Tuition & Fees: Policies

---

OBLIGATION FOR PAYMENT

Enrollment constitutes a financial contract between you and the University. Your rights to university services and benefits are contingent upon your making all payments as agreed upon. If payments of amounts owed to the university are not made when they become due, the university has the right to cancel your registration and/or administratively withdraw you from the current term, withhold your grades, diplomas, scholastic certificates and degrees, and impound your final exams. Failure to maintain good financial standing with the university will result in denied participation in any deferred payment plans and/or some forms of financial aid. In addition, balances due the university are reported to the credit agencies, which may impact your credit ratings.

Prior to registering for a new term, you must pay any outstanding balances from any preceding terms. If you do not pay your outstanding balances or make payment arrangements satisfactory to the university, you will not be permitted to register. This policy applies to any outstanding balances with Golden Gate University, including those with the Golden Gate University Bookstore, or any other company that operates a concession or service contracted by the university.

PAYMENT DUE DATE

To complete the enrollment process, you must choose a payment option (see Financing Options) for the term and complete any additional steps required for that option. You must complete these steps by the payment due date for the term as published in the Academic Calendar. Failure to do so will result in cancellation of your registration.

The university accepts payment in cash, personal check in US dollars only, travelers cheques in US dollars only, debit card, credit card (MasterCard / Visa / American Express / Discover), wire transfers, and electronic check. In addition, the university offers payment options, some of which require verification of eligibility prior to registration.

---

WITHDRAWAL POLICY

Withdrawal from a course (commonly known as "dropping") is official once the university registrar has been notified. Notification must be in writing and may be submitted online, delivered in-person, by standard mail, by fax, or by electronic mail. The electronic mail must originate from your personal or business account. The date the written notice is received will be the official date of withdrawal. Oral (spoken) notification is insufficient. Written notice to an instructor is also insufficient.

Tuition will be credited as follows. Fees are not credited except in the case of a course being canceled by the university. Tuition credits remain in your account. Refunds are issued upon written request. If you are a financial aid recipient who withdraws from all courses or drops below half time, you are subject to the Return of Title IV calculations, which determine what financial aid ramifications will occur based on the official date of withdrawal. You also may be required to return funds for which you are no longer eligible based on these calculations. Furthermore, the return of funds may result in a balance due on your account.

REGULAR COURSES

Regular courses are those that generally meet for the entire length of the term or for four or more weeks. Tuition will be credited as shown below.

WEEK OF INSTRUCTION	AMOUNT OF CREDIT
Week one through week three of instruction	100% Credit
Week four to end of term	No Credit

INTENSIVE COURSES

Intensive courses are those that are shorter than four weeks in length and generally meet more than once a week. Tuition will be credited as shown below.

CLASS MEETINGS	AMOUNT OF CREDIT
Prior to third class meeting for the course	100% Credit
After the third class meeting for the course	No Credit

---

REFUND POLICY

Refund of a credit balance resulting from tuition adjustment in accordance with the above-stated Withdrawal Policy will be made if requested in writing by the student. Refunds are processed either as a direct deposit to the student's checking or savings account or as a paper check mailed to the student's address on record in GGU's student information system. It is recommended that you request direct deposit of the refund as it is the most efficient and expeditious way to receive a refund. To sign up for direct deposit you must provide your bank account information via our secure website, login to myGGU.

If you are a financial aid recipient, credit balances resulting from tuition adjustments (Example: from 9 units to 6 units) may be reviewed for adjustments in the financial aid award per federal regulations. Credit balances resulting from complete withdrawal from all classes must be calculated under the Withdrawal Policy and are typically refunded to the appropriate financial aid program or lender. For additional information on financial aid refunds refer to the chapter "Student Financial Planning," Return of Title IV Funds section of the GGU catalog.

No refunds will be made by virtue of curtailment of services brought about as a result of strikes, natural disasters, civil insurrection, riots or the threats thereof, or other causes beyond the control of the university.

---

RETURN OF FEDERAL STUDENT AID

Students receiving Title IV Federal Student Aid funds (i.e., Stafford, PLUS and Perkins loans) who withdraw from all of their courses for a term (complete withdrawal) must notify the Financial Aid Office after "dropping" their courses via GGU4YOU or by submitting Registration Request forms to the Registrar's Office. In some cases, when students go on approved leaves of absence or withdraw from law school, the Financial Aid Office must return Title IV Federal Student Aid funds to their lenders. The calculations for return of such funds is based on the students' official withdrawal date, as indicated on their Withdrawal or Request for Leave forms. If students do not submit the forms, their official withdrawal date will be determined from the date of complete withdrawal from all courses for the term. Students may be required to return funds for which they are no longer eligible based on this calculation. Up through the 60 percent point in each term, a pro rata schedule is used to determine the amount of Title IV funds students have earned at the time of withdrawal. After the 60 percent point of the term, students have earned 100 percent of the Title IV funds, and no return of federal student aid will be required.

The Federal Return of Title IV funds calculation is separate from the Golden Gate University School of Law Withdrawal Tuition Credit Policy. All students receiving Federal Student Aid are subject to this federal policy. In addition, students withdrawing from the School of Law or taking leaves of absence must complete online loan counseling exit interviews. Please contact the Financial Aid Office 415-442-6635 or email lawfao@ggu.edu for specific information.

---

REVOCATION OF INSTITUTIONAL SCHOLARSHIPS

If institutional scholarship recipients withdraw during their first semester of law school, the Financial Aid Office will use the "Return of Title IV" calculations to determine if the scholarship has been "earned" or if a portion of it will be reversed (see above). This applies to first semester 1Ls only. After their first semester, if institutional scholarship recipients withdraw from law school in a given term, their scholarships are revoked and the students must pay back their scholarships, as determined by the terms above.

---

FINANCIAL PETITION

If you are confronted with an unexpected and serious circumstance that requires you to withdraw from your courses, you may petition the Financial Petition Committee to reverse a portion of your tuition charges. Your petition should explain, in detail, the circumstances, the correlation between these circumstances and the need for you to withdraw from the course(s), and what actions you have taken to resolve or prevent such an event from occurring in subsequent terms. In addition, you must provide any relevant third-party documentation. The university will not consider petitions that are undocumented or that are based upon pre-existing conditions. All petitions must be submitted to the Office of Student Accounting Services no later than 60 days after the last day of the term in which the course(s) was dropped. The university will respond to all petitions in writing. You should allow a minimum of 30 working days to hear from us as we are required to verify all facts from university sources prior to review by the Financial Petition Committee. If your petition is approved and any adjustments to your tuition result in a credit balance on your account, the university will apply this credit balance toward future tuition charges within the next twelve-month period. If you are a financial aid recipient and you have a financial petition approved, credit balances typically are refunded to the appropriate financial aid program or lender.

---

DISPUTES CONCERNING STUDENT ACCOUNTS

All disputes concerning student accounts should be submitted in writing to: Student Accounting Services, Golden Gate University, 536 Mission Street, San Francisco, CA 94105-2968 or sas@ggu.edu. The university will respond within 30 working days of receipt of the student's letter or e-mail.