Financial Services

Student Accounts

Student Financial Services, a division of Administrative Affairs, is made up of two components to serve the needs of our students. The Student Accounts office provides accurate and timely billing and account services such as monthly account billing, support for past due accounts, third party invoicing assistance, semester payment plans, assistance with the Master Promissory Note (MPN) completion and exit interview processes involved with obtaining federal financial aid.  Student Financial Services corresponds electronically with student account holders using their University email address.

 UW-Whitewater students are responsible for:

  • Payment of all tuition, fees, and other associated costs assessed as a result of registration and/or services as they appear on the student account.
  • Reading all University communications, taking action when needed, and sharing these email communications with individuals who may be assisting with education expenses.
  • Monitoring their WINS student account regularly.
  • Understanding the University’s payment and billing policies.
  • Being aware of course add/drop dates, refund deadlines, associated fees, and billing due dates for each term enrolled.
  • Ensuring payments are made in a timely manner, regardless if payment is from financial aid, scholarships, or a 529 education plan fund.

What is an Enrollment Deposit?

Degree-seeking UW-Whitewater undergraduate students are required to pay a one-time enrollment deposit. This deposit remains on the student account during enrollment at the university, and is refundable when the student leaves UW Whitewater. Enrollment deposits are to be paid at the time of Warhawks SOAR registration. Questions regarding the Enrollment Deposit charge can be directed to Student Financial Services at sfs@uww.edu.  

Request Enrollment Deposit Refund

Students who have separated from the University may be entitled to a refund of the Enrollment Deposit. If the Enrollment Deposit has been previously paid, students may complete the online Enrollment Deposit Refund Request Form to request a refund of their Enrollment Deposit. If the refund is requested, but the student has a remaining account balance, the refund will be applied to the balance.  The request will be processed approximately 10 weeks after the end of the term to allow for any remaining charges to be processed. The refund will be sent via direct deposit to the bank account in the Nelnet system, or a paper check will be mailed to the address on file with the University. Students have one year (12 months after the final day of classes) to request and qualify for the refund. Unclaimed enrollment deposits are deposited into a UW-Whitewater scholarship fund. 

Students who have borrowed through the Federal Loan Program are required to complete an exit interview when they graduate, withdraw, drop below half-time status of attendance, or change programs. Exit interviews provide a complete explanation of repayment, deferment, cancellation privileges, and answer specific questions about your loan.  Exit counseling is completed at studentaid.

Exit Counseling

Direct Loan [PDF]
Perkins Loan [PDF]

Finance charges on unpaid past due amounts are assessed during the monthly billing process. This occurs on the first business day after the 12th day of each month. 

A 1.25% finance charge will be assessed per monthly billing cycle to charges past due.  This finance charge will be assessed until the student account is paid current.

A reduced 1.00% finance charge will be assessed per monthly billing cycle for any amounts placed on the Nelnet Payment Plan.

Financial Aid Payments

Students receiving financial aid are subject to the same payment deadlines as other students. Most aid is processed in time, but if you have not submitted your information timely, have not met all qualifications for aid, had to provide more information for verification, or have not accepted or completed follow up tasks required for the aid, your aid may be delayed. Students should check your WINS account to confirm that aid has processed by the payment due date. Finance charges will still apply to accounts with delayed aid.

Scholarships

Scholarship checks should be submitted to the Cashier's Office, Hyer Hall, 104, at least 10 business days prior to the term due date for processing.  Scholarships received after this date will still be processed, but finance charges may be incurred.

Third Party Billing

A Third Party Authorization letter from the external organization should be submitted to the Student Financial Services Office, 104 Hyer Hall, no later than the first day of the term.  Visit Third Party Billing for specific details and requirements of third party billing.

Holds Used by SFS and Other Campus Departments

Holds preventing enrollment, adding or dropping courses, or receiving transcripts 

ADV - Contact your Academic Advisor for requirements to release this hold.

BIL - The BIL hold indicates you have been sent to a collection agency for a past due balance. Contact Student Financial Services to obtain the collection agency contact information, and work with the collection agency to pay off your balance. For information on how to pay your bill, visit our website.

EXI - The Exit Interview hold indicates the requirement to complete an exit interview, for either or both of your Perkins and Direct loans, has not been finished. Instructions can be found on our website.

MON - The MON hold indicates your student account has a past due balance over $200.00. Remitting full payment will release the MON hold and avoid future finance charges and risk of being sent to collections. The MON hold is automatically released when past due balances are below $200.00 nightly during evening processes. Contact Student Financial Services at sfs@uww.edu with questions. For information on how to pay your bill, visit our website.

PPY - The PPY hold indicates a history of non-payment and a need to prepay your next term charged prior to registration. The prepayment can be either cash or financial aid, but you must contact the Cashier's Office in order to have this hold lifted for registration.  Cashier's can be reached at cashiers@uww.edu.

TAC - The TAC hold is specific to a term, and should be completed prior to each term of enrollment. TAC holds for terms that have passed may be ignored as they effect only the term the hold relates to on the student account. The TAC hold for an upcoming term will stop enrollment until the TAC is electronically signed. Once signed, the hold will automatically be released.

WRO - The WRO hold indicates a past bad debt write off. Prior to future enrollment, students should prepay for enrollment.  Contact the Student Financial Accounts Office with questions at sfs@uww.edu.

Other Financial Holds

CKR1 -The CKR1 hold indicates a returned check due to a failed payment attempt.  A resulting returned payment fee will be assessed to your student account. Contact the Cashier's Office with questions at cashiers@uww.edu.

PPL - This Payment Plan Hold is placed on a student's account after the student or authorized payer enrolls in the Nelnet Payment Plan.  The hold will be removed within 3 days after the account balance is paid in full for the term.

After accepting Federal loans, you will receive notification requesting completion of the Loan Agreement (Master Promissory Note/MPN). An email and letter will be sent to the student for Direct Loans, and a letter will be sent to parents for Parent PLUS loans. Upon receiving the notification, complete the Loan Agreement at the studentaid website using the instructions below.

Loan Agreement (Master Promissory Note/MPN)

Student Direct Loan MPN [PDF]
Parent PLUS Loan MPN [PDF]

There are two options for a student to allow a parent, spouse, guardian, or any other person access to financial information. 

  • Authorized Payer - Provides access to view and pay bills online.
  • Authorization for Release of Information (FERPA) - Provides access to specified individuals to contact the Student Financial Services Office with questions regarding the student's account.

Authorized Payers

Authorized payers are provided access through our third party (Nelnet) billing site.  Students should initiate the process by accessing the Student Financial Account tile in WINS, select Make a Payment. This will access the Nelnet site, which uses the same NetID and password as WINS. Select the Authorized Payer tab, select Add New, and follow the prompts. The Authorized Payer will receive an email that contains a login and temporary password. Once set up, the Authorized Payer will receive future monthly e-bill notifications when a new bill is available to review. 

Authorization for Release of Information

The Federal Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) of 1976, as amended, is a federal law that affords students certain rights and protects their privacy and confidentiality with respect to their educational records.  If you would like to allow specified individuals access to your financial records, complete a Release of Information form for the Student Financial Services and Financial Aid Offices.  This form is completed online:

  • Log in to WINS
  • Select the Student Financial Account tile
  • Select the Account Inquiry tile
  • Click on Release Financial Info

Completion allows the person authorized to contact Student Financial Services or Financial Aid Offices to ask questions about your account.

In an effort to provide additional flexibility to our students, the University implemented a new payment plan option, effective Summer 2023. 

  • Payment plans require self-enrollment. If interested in enrolling, students should initiate and enroll in the plan via their WINS account. 
  • Summer terms offer a 2-month payment plan option.
  • Fall and Spring terms offer 2, 3, and 4-month payment plans.

For more information and enrollment details, visit Nelnet Payment Plan.

    What is the Terms & Conditions for Enrollment/Credit Agreement?

    Students planning to enroll in classes at UW-Whitewater are required to complete the Terms and Conditions for Enrollment/Credit Agreement each term. This document contains information for the students about their responsibilities for enrolled coursework, payment plan information, and charges on their student account.

    The agreement is completed online before registering for classes. For details on how to complete the agreement or to review the document, visit Terms & Conditions for Enrollment/Credit Agreement Information

    Segregated fees are charges, in addition to tuition, assessed to all students for student services, activities, programs, and facilities that support the mission of the University of Wisconsin System institutions, including UW-Whitewater. The policies affecting segregated fees are set by UW System Admin Policy 820. On our campus, the Whitewater Student Government organization reviews and recommends the fee amounts, and decisions about fee amount distribution is made by the SUFAC Committee.

    Segregated Fees 

    Activity Fee:  Supports various campus activities such as student organizations, organized activities, child care center, and municipal services.

    Student Center:  Supports facilities, services, and programs at the James Connor University Center.

    Health Center:  Supports quality health services (medical, public health and wellness outreach), addressing the unique needs of college students with an emphasis on enhancing the well-being, academic success, and dignity of clients in a confidential, efficient, and cost-effective manner.

    Sports Programming & Facilities:  Supports organized sports and recreation programs, stadium, field house, and related facilities and fields.

    Leadership Development:  Supports an administrative organization that provides an integration of programs and activities that promote successful, positive, and productive citizens of our campus and beyond.

    Capital Projects:  Supports costs of construction of large fixed assets such as sidewalks, buildings and parking lots.

    Textbook Rental:  Supports a rental service that provides most textbooks for undergraduate students, so purchased books are not necessary.

    Students that register for classes and do not attend will still be responsible for paying those tuition charges if they are past the drop deadline. To find details regarding the terms drop dates go to the webpage and choose the appropriate term and then Deadlines - add/drop, withdraw, refund at the top/center of the page.

    A student can print their Account Inquiry through WINS by clicking on "Student Financial Account" tile, click the "Account Inquiry" tile, and then select "View Printer Friendly".

    The Federal Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) pf 1976, as amended, is a federal law that affords students certain rights and protects their privacy and confidentiality with respect to their educational records. If you would like to give someone access to your financial records, complete the Release of Information form for Student Accounts and Financial Aid form.  This form is completed online:

    • Log In to WINS
    • Select the Student Financial Account tile
    • Select the Account Inquiry tile
    • Click on Release Financial Info
    •  Note: This form does not give them access to receive an E-Bill or to the WINS Account.

    What is the Terms & Conditions for Enrollment/Credit Agreement?

    Students planning to enroll in classes at UW-Whitewater will need to complete the "Terms and Conditions for Enrollment/Credit Agreement" each term. This document contains information for the students about their responsibilities for classes for which they register, self enrolled payment plan information, and charges on student accounts.

    The agreement must be completed online before registering for classes. For details on how to complete the agreement, please see Terms & Conditions/Credit Agreement Information. To review the document, please go to Terms of Conditions/Credit Agreement.

    If you are unable to pay your tuition and fees by the term due date,  you can self enroll in the payment plan.  Tuition, segregated fees, housing and meal plan costs, and miscellaneous fees are eligible for placement on the Payment Plan.  The Payment Plan will allow students and authorized payers to make payments in installments throughout the term.  Students or authorized payers must make a minimum payment during enrollment in the Payment Plan.  A non-refundable administrative assessment of $40.00 will be added to the students account at the time of enrollment in the Payment Plan and such fee is due at the time of enrollment in the Payment Plan.  Finance charges of 1% per monthly billing cycle will be applied to any amounts on the Payment Plan.  All outstanding amounts due and owed must be paid by the due dates indicated on the student account.  Failure to make all payments shall result in the UWW initiating collection action as described herein.  To review the Terms and Conditions for Enrollment, please go to Terms & Conditions

    The number of installment payments will vary based on term.

    THIRD PARTY PAYMENTS:

    Agencies or organizations requiring course completion or proof of grades BEFORE they authorize payment are considered tuition reimbursement programs.  These programs do NOT qualify for the third-party billing process. Students participating in tuition reimbursement programs are responsible to make their own payment arrangements, according to the college's tuition payment policy, and seek reimbursement directly from their sponsoring agency or organization.

    When a student's tuition, fees, and/or bookstore purchases are billed directly to an outside agency or organization (not a family member or not owned by you or a family member), the process is termed “third-party billing”. The college agrees to bill the agency or organization directly on behalf of the student. This is considered a service to the student and the college must receive written authorization from the sponsoring agency or organization at least two weeks prior to the start of the term, before the third-party billing can be processed. It is the student's responsibility to ensure the Third Party Authorization Form is received by the Student Account Collector Office.

    Note: A third-party authorization form needs to be on file before we will invoice

    THIRD PARTY PROCEDURES:

    We can bill any company for tuition and fees. However, we must have a voucher or purchase order stating the specific courses to be paid for, upon receipt of invoice. The information required by the Authorization for payment should include:

    Student name

    Student ID number

    Agency name and billing address (On Company Letterhead)

    Name and phone number of contact person

    Term covered by the authorization to pay

    Course Name and Number (example: ENG 121)

    Dollar amount or percentage of college costs covered

    Types of charges to be covered (Tuition, Fees)

    NOTE: We will need a new voucher/purchase order each semester to ensure current status.

    AUTHORIZATIONS FOR PAYMENT:

    Your authorization for payment can be mailed, emailed, or delivered to the Third-Party Coordinator at:

    BY MAIL:

    UW Whitewater
    Student Account Collector
    PO Box 88
    Whitewater, WI 53190

    E-MAIL: sfscollect@uww.edu

    PAYMENT TO:

    UW Whitewater
    Cashiers Office
    PO Box 88
    Whitewater, WI 53190

    The purchase order or voucher must be submitted to Student Accounts at least two weeks prior to the start of the term. However, the student must be prepared to pay their bill or any finance charges/payment plan fees in the event the third party does not pay by the term due date.  Ultimately, the student is responsible for the bill and may be asked to pay the bill and get a reimbursement from the third party.

    IF FOR SOME REASON, THE THIRD PARTY IS UNWILLING TO PAY THE CHARGES INCURRED, THOSE CHARGES BECOME THE OBLIGATION OF THE STUDENT.  WE DO NOT TAKE CREDIT CARD PAYMENTS FOR INVOICES.



    What if I receive Federal Title IV Financial Aid (loans and/or grants), what can I expect it to pay?

    The Department of Education has implemented federal regulations that authorizes UW-Whitewater to administer Title IV financial aid funds. Title IV funds are financial aid you receive in your financial aid package from UW-Whitewater and include:

    Federal Pell Grant
    Federal Supplemental Education Opportunity Grant (SEOG)
    Federal Perkins Loan
    Federal Education Loan Program
    Stafford Loan Program - Subsidized and Unsubsidized
    Parent PLUS Loan
    Federal Work Study Program

    Federal regulations stipulate that Title IV financial aid funds cannot be applied to your student account until ten (10) days prior to the first day of classes. Federal regulations further require that the University apply your Title IV financial aid funds to "allowable charges", which are tuition, mandatory segregated fees, course fees, and housing and meal charges contracted with the University. UW-Whitewater allows many departments to assess charges to your student account in order to consolidate billing. Some of these "non-allowable charges" might include parking permits, bookstore charges, health center services, graduation fees, library fines, activation fees, finance charges and other miscellaneous charges. The charges will be your responsibility to pay by the due date on your billing statement, as they would also not be charges eligible for any payment plan. If left unpaid, it could delay any excess aid that may be ready to refund to you. If left unpaid after the due date, it could lead to a past due balance, an assessment of additional finance charges and it would put you at risk of having your classes cancelled for non-payment.

    Federal regulations require that the University apply your Title IV financial aid funds to "allowable charges', which are tuition, mandatory segregated fees, course fees, and university housing and meal charges, unless authorized to cover other changes. Authorizing financial aid to pay other charges will expedite the settlement of your student account. Authorization must be received prior to the disbursement of your aid or the Title IV financial aid funds will not pay other charges on your account. Once the authorization is signed, it will continue to be valid for future years unless rescinded.

    To authorize payment of other charges, click on "Student Financial Account" tile,  click on "Student Permissions" tile, click on "TITLEIV_MS", and follow the screens from there. You will get a confirmation you can print out if needed, and your aid should automatically pay charges upon disbursement.

    Please note: pay plan activation fees and finance charges cannot be covered by Title IV funds, so students will need to cover these, if applicable, with other funds. If non-federal aid is present on the student's account, it can be used to cover these charges.

    Title IV authorizations previously given need to be manually reversed. Fill out this form. Once you have completed and signed the form, please deliver to Hyer Hall, Room 104, Student Accounts window, send via email as a .pdf to sfs@uww.edu, or mail to UW-Whitewater, Student Accounts, P.O. Box 88, Whitewater, WI 53190.

    Please be aware, you will then be responsible to pay any charges on your student account that are not covered by aid by the applicable due date.

    Per federal regulations, the University is required to apply any Title IV financial aid funds to "allowable charges', which are tuition, mandatory segregated fees, course fees, and university housing and meal charges, for the academic year for which the aid is awarded. If there is any excess aid after these charges are paid, a small amount is eligible to be applied to a prior aid year balance.

    If your past due balance is in a term in a prior aid year, such as the prior Summer term, up to $200 of excess aid can be used to pay allowable charges in the prior aid year. If the unpaid charge is tuition or tuition-related fees, your refund will be delayed as we apply $200 to the prior year.

    If the prior balance is not allowable charges, but you have already authorized the university to pay other student account charges for the current term, the authorization allows the university to use up to $200 of excess aid to pay a balance in a prior aid year term.

    If you haven't yet signed the authorization to pay other charges on your student account, click on "TITLEIV_MS" and follow the screens from there. You will get a confirmation you can print out if needed. Student Accounts will receive your authorization and move $200 from your excess aid to pay toward your prior year balance prior to releasing any remaining refund due you. However, pay plan activation fees and finance charges cannot be covered by Title IV aid.

    The Department of Education has implemented federal regulations that authorizes UW-Whitewater to administer Title IV financial aid funds. Title IV funds are financial aid you may receive in your financial aid package from UW-Whitewater and include:

    Federal Pell Grant
    Federal Supplemental Education Opportunity Grant (SEOG)
    Federal Perkins Loan
    Federal Education Loan Program
    Stafford Loan Program-Subsidized and Unsubsidized
    Parent PLUS Loan
    Federal Work Study Program

    Federal regulations require that the University apply your Title IV financial aid funds to "allowable charges", which are tuition, mandatory segregated fees, course fees, and housing and meal charges contracted with the University. Federal Title IV regulations prohibit the use of federal aid to cover administrative charges, such as activation fees from the payment plan, or finance charges.

    These charges are your responsibility to pay them by the due date on your billing statement.

    NOTICE: Veterans who intend to have the government help with tuition and fees should first see the Veteran Services Coordinator.

    Students who have received a voucher or authorization to have tuition and fees billed to a government agency should submit this and any other required documents to Student Accounts Hyer Hall Room 104 or email to sfscollector@uww.edu . All documents must be turned in 10 days before the start of the term for which it applies.

    A credit will be placed on the student account once the invoice has been sent to the government agency. The student should be prepared to pay the remaining balance by the due date indicated on the bill.

    If a refund is due, it will be paid to the student. Any overpayments that are owed to the government should be paid by the student to the agency as soon as possible.

    All tuition and related fees are due by the first due date of a term, no matter when you registered. If the student or authorized payer self enrolled in the  payment plan, all charges  will be placed on a payment plan.  A 1% monthly finance charge will be assessed and a MON hold (Balance over $200.00) will be applied.  This fee will be assessed each billing period until the student's account is current.  

    If a student or authorized payer did not self enroll in the payment plan, a 1.25% finance charge will be applied and a MON hold (Balance over $200.00) will be applied.  This fee will be assessed each billing period until the student's account is current. 

    If you have a past due balance over $500 when the payment plan is completed for the term, you will be prohibited from registering until the past due amount is paid in full or covered by financial aid. This can mean you miss out on your priority registration slot, and perhaps even miss out getting into a course you need. Past due balances are sent to a collection agency, so students should contact Student Accounts at sfs@uww.edu as soon as possible to talk about alternatives before this happens.

    Your classes are at risk of cancellation if:

    You have no credit with the University. This can happen if your classes have been previously cancelled, if you have frequent invalid check transactions or if your debt has been certified to an outside collection agency, such as SDC. One notice for payment is sent to you prior to cancellation.
    You have a past due balance for a prior term. If you haven't paid the necessary amount to get rid of your past due balance, you have not received financial aid to cover it, or you have not contacted Student Accounts about your intention to pay off the balance in an agreed upon manner, your classes are at risk for cancellation.
    Once classes are cancelled, you will receive a no-credit (NCR) hold on your account. The no-credit (NCR) hold means you no longer have credit with the University. As such, you will not be eligible for the payment plan in the Fall or Spring terms. In addition, you will be required to pay the cost of tuition and fee for classes you want to take in advance of being able to register.

    You can have an invalid check transaction occur for a few reasons:

    Written check was filled out incorrectly - on wrong bank account, invalid signature, dollar amount and written amounts don't match, post-dated check

    Written check or electronic check may be invalid because there's not enough funds in the account to cover the transaction (insufficient funds or account closed)

    Information for an electronic check may have been filled out incorrectly in TouchNet

    For an invalid check transaction, according to WI Stat. 943.24, a student can be fined and required to appear in court for issuing a worthless check (including online transactions). The University will assess a $20 service charge to your student account for any payment returned as unpaid. This is in addition to the charge your bank may assess. Your account will also be returned to the same status as it was before the payment was received, so interest and/ or administrative fees may be charged. In addition, your classes may be at risk of cancellation if the invalid check paid off a balance in order for you to register.

    If we receive notice of frequent invalid check activity from your bank, the University may invoke our "cash only" policy. This means you would no longer have access to the TouchNet site for online payments, and you would be required to pay with cash, certified bank check, or money order.

    Additionally, frequent invalid transactions will result in a no-credit (NCR) hold on your account. The no-credit (NCR) hold means you no longer have credit with the University. As such, you will not be eligible for the payment plan in the Fall or Spring terms. In addition, you will be required to pay the cost of tuition and fee for classes you want to take in advance of being able to register.

    A 1.25%  per month finance charge will be assessed per monthly billing cycle to charges past due that are not on the self enrolled payment plan.  This finance charge will be assessed until the student account is paid current.

    A 1%  finance charge will be assessed per monthly billing cycle for any amounts placed on the self enrolled payment plan.

    The 1098-T form is informational only and should not be considered as tax advice. The 1098-T form is used by eligible educational institutions to report information about their students to the IRS as required by the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997. Eligible educational institutions are required to submit the student's name, address, taxpayers identification number (TIN), enrollment status, amounts pertaining to qualified tuition and related expenses, and scholarships and/or grants, taxable or not. Follow the link for frequently asked questions regarding the 1098-T.

    As required by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), form 1098-T is mailed by January 31 to all students who had qualified tuition and other related educational expenses billed to them during the previous calendar year.

    To retrieve 1098T's from past years please email sfs@uww.edu with the students name, student ID#, last 4 of social security number and year needed.

    In January of each year, the University of Wisconsin System provides a form 1098-T to each student that has paid tuition in that year.  Students receive an email to their UW Whitewater email when the 1098T's are available along with the steps to retrieve the forms.

    For 2019 and prior years, all 1098-T forms were mailed out to student mailing addresses as of January 31st.  Due to a change by the University of Wisconsin System’s vendor, the 1098-T Tax Form is not available online.  If you need to access an additional copy of your 1098-T Tax Form (2019 -previous years), please contact our office at sfs@uww.edu. Please provide the full name of the student, date of birth, last 4 digits of social security number and the year needed.