title IV Funds calculation has occurred, the Finance Office will notify the student of the results of the calculations, the aid that was returned, and any outstanding balance now due to the institution as a result.

The University strongly encourages students and parents to consult with the Financial Aid Office and/or Finance Office to determine the financial impact of withdrawing before making a final decision.

Unofficial withdrawals (all failing unearned grades): Title IV aid recipients who fail to withdraw but stop attending class are not considered unofficial withdrawals. Either the last day of academically related activity or mid-point of the term will be used to determine the amount of Title IV assistance that must be returned. If the student stopped attending prior to the 60% point of the term, the student will be billed for the outstanding charges as a result of the Return to Title IV funds. The last date of attendance for unofficial withdrawals is calculated within 30 days of determining the student was an unofficial withdrawal and the Return of Title IV funds is processed within 45 days.

Extensions and Waivers

The president of the University, or a designee, may extend or waive the time periods above in the following circumstances:

The death of the student;

The student’s disabling condition or severe illness;

The death, disability, or severe illness of an immediate family member causing severe financial hardship to the student; or,

Other extenuating circumstances beyond the student’s control.

Military Service - Withdrawal Without Penalty

Students required to withdraw from the University before completing a semester may receive credit or refund privileges if they are regularly enrolled and belong to a military unit called for duty or are drafted and not eligible for deferment, and, the discontinuance of class attendance is on the last practicable day before reporting for duty as determined by the University. Eligible students who are required to report for military duty not earlier than four calendar weeks prior to the date a semester ends as stated in the official catalog of the University, or after completion of at least 75% of the enrollment period in a non-standard semester course, may, when authorized by the instructor, be given full credit for all courses for which they have an average of “C” or better. Eligible students who receive credit or an incomplete for any course for which they are enrolled shall not be entitled to any refund of tuition or fees paid. Eligible students who do not receive an incomplete or credit for a course in which they are enrolled shall be entitled to a full refund of tuition and academic fees.