Expenses and Business Regulations

Motlow State Community College is a state-supported institution and, therefore, maintains modest matriculation and incidental fees. Expenses are charged and payable by the semester since each semester is a separate unit of operation. A student may enroll at the beginning of any semester. Registration for each semester is not complete until all required fees have been satisfied, and no student may be admitted to classes without having met their financial obligation. Payment of fees may be made by cash, check, MasterCard, VISA, Discover, or American Express credit card. Students are encouraged to use our safe, convenient online payment option to avoid any chance of having to wait in line.  A payment plan is also available. Information regarding the payment plan is available in the Business Office or on the Business Office webpage.  Students are classified as residents or non-residents for the purpose of assessing tuition charges. The definition of residency as determined by the Tennessee Board of Regents will apply. Information about residence classification may be obtained from the Office of Admissions and Records.

The Tennessee legislature has declared that a limited number of residents of Jackson, Madison, and Limestone Counties in Alabama may attend Motlow State Community College for the same rates as residents of Tennessee. Contact the Office of Admissions and Records for details.

MAINTENANCE AND TUITION FEES

THESE FEES AND ALL OTHER FEES GIVEN IN THIS CATALOG ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE BY POLICY OF THE TENNESSEE BOARD OF REGENTS. For current fees, visit the online Tuition & Fees Schedule on the Business Office webpage.

eRate
The eRate is available to students who enroll at TBR institutions, who are classified as non-residents of Tennessee, and who are enrolled exclusively in online courses. The eRate is a significant reduction in the out-of-state tuition cost. The eRate out-of-state tuition rate is $88 per credit hour.  To qualify for an eRate, students must meet all institution admission requirements and be verified as an online out-of-state student enrolled exclusively in courses delivered online by a procedure documented by the institution. The term “out-of-state students” refers to geographic location and does not include undocumented students living in Tennessee.  Students enrolled in any type of course other than online (on-ground, distance education, etc.) will not be eligible for the eRate specified in this guideline and will instead incur traditional non-resident fees and charges. Students who enroll in both online courses and other types of courses and subsequently drop the other types of courses will not then become eligible for the eRate.

NOTE: TN eCampus degree courses are all charged at a per-hour rate and viewed separately from on-campus courses. TN eCampus fees are not included in the full-time cap applicable to all other types of courses.

Pursuant to TCA 49-7-113, the Tennessee legislature has provided specific exceptions for payment of registration fees for certain disabled and elderly students domiciled in Tennessee as outlined below. The privilege to enroll under these exceptions may be denied based on space availability.

For credit enrollment, a nonrefundable service fee of $70.00 per semester will be charged to persons with a permanent total disability and persons who will become sixty-five (65) years of age or older during the academic semester and who are domiciled in Tennessee. This fee includes maintenance fees, campus access fees, student activity fees, and technology access fees; it does not preclude an application fee. For audit enrollment, no fee is required for persons with a permanent total disability, persons who become sixty (60) years of age or older during the academic semester and are domiciled in Tennessee, and persons who have retired from state service with thirty (30) or more years of service, regardless of age.

Pursuant to TCA 49-7-102, certain statutory fee exceptions exist for dependents and spouses of military personnel killed, missing in action, or officially declared a prisoner of war while serving honorably as a member of the armed forces during a period of armed conflict.

Registration and tuition fees for the summer semester will be the same as for the other two semesters. Fees for auditing a course will be the same as the fees paid if taking courses for credit. Enrollment for audit may be subject to space availability.

Enrollment under employee fee waiver programs (i.e., State of Tennessee, Tennessee Board of Regents, and University of Tennessee) is subject to the availability of space in the class being requested. Students enrolled under fee waiver programs may pre-register no earlier than four weeks prior to the first day of classes.

COST OF ATTENDANCE (COA) 

Cost of attendance (COA) estimates the total expenses for a student attending Motlow State, used in the formula for calculating Financial Aid Need.

The total figure includes estimates for tuition and mandatory fees; books, course materials, supplies, and equipment; living expenses (room and board), personal/miscellaneous expenses; and transportation. The Financial Aid Office uses the cost of attendance when calculating aid eligibility. It is only a representation of a student’s actual charges. Students and parents can use the cost of attendance to build a budget for the academic year. Please note all amounts are based on estimates. A student’s COA will change based upon their enrollment status and enrollment periods. All students are initially awarded based on a full-time, fall-and-spring COA. Their awards could change once their COA is updated to reflect their actual enrollment. These costs are subject to change each academic year. Note: Financial aid awards may be adjusted and/or cancelled due to a change in COA to prevent and/or eliminate an over-award.

There are budget adjustments for students who are out-of-state and/or participating in study abroad. Contact the Financial Aid Office for further details on these particular situations.

RETURNED CHECKS

There is a $30.00 charge for any check tendered for payment to the College that is subsequently dishonored and returned by the bank. Returned checks received for the payment of registration fees, if not redeemed within ten calendar days from the postmark date of the institution’s letter of notification, shall result in the disenrollment of the student.

For other returned checks cashed on campus, an opportunity to redeem the check shall be allowed; if the check is not then redeemed, a formal notice will be sent by registered mail to the drawer. Failure to redeem the check after formal notice shall result in the initiation of further action by the College.

No student may re-enroll, graduate, receive grades, or receive a transcript of their record until all accounts are settled. The term “account” includes any indebtedness to the College.

The above policy on returned checks is in accordance with recommended and approved policies of the State University and Community College System of Tennessee.

REFUNDS AND REPAYMENTS

A student may be eligible for a refund of institutional charges, based on a change in enrollment status due to: (1) dropping a course or courses, (2) withdrawing from college, (3) cancellation of a class by the institution, or (4) death of the student. Refund processing requires ten to fourteen days for completion. Students receiving Federal Title IV grants, loans, and state grants/scholarships are required to notify the Financial Aid Office upon changing enrollment status by dropping any class or upon withdrawing from the institution.

INSTITUTIONAL FEES

1. Seventy-five percent of fees will be refunded for drops or withdrawals that occur within the first 14 calendar days (unless the class begins on Saturday—see # 5 below) of an academic term, beginning with and inclusive of the first official day of classes, or within an equivalent period for a short-term course. Twenty-five percent of fees will be refunded following expiration of the 75% refund period, to the point in time when 25% of the term is completed. No refunds will be made beyond the 25% point.
2. One hundred percent of fees will be refunded for classes canceled by the institution.
3. One hundred percent of fees will be refunded for withdrawals prior to the first day of classes for the regular academic terms and summer sessions.
4. One hundred percent of fees will be refunded in case of death of the student.
5. One hundred percent of fees will be extended when the first day of the academic term falls on a Saturday through the weekend until the following Monday morning (12:01 a.m.).

Fees discussed above include Maintenance and Technology Access Fees only. All other fees are nonrefundable.

Summer term refunds will be based on the above procedures with time periods for half-summer terms being prorated as a percentage of a regular term.

No refunds will be made for a general interest class unless the class is canceled.

PAYMENT PLAN

A payment plan is available to allow students to pay registration fees in installments. The plan does not apply to books or to non-credit classes and is available for fall and spring semesters only. All students in good financial standing are eligible to participate in the payment plan. Total fees eligible must be at least $400 after application of any financial aid awarded to student. (Fees not eligible include application fee and any account balance from prior terms.)

• To participate in the payment plan, you must complete the Payment Plan Application on MyMotlow.
• The plan requires an initial payment consisting of 50% of fees plus a $25 administrative fee at the beginning of the term. The remaining balance will be paid in equal installments. (Due dates will be specified in the Payment Plan Contract.)
• Students who fail to pay the required initial payment by the appropriate (preregistration or regular registration) last day to pay fees specified in the term calendar will be deleted from the class rolls.
• Students who fail to pay the second and/or third installments will have their records placed on hold. The College will proceed with collection procedures as required by the Tennessee Board of Regents, Guideline B-010, including submission to a collection agency, if necessary.
• Initial payment and subsequent installments will be paid by auto-deduction.
• Withdrawal from classes does not forgive any remaining balance due except to the extent that any refund, as determined by the College’s refund policy, will be applied to the balance due. Refunds for students on payment contracts are calculated based on the total fees assessed, not the portion of the fees actually paid at the time of the refund.
• A student who fails to make timely payments in a previous term may be denied the right to participate in the payment plan in future enrollment periods.

FEDERAL FINANCIAL AID RETURN TO TITLE IV (R2T4)

Federal Title IV regulations require Motlow State Community College (Motlow) to recalculate the federal financial aid eligibility for each student who withdraws from the institution at or before the 60% point of the term. Eligibility is based on the number of calendar days completed in the term at the point of withdrawal. Students who stop attending classes without initiating the formal Motlow withdrawal process will be assigned a withdrawal date based on their documented last date of engagement in their classes.

Note: For programs offered in modules/mini-terms (ex. Adult College Express [ACE] program), Federal Title IV regulations require Motlow to recalculate the federal financial aid eligibility for each student who withdraws from the institution if all scheduled modules within a term are not completed (see example 2 below).

Example # 1:

A student withdraws on the 30th day of the term, which is 120 days in length. The student has completed 25% of the term and thus is only eligible for 25% of the federal financial aid awarded for that term. Therefore, Motlow must return 75% of the federal aid originally retained by the College to satisfy the student’s institutional fees. As a result, the student will receive a billing statement from the Motlow Business Office for that portion of the fees no longer covered by federal financial aid. Students are not required to make repayments of fifty dollars or less.

In addition, the student is required to repay a portion of the federal financial aid received for personal and living expenses for the term. The initial amount to be returned in this example is based on a 75% calculation; however, to ease the repayment burden on the student, the following guidelines apply:

• The student is required to repay only 50% of the portion of the initial repayment amount that is attributable to Federal Pell Grant and Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant funds disbursed directly to the student. The student will be billed for the required amount and must make repayment arrangements with Motlow. Failure to make repayment within thirty days of notification may result in the matter being referred to the U.S. Department of Education Debt Collection Service, and the student will be unable to receive future federal financial aid funds from any educational institution until repayment has been satisfied.

Example # 2 – Modules:

Within a semester, there are three modules (A, B, C) that span the entire term and are five weeks each, offered consecutively. In the fall semester, the student enrolls in modules A, B, and C. Student completes courses in module A. Student begins Module B and withdraws. At this point, the student is a Title IV withdrawal and a R2T4 calculation must be done. The student’s registration for module C is not enough to override the R2T4 requirement. However, if the school collects written confirmation from the student at the time of the withdrawal from module B that they intend to return for Module C, a R2T4 is not required. If the student returns for Module C and completes the module, no R2T4 is required. If the student does not return for Module C, a R2T4 is done using the withdrawal date from Module B. If the student returns for Module C and then withdraws, a R2T4 is done using the withdrawal date from Module C.

Note that because we are looking at completed days, if the above student was also enrolled in a course that spanned the entire term and completed that course, the withdrawal from the modular courses would not result in a withdrawal for the term. By completing the fifteen-week course, the student has completed all days for which he/she enrolled.

All required repayments to Federal Title IV programs will be distributed in the following order: (1) Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loan (Motlow does not offer loans), (2) Federal Direct Subsidized Loan (Motlow does not offer loans), (3) Federal Pell Grant, (4) Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant, and (5) any other applicable programs (ex. Lottery, TSAA, TN Promise, TN Reconnect, etc.)

Any refunds calculated for students who received financial assistance from sources other than Federal Title IV funds will be refunded according to each source’s policy.