Financial Information

Return to: Catalog Home    

Northwest University is a private, church-related university. Therefore, no operating funds from taxes or public funds support its operation. Each student is charged tuition and certain fees which cover about eighty-five percent of the cost of his/her education. The remainder of the cost is provided by gifts from friends of the University, supporting districts, endowment income, and other earnings.

Payment of Accounts

The total cost of each term varies by academic program and is based upon the total number of credits taken that term. It is the policy of the University that there can be no outstanding past due accounts at registration. All past due and old accounts must be settled or alternate arrangements must be agreed upon with the Student Financial Services Office prior to registering for the following term. Negotiated arrangements for paying anything other than the full amount must be established prior to registration. The payment of accounts policy also applies to those qualifying for veteran’s benefits and outside scholarships.

Pay In Full Plan

To avoid late fees, tuition, fees, and semester housing charges are to be paid in full on or before the first day of classes each term.

Monthly Payment Plan

Northwest University offers payment plans through Nelnet Campus Commerce (Nelnet). Nelnet is a budgeting service which allows students to pay their education expenses in smaller, more manageable monthly installments. They provide three and four month payment plans per semester to help students manage the cost of education.

Payment plans are set up with Nelnet for each academic term based on the student’s estimated charges less financial aid (including loans, if applicable) for the semester. To enroll in a payment plan for the fall semester, the first payment must be received by Nelnet no later than August 15 for the 4 month plan, or September 15 for the 3 month plan. There is a $75 enrollment fee per semester for these plans. For more information, please visit https://www.northwestu.edu/financial-aid/graduate/payments-late-charges or call 1-800-722-4867.

Educational Benefits

Northwest University is approved as an educational institution for the training of veterans or their dependents. Applications are available on the Department of Veterans Affairs website at https://www.benefits.va.gov/gibill/. Those qualifying under the extended Social Security Act should apply for benefits at their local offices of the Social Security Administration. The University will make the proper certifications as to enrollment and attendance after the student has enrolled in the University.

Any veteran receiving GI Bill® benefits while attending Northwest University is required to obtain transcripts from all previously attended schools and submit them to the school for review of prior credit.

In accordance with Title 38 US Code 3679 subsection (e), this school adopts the following additional provisions for any students using U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Post 9/11 G.I. Bill® (Ch. 33) or Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment (Ch. 31) benefits, while payment to the institution is pending from the VA.  This school will not:

• Prevent the students enrollment;
• Assess a late penalty fee to;
• Require student secure alternative or additional funding;
• Deny their access to any resources (access to classes, libraries, or other institutional facilities) available to other students who have satisfied their tuition and fee bills to the institution.

However, to qualify for this provision, such students may be required to:

• Produce the Certificate of Eligibility by the first day of class;
• Provide written request to be certified;
• Provide additional information needed to properly certify the enrollment as described in other institutional policies 

Late Fees

Late fees will be assessed as follows: For balances between $0.00 and $25.00, the late fee will be zero. For balances $25.01 and over a 1.5% late fee will be assessed monthly on the outstanding balance up to a maximum of $100. If you qualify for VA benefits under Chapter 31 and 33, late fees will not be assessed due to the late receipt of VA benefits.

Past Due Accounts

A student is considered past due if they have an owing balance after the first day of class.

Students failing to pay in full by the due date will be contacted through their Northwest University email and/or by telephone by Student Financial Services. The student may also be contacted by campus registered mail and Northwest University personnel which may include staff from the Student Development Office and/or professors. Efforts to communicate will be made for a period of approximately 45 days.

If, after these efforts are accomplished and it is clear that the student is aware that payments are delinquent, and reasonable attempts to address the financial obligations have not been made, the student will no longer be allowed meal card privileges, and/or Internet privileges.

If the financial problems persist, on-campus resident students will no longer be allowed to live in on-campus housing, and may be suspended from class until a solution is reached between Student Financial Services and the student. Students failing to respond will be withdrawn from the University by the Provost.

Since financial responsibility is part of the educational process, Student Financial Services encourages students to meet and counsel with the University personnel any time a financial problem arises. The University reserves the right to assign delinquent accounts to an agency for collection.

Cancellation of Registration

The Registration Cancellation policy applies to all semesters. Note that private music lesson fees (after the contract is signed); Trip Fees for the MA in International Community Development Orientation Trip, and cancellation penalties may not be indicated below.  See the Academic Calendar  or specific program pages at eagle.northwestu.edu for the applicable First Day of Class.

Cancellation of Registration – A student who registers for class but decides not to attend must notify the Registrar’s Office in writing before the end of business on the last day of the Add/Drop Period. Proper notification will cancel the tuition and related charges.

International Students – A $1,500 cancellation fee will be charged to international students who are admitted but, upon entering the U.S. or approval of change of status, immediately request to transfer to another institution (without attending any NU classes).

Cancellation after Add/Drop period if any classes were attended – Cancellation after the end of business on the last day of the Add/Drop Period is considered a Withdrawal from University (see below for more details).

Adding and Dropping Courses (Add/Drop Period)

Courses may be added or dropped through the first 7 calendar days of the term or 8-week session* (Add/Drop Period). Courses dropped during the Add/Drop Period will be removed from the student’s schedule and receive 100% tuition refund. After the end of the Add/Drop Period, a student can no longer add or drop courses but may still withdraw from courses during the Course Withdrawal Period. (See Academic Information and Polices and Withdrawing from the University - Financial Aid for additional information on course withdrawals.)

*8-week session only applies to courses following the 8-week session academic calendar

Note for financial aid recipients: Schedule changes may result in a loss of some or all financial aid. If a refund has been issued prior to the schedule change, aid may need to be returned even with the tuition reversal for dropped courses. Please contact Student Financial Services with any questions.

Withdrawal from the University

Students who officially withdraw during the Add/Drop Period will have tuition refunded 100%. Fees are nonrefundable. If a student withdraws after the Add/Drop Period, tuition will not be adjusted. The student will be responsible for all tuition and fee charges.

Withdrawal from the University – Financial Aid

Students who receive financial aid during a term in which they withdraw are not considered to be making satisfactory academic progress. Future aid will be cancelled. Students should contact Student Financial Services to determine how to regain eligibility should they choose to return to Northwest University.

The date of withdrawal will be based on the day the student contacts the Registrar’s Office and indicates a desire to officially withdraw, or the last date of documented attendance, whichever is later. For financial aid purposes students who unofficially withdraw from Northwest University (cease to attend classes without notifying the Registrar), will be considered to have withdrawn after 50% of the semester has passed or the last date of documented attendance, whichever is later.

According to federal regulations, federal funds must be returned to federal programs based on the percent of the term that a student is no longer enrolled. Student Financial Services will determine how much of a student’s federal aid was “unearned” as defined by the federal regulations, and then return the “unearned” aid in the following order to the programs from which the student received aid:

1. Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loan
2. Federal Direct PLUS Loan
3. Federal Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education Grant (TEACH)

If you have received federal aid in the form of cash to assist you with non-institutional charges, you may need to repay the funds that you received.

Withdrawal from the University – Administrative

If a student is absent from all classes for more than two weeks consecutively without contacting the Registrar’s or Provost’s Office to explain the reason for his or her absences, the University has the authority to administratively withdraw the student from all course enrollments and to assign grades of “F” to each course. In this case, the official withdrawal date for financial obligation purposes will be based on the last date of class attendance as certified by faculty and verified by the Registrar’s Office.

Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP)

Students enrolled in a graduate program and who receive financial aid must remain in good academic standing with the University and make satisfactory progress toward their intended degree. To remain eligible for financial assistance, graduate students must meet specific qualitative and quantitative academic requirements.

Qualitative requirements: Graduate students must maintain a minimum cumulative grade point average (GPA) for all terms of attendance, including terms when no aid is received.

Quantitative requirements: In addition to the GPA requirements outlined above, students must also complete at least 67% of the cumulative credit hours attempted (any classes withdrawn from after the add/drop week are still considered attempted) and be able to graduate without attempting more than 150% of the credit hours required for completion of the degree.

Satisfactory progress is evaluated annually. If a student fails to meet SAP standards, they will be suspended from receiving further financial aid at the University. Students may appeal the suspension by submitting a written appeal to Student Financial Services (SFS). If approved, the student will be placed on financial aid probation and have one additional semester to meet all quantitative and qualitative requirements. If SFS determines that the student will require more than one semester to meet the standards, an academic plan will be developed and progress will be monitored each semester during the set probationary period. Failure to meet the conditions of probation will result in loss of eligibility for further financial assistance.

For more information on the University’s SAP policy, visit https://www.northwestu.edu/financial-aid/graduate/gpa-credit-requirements.

Return to: Catalog Home