Expenses and Financial Aid

Tuition, Fees and Expenses

Registration will not be considered complete until after payment of all obligations has been made. Checks, money orders, or approved personal checks should be made payable to Bluefield State College for the exact amount of the obligation. The following credit cards can be used to pay tuition and fees: MasterCard, Visa, Discover and American Express. Online payments are also accepted. Payments are due at the time of registration, prior to the first day of classes, or at the time of financial aid distribution.

The maximum fee for students registered for on-campus and off-campus courses during the same term will be the full-time on-campus fee. Students pay fees according to their residency at the time of admission to Bluefield State College. There are three schedules of fees: In-state, Metro, and Out-of-state. Metro fees apply to those students whose place of residence is in a county which borders on and touches West Virginia or is in a designated county in Southwest Virginia. These counties include: Virginia-Frederick, Shenandoah, Rockingham, Augusta, Highland, Bath, Alleghany, Craig, Giles, Bland, Tazewell, Buchanan, Roanoke, Botetourt, Wise, Dickenson, Lee, Scott, Russell, Washington, Smyth, Wythe, Grayson, Carroll, Pulaski, Floyd, Rockbridge and Montgomery; Maryland-Garrett, Allegany, and Washington; Ohio- Columbiana, Jefferson, Belmont, Monroe, Washington, Athens, Meigs, Gallia, and Lawrence; Pennsylvania- Beaver, Washington, Greene, and Fayette; and Kentucky-Boyd, Lawrence, Martin, and Pike.

Tuition, fees and expense schedules are published annually and are available in the Business Office and from the Office of Academic Affairs.

FEES ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE AT ANY TIME BY THE WEST VIRGINIA HIGHER EDUCATION POLICY COMMISSION AND/OR BLUEFIELD STATE COLLEGE BOARD OF GOVERNORS.

Course Audit Fee

The fee for auditing a course is the same as that charged for a part-time load for credit (see “part-time fees”). Auditors may attend classes, participate in class discussion and sit in on examinations but they will receive no credit for the course or courses. Any full-time college staff member will be exempt from paying Audit Fees if he/she chooses to audit a course.

Graduation Fee

The graduation fee is $50.00 and $5.00 per additional degree. Graduation applications will not be accepted in the Registrar’s Office without an attached 45-90-hour evaluation or an updated Degree Works printout signed by the Advisor. Graduation fees are due and payable at the time the graduation application is submitted.

If an applicant for graduation can document, by producing a cancelled check or a Bluefield State College Business Office receipt, that she or he has paid to the College, within the prior 12-month period, a fee for application for graduation, that fee amount shall not be re-assessed of the student. If the fee has increased in amount since the student’s previous payment, the student shall be required to pay the difference between the documented previous amount paid and the current amount of the fee. In any case, it shall not be the responsibility of employees of the College’s Business Office, Registrar’s Office, or other units, to verify or document the student’s prior payment.

Parking Fees

All motor vehicles parking on the campus of Bluefield State College must be registered with the Office of Public Safety and display a valid hang tag. Failure to display a valid hang tag may result in the issuance of a citation. Hang tags will be issued to students who provide registration information to the Office of Public Safety located in the basement of Conley Hall. Hang tags will be issued to staff and faculty of the institution. Any change in vehicle registration should be reported to the Office of Public Safety. Vehicle owners are responsible for the safe and legal operation of their vehicle. Parking rules are strictly enforced and a civil penalty applies to violators. A processing fee is added to any unpaid or uncontested citation in a designated time frame. Any unpaid citation will result in actions set forth in West Virginia Code and College policy. These actions may include academic holds, parking privilege revocation, towing or disabling of the vehicle, or the issuing of a traffic summons before a local judicial officer. The Director of Public Safety is responsible for the enforcement of all parking and traffic laws and any complaints, comments, or concerns should be directed to the Office of Public Safety.

Each student driving on the Bluefield State College campus will need a parking hang tag/permit. This is obtained in the Office of Public Safety by bringing the vehicle registration document and completing the necessary paperwork. The permit needs to be updated annually or anytime a different vehicle than the one on file is used. Students should familiarize themselves with the areas where student parking is allowed. Fire lanes, handicap parking (unless permit is provided), and faculty/staff areas are illegal to park in and could result in a citation.

ACBSP Fee for Business Students

The ACBSP fee is $100.00 per semester for students majoring in Business Administration or Accountancy. This covers the cost of the Major Field Test, ACBSP membership fees, and other expenses associated with accreditation.

Laboratory Fees for Business

The Business Lab fee is $20.00 per credit hour for selected courses utilizing computer labs.

Health Science Program Fees

Lab Fees for Engineering Technology and Computer Science, and Arts and Sciences

A laboratory fee of $25.00 per credit hour for laboratory-based courses is scheduled for selected courses and is used to offset the costs of consumable supplies/equipment/lab operations for prefixes of CIET, COSC, EGMT, ELET, ENGR, GNET, and MEET. A laboratory fee of $35.00 per credit hour will be assessed for courses with the following prefixes: BIOL, CHEM, PHYS, PHSC, NASC, and ENSC.

Education Accreditation Fee

There is an education programmatic fee of $100.00 per semester for education majors.

Web-Modality Course Fee

A fee per credit hour is assessed to offset the costs of web-based instruction. All Web-based distance-learning courses have fees up to $30.00 per credit hour. A complete schedule of all college fees is available from the Bluefield State College Business Office.

Technology Fee

There is a $42.00 per semester technology fee for all degree-seeking students.

Regents Bachelor of Arts Program

There is a $300.00 program fee, plus a $10.00 per credit hour posting fee when a portfolio is submitted.

Late Registration Fee

Any student who has not completed registration and paid registration fees by the end of the day designated as Last Day for Registration and Payment of Fees will be considered a late registrant and will be charged a late registration fee of $50.00. Any exception occasioned by an irregular registration must be approved by the Registrar.

Payment of Tuition and Fees

An explanation of tuition and fee costs is available in the Bluefield State College Business Office. The use of credit cards for payment of student fees is authorized at HEPC member institutions under the statewide contract initiated by the State Board of Investments.

All student charges are payable at the time of general registration for each semester. Students in debt to the College from a previous semester or term will not be permitted to enroll until all obligations are paid. Any outstanding and unpaid financial obligation to the College may result in withholding the student’s grades, transcript of credits, graduation, and official reports. Any outstanding and unpaid financial obligation to the College may result in other collection activities.

Transcripts

Each student at Bluefield State College is entitled to one official transcript of his/her record free of charge. A fee of $10.00 is charged for each additional transcript. Ordinarily, transcripts are prepared at the time the request is received or within 48 hours of an approved payment. Full payment should accompany each request. No transcript will be issued for a student who is not in good financial standing with the College.

Requests for transcripts should be addressed to the Registrar’s Office, 219 Rock Street, Bluefield, WV 24701; the form can be accessed at http://www.bluefieldstate.edu/transcript-request. A fax request will be accepted at (304) 327-4330 when it includes the required information and is signed. An application for a transcript of credit hours should give the date of the last attendance at Bluefield State College and the student’s identification number. Married women should provide both their maiden and married names.

Refund of Fees

It is the responsibility of a student desiring to withdraw totally from the College to appear at the Counseling Center and announce his/her intention to withdraw. At that time, each student will sign a withdrawal form stating the date of withdrawal and the reasons, for leaving the College. Students who fail to comply with this regulation within ten school days after leaving school will be reported as irregularly withdrawn. Special fees are not refundable except when a class is cancelled by the College.

The refund policy will only apply to students who withdraw totally from the College. No refunds will be made because of a reduction in credit hours. Refunds for students who receive federal or state grant, scholarship, or loan assistance will be paid to those accounts first. Any amount of refund which exceeds the student’s financial aid awards will be refunded to the student unless the student has unpaid institutional charges, or the student owes a repayment of his/her financial aid cash balances for the refund term. All students enrolled for their first semester at Bluefield State College (freshmen or transfers) will be refunded according to the pro-rata schedule required by the 2006 Amendments to the Federal Higher Education Act printed below. Other refund schedules shown below will apply after the first semester of enrollment is completed. Samples of documents used to compute refunds for federal financial aid recipients may be secured from the Financial Aid Office. Pro-rata refund regulations permit the College to subtract from the calculated refund amount an administrative fee not to exceed the lesser of five percent of the student’s institutional charges or $100.00.

Academic Year (Semester) First-Time Students

Summer Terms and Non-Traditional Periods First-Time Students

Academic Year (Semester) Non First-Time Students

Summer Terms and Non-Traditional Periods Non First-Time Students

Refund checks due students who withdraw totally from the College will be mailed within 30 days of the date the completed and duly signed Permit to Withdraw from College form is received in the Business Office. Refunds to institutional federal financial aid accounts will be deposited within the 45-day federal limit. Bluefield State refund amounts will be computed according to the above schedule. Refunds to federal aid programs will be computed according to federal requirements. Samples of federal refund calculations may be obtained in the Financial Aid Office.

Bookstore Return Policy

Books can be returned only if the following conditions are met:

1. Students MUST present a sales receipt. NO EXCEPTIONS.
2. Purchases made with a credit card require a credit receipt and a credit card to receive a refund. Credit card sales will only be refunded by issuing credit to students’ accounts.
3. New books cannot be written in and must be in NEW condition.
4. Books sold in shrink-wrapped (plastic) packages cannot be returned if the wrapping has been removed.
5. With a receipt, a full refund will be given during the first and second week of classes for the fall and spring semesters. Textbooks purchased for a summer term will be accepted for a full refund only during the first week of classes for that session.

Classes originating outside of the regular schedule will be subject to a 5 (five) business day return period, beginning the first day of class.

1. BOOKS PURCHASED AT OTHER TIMES ARE NOT RETURNABLE.
2. NO RETURNS ON SUPPLY AND GIFT ITEMS.
3. The Bookstore staff is the sole judge in determining whether a returned book is in new or used condition and if the shrink wrap condition is acceptable.

Checks Not Covered by Sufficient Funds

A service charge of $25.00 is assessed for each check returned. The Business Office will send written notice of returned checks. Unredeemed checks will be submitted to the local magistrate for collection.