2023-2024 Academic Catalog 
    
    Oct 09, 2024  
2023-2024 Academic Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

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 University 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 University. 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-Albemarle, Alleghany, Amherst, Appomattox, Augusta, Bath, Bedford, Bland, Botetourt,  Buchanan, Campbell, Carroll, Charlotte, Clark, Craig, Culpepper, Dickenson, Fairfax, Floyd, Franklin, Frederick, Fauquier, Giles, Grayson, Greene, Halifax, Henry, Highland,  Lee, Loudoun, Madison, Montgomery, Nelson, Page, Patrick, Pittsylvania, Prince Edward, Prince William, Pulaski, Rappahannock, Roanoke, Rockingham, Rockbridge, Russell, Scott, Shenandoah, Smyth, Tazewell, Warren, Washington, Wise, and Wythe;

Maryland- Allegany, Fredrick, Garrett, Montgomery, Prince George and Washington; 

Ohio-Athens, Belmont, Carroll, Columbiana, Gallia, Guernsey, Harrison, Hocking, Jackson, Jefferson, Lawrence Mahoning, Meigs, Monroe, Morgan, Noble, Perry, Scioto, Stark, Vinton, and Washington; 

Pennsylvania- Allegheny, Beaver, Butler, Fayette, Greene, Lawrence, Somerset, Washington, and Westmoreland;  

Kentucky-Boyd, Carter, Elliott, Floyd, Greenup, Johnson, Knott, Lawrence, Letcher, Magoffin, Martin, Morgan, and Pike; 

North Carolina-Alamance, Allegheny, Ashe, Caswell, Durham, Forsyth, Granville, Guilford, Orange, Pearson, Rockingham, Stokes, Surry, Wake, Wilkes, Yadkin

 

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

 

FEES ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE AT ANY TIME BY THE WEST VIRGINIA HIGHER EDUCATION POLICY COMMISSION AND/OR BLUEFIELD STATE UNIVERSITY 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 university staff member will be exempt from paying Audit Fees if he/she chooses to audit a course.

ACBSP Fee for Business Students

The ACBSP fee is $216.00 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.

Academic Support Fees

The Academic Suport fees are for students taking more than 15 hours per semester.

Resident - $296.00 per semester

Metro- $381.00 per semester

Non Resident- $544.00 per semester

Health Science Program Fees

A.S. Nursing $648.00 /semester
LPN to RN Nursing $648.00/summer session
A.S. Radiologic Technology $324.00 per semester, but only once during summer session
B.S. Nursing $42.00 per credit hour
B.S Imaging Science $42.00 per credit hour

Adminisistrative Fees

There is a $500.00 administrative fee for student with 12 credit hours. Fees are prorated for studnet under 12 credit hours.

Lab Fees for Engineering Technology and Computer Science

A laboratory fee of $55.00 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 ARET, CIET, COSC, ELET, EGMT, MIET, ENGR, GNET, and MEET.

Lab Fees for Sciences

A laboratory fee of $55.00 per credit hour will be assessed for courses with the following prefixes: BIOL, CHEM, PHYS, PHSC, NASC, and ENSC.

Education Programmatic Fee

There is an education programmatic fee of $216.00 per semester for education majors.

Regents Bachelor of Arts Program

There is a $385.00 programmatic fee. There is a $300.00 program portfolio fee, plus a $25.00 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 $75.00. Mid-Term Late Payment Fee-$500.00. Any exception occasioned by an irregular registration must be approved by the Registrar.

Credit Card Fee

There is a Nonrefundable Credit/Debit card-processing fee of 3.00%.

Payment of Tuition and Fees

An explanation of tuition and fee costs is available in the Bluefield State University 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 University 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 University may result in withholding the student’s grades, graduation, and official reports. Any outstanding and unpaid financial obligation to the University may result in other collection activities.

Transcripts

Bluefield State University’s Official Transcripts can be ordered online through Transcript Ordering, a service of the National Student Clearinghouse at: https://bluefieldstate.edu/resources/registrars-office/electronic-transcript-ordering. Transcript requests are also available in the Registrar’s Office.

Official Transcripts are available to be ordered at a fee of $25.00* for each transcript. Transcripts are usually prepared at the time the request is received or within 48 hours of an approved payment. Full payment should accompany each request.

*Processing fees apply when using credit/debit card payments and the services of the National Student Clearinghouse.

Refund of Fees

It is the responsibility of a student desiring to withdraw totally from the University 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 University. 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 University.

The refund policy will only apply to students who withdraw totally from the University. 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 University (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 University 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

During first and second weeks 90% will be refunded
During third week 80% will be refunded
During fourth and fifth weeks 70% will be refunded
During sixth week 60% will be refunded
During seventh and eighth weeks 50% will be refunded
During ninth week 40% will be refunded
Beginning the tenth week                NO REFUND

Summer Terms and Non-Traditional Periods First-Time Students

During the first 14% of the term 90% will be refunded
From 15% to 20% of the term 80% will be refunded
From 21% to 30% of the term 70% will be refunded
From 31% to 40% of the term 60% will be refunded
From 41% to 50% of the term 50% will be refunded
From 51% to 60% of the term 40% will be refunded
After 60% of the term is completed NO REFUND

Academic Year (Semester) Non First-Time Students

During first and second weeks       90% will be refunded
During third and fourth weeks 70% will be refunded
During fifth and sixth weeks 50% will be refunded
Beginning the seventh week           NO REFUND

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

During the first 13% of the term     90% will be refunded
From 14% to 25% of the term 70% will be refunded
From 26% to 38% of the term 50% will be refunded
After 38% of the term is completed NO REFUND

Refund checks due students who withdraw totally from the University will be mailed within 30 days of the date the completed and duly signed Permit to Withdraw from University 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

Book return policy can be found at Https://bluefieldstate.ecampus.com/

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.