Costs and Financial Assistance

Tuition and Fees

Course costs are based on the number of credits per course. All payments must be made by bank money order, postal money order, cashier’s check, personal check, Discover*, MasterCard*, VISA*, or American Express*. Only U.S. currency accepted. No cash is accepted unless it is $10 or under for official transcripts, course descriptions, etc. Costs below are current as of the publication date of this catalog and are subject to change.

*Note: Effective July 1, 2017, credit and debit card payments for educational expenses will be charged a 2.5% service fee.  To avoid this fee, consider paying online via e-check, mail check, money order or bank check or pay in person by check, money order, or bank check.

This fee is not assessed by Westfield State University, nor does the university receive any part of the service fee.  The university contracts with a third party payment processing company, CORE Business Technologies.  The fee is being charged by CORE Business Technologies to cover the cost of transaction fees assessed by credit card companies.  To learn more about the fee, visit http://www.westfield.ma.edu/tuition-financial-aid/credit-card-fee-faqs .

* Tuition waivers are based on $105.00/GR credit-tuition waiver forms must be submitted at time of registration for waiver credits; retroactive credit is not allowed
** May be waived online: www.universityhealthplans.com - excludes online courses

* Before semester starts, no refund made on $75 registration fee. After semester starts, but before first class meeting, no refund on $75 Registration Fee and $75 Educational Service Fee.

Physician Assistant Program

In addition, there will be no refunds made on the following fees after the semester begins:

Late Payment Fee, Delayed Payment Fee, and Student Identification fee.

This policy is in accordance with the 1998 Financial Aid Reauthorization Act. It will be reviewed annually by the Vice President of Finance and the Board of Trustees. This policy also is subject to change without prior written notification.

Competitive Program Deposit for Masters of Arts in Counseling, Master of Arts in Applied Behavior Analysis, and Master of Social Work

Due to the competitive nature of these programs, we require a nonrefundable “competitive program deposit” of $150.00 within 10 days of acceptance. This deposit is used to ensure your space in the program. The deposit is applied to your first registration as a matriculated student in the Fall semester immediately following your acceptance. If we do not hear from you within 10 days, we will assume you have selected an alternate direction, and we will close your matriculation.

Delayed Payment

The College of Graduate and Continuing Education offers a “delayed payment” program for matriculated students that allows for payment of tuition over a period of time during the semester. Students must meet the following requirements to participate in the program:

1. Matriculation in a degree program through the Collegeof Graduate and Continuing Education.
2. Application to Delayed Payment Program and payment of processing fee (non-refundable).
3. Ability to pay within 60 days of registering into a regular semester and within three weeks into any summer semester. First payment due at time of registration & includes the $100 non-refundable fee. The remaining payments are as follows: Fall: Last Friday in September, October, and November   Spring: Last Friday in February, March and April  Summer: Midpoint in term
4. Students must follow all regulations regarding withdrawals as stated in the College’s refund and withdrawal policy, and are responsible for total payment even if students withdraw before the end of the semester and regardless of grades achieved.
5. No student may apply for delayed payment who has been sent to a Collection Agent or placed in Administrative Withdrawal.
6. Consequences of non-payment:
   • $100 late payment fee applied to account
   • Placement in Administrative Withdrawal (no grades, transcripts or diplomas will be released and students may not register for further classes at the University until their obligation has been satisfied.)
   • Student accounts turned over to a Collection Agent will be charged an additional 20% of their unpaid balance.

Financial Aid

• Information regarding all forms of financial aid for Westfield State University students and the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) are available at the Student Administrative Services Center, 577 Western Avenue (first floor west). For further information, please call (413) 572-5218. Please note that Financial Aid administered by the university, regardless of the funding source, requires that students are matriculated into a program and are in good academic standing.
• Please Note: Due to sequestration, it is possible that the terms of the Federal Direct Loan programs could change for each academic year.

Federal Subsidized Loan

• Need-based, long-term federal loan, for which the Federal government will pay the interest while students are enrolled, as well as during the deferment periods.
• FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) must be filed to determine eligibility. Available to students who demonstrate financial aid need.
• Repayment of both principle and interest begins six months after a student graduates, withdraws, or drops below half-time enrollment.

Federal Unsubsidized Loan Program

• Federal Loan available to students regardless of calculated need.
• Interest begins to accrue immediately and accumulates during deferment periods. Paying toward interest while the student is enrolled is optional, but advised.

Graduate Assistantships

Graduate Assistantships are awarded through the College of Graduate and Continuing Education to students who have superior academic records, are matriculated in a graduate degree program, and are registered for a minimum of six semester hours per semester (fall and spring).

There are two types of placements for graduate assistants:  Graduate Program Placements are designed to serve the needs of the University’s graduate programs, and Campus Support Placements support academic and administrative departments throughout campus.  Both types of placements are designed to contribute to the student’s academic and professional development. The duties of a Graduate Assistant may be to assist in instruction, research or administrative duties and will vary according to the department’s individual needs.

Most assistantships are full-year assistantships, and appointments are generally decided before registration for fall courses begins in July.  Infrequently there may be a spring semester assistantship available.  Half-time assistantships carry a $1,000 stipend and up to 6 credits of tuition and instructional fees per semester (5 for MSW students), and the student is required to provide 7 ½ hours of assistance to the department per week; full-time assistantships provide a stipend of $2,000 and up to 12 credits of tuition and instructional fees per semester (10 for MSW students), and the student must provide 15 hours of assistance per week to their assigned department.  Graduate Assistants pay Registration and Educational Service Fees.

Withdrawal and Refund Policy

Refunds of tuition and instructional fees, if any, are made on the basis of the date and time of receipt of a student’s withdrawal. Non-payment does not result in withdrawal from a course. Students who officially withdraw from a course after the second scheduled class and within the allowable withdrawal period will receive a designation of W. The registration fee, late registration fee and late payment fee are non-refundable.

A withdrawal:

• Before the semester begin date, students are responsible for the $75 non-refundable Registration Fee.
• After the semester begin date but before the first class meeting, students are responsible $150 (Non-refundable Registration Fee and Non-refundable Educational Service Fee), and the course will not be indicated on the transcript.
• Before the second class meeting, students receive a 75% refund of total tuition and fees (excluding non-refundable late registration fee and late payment fee), and the course will not be indicated on the transcript.
• Before the third class meeting, students receive a 40% refund of total tuition and fees (excluding non-refundable late registration fee and late payment fee), and the course will appear as a Withdrawal (“W”) on the transcript. Signature of the instructor is required.

* Approved for extenuating circumstances only; must have Dean’s approval

* * At instructor’s discretion

• There are no refunds for classes dropped after the third class meeting. Students dropping after the last day to withdraw will incur a $25 Late Withdrawal Fee and the signature of the instructor is required. The course will appear as a “W” on the transcript.

For refund and withdrawal purposes, Online and Brick & Click courses are deemed to begin “meeting” on the first day of the semester at 9 a.m., unless otherwise noted. They will be considered “meeting” as other in-person courses that begin the first day of the term (i.e., once per week for fourteen weeks in fall/spring, twice per week for six weeks in the summer). This refund and withdrawal schedule follows this “meet” schedule and is effective regardless of individual student login.

For specific information see the CGCE Semester Course-Offerings Catalog published each semester.