Payment
Full payment of tuition and fees is required upon registration. Registration forms may be returned to students who do not include an acceptable form of payment. The Extension School offers no installment or deferred-payment plan.
Forms of Payment
Cash. Cash payments are accepted in person at Student Financial Services during regular business hours, Monday through Friday, 9 am to 5 pm. Students should not send cash through the mail.
Checks. Certified checks, traveler's checks, cashier's checks, money orders, and personal checks made payable to Harvard Extension School are accepted. Checks must be drawn on a US bank and include proper routing numbers.
Credit cards. MasterCard, VISA, American Express, or Discover payments are accepted both online and on paper. The card number, expiration date, cardholder's printed name, and cardholder's signature are required on the registration form. Registration forms may be returned unprocessed to students if the information submitted is incomplete or the credit card payment is declined for any reason. If a credit card is declined online, it is the student's responsibility to contact the bank that issued the credit card. The Extension School is not responsible for fluctuations in international exchange rates or interest charges due to the timing of credit card charges or refunds.
Company billings. Many Boston-area employers provide tuition assistance plans for eligible employees. Extension School students may arrange to have their tuition billed directly to their employers if their employers have an established account with the Division of Continuing Education. These students must include letters from their employers confirming their eligibility for the company's tuition benefit with their registration forms. Students are responsible for their Extension School bills if their companies have not made payment on their accounts by the invoice due date.
Tuition Assistance Plan. Harvard University staff members who are on the regular payroll and have worked at least 17.5 hours per week since July 1 for fall courses and November 1 for spring courses are eligible for the University's Tuition Assistance Plan (TAP). To register for Extension School courses using the TAP benefit, eligible students may either register online or submit completed TAP forms and fees ($40 per course) with their Extension School registration forms. TAP fees are nonrefundable, even to students who are closed out of all their courses. Students who register for graduate credit using TAP should also include either the payroll deduction authorization form or the graduate tax exemption form available online, or from the Benefit Services Group, Holyoke Center 664. Students with questions about their eligibility for TAP should call the Benefits Services Group at (617) 496-4001.
Financial aid and scholarships. Degree, certificate, and health careers candidates should see the appropriate liberal arts or professional studies program website for information about financial aid, or contact the Financial Aid Office, (617) 495-4293, finaid@hudce.harvard.edu. Students applying for financial aid should download and complete either the 2004-05 or 2005-06 Extension School general information form. (To download PDFs students must have Adobe's Acrobat Reader installed on their computers.) Students may also be eligible for Lowell Scholarships, veterans benefits, and other funding.
Nonnegotiable Items
Students must pay with negotiable checks or valid credit cards. If tuition payments are returned unpaid by banks, students are notified immediately and allowed ten days to make full payment by cash, money order, or credit card. If payment is not received, students are withdrawn from their courses. Students whose credit card companies request a charge back from the Extension School are withdrawn from their courses immediately. Students who are withdrawn from their courses due to nonpayment remain responsible for all tuition and fees in accordance with the Extension School withdrawal and refund schedule.
Students whose checks are returned unpaid by the bank may not use personal checks for Division of Continuing Education payments for one year. Students who stop payment on checks may no longer pay by check.
Stopping payment on checks or credit cards is not a valid method of withdrawing from courses. See course changes and withdrawals. Students who present Harvard Extension School with a nonnegotiable check are assessed a $25 charge per returned check.
Financial delinquency. Students registering for the Extension School must be in good financial standing with both Harvard Extension School and Harvard Summer School. Any outstanding balance has to be cleared before a student is allowed to register or receive an official transcript. The Extension School credits any new tuition payments that students submit toward outstanding balances. Degree and certificate candidates must be in good financial standing with the Division of Continuing Education and Harvard University to graduate. The Extension School reserves the right to withdraw students from their classes in cases of financial delinquency. In such instances, students are responsible for all tuition and fees.
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