Using Your Tuition Benefit

How to Apply for the Tuition Benefit

Once you’re ready to apply for the tuition benefit, visit the Online Tuition Management System. Go to “Tuition Benefits for Myself ” on the left-hand side of the page, click on “Request Payment” and choose the semester for which you’re requesting payment.

This must be done every semester, but only once a term. Requests are made on a term-by-term basis rather than course-by-course basis. You will not see your courses listed, but the benefit will cover the three fees (tuition, general and technology fees) for up to two course units for the term. If you are adding and dropping courses during “add/drop”, or decide not to use the benefit, your benefit calculations will update once your academic program adjusts the charges on your student account to reflect your enrollment. 

To verify that you have successfully submitted a request, click again on the left-hand menu “Tuition benefits for myself” and you should see that term now appear in your Benefits History box. It will be listed as “NA” until our system connects to your student account to pull in your enrollment and charge information, usually overnight. To view the status of your request, return to the online tuition benefit system, usually the next day from your request, and click on “Tuition Benefits for Myself”, then “View Details” in your Benefits History box for the term. If your educational program has posted the charges to your student account, you’ll see the current term’s calculated benefit. If the charges aren’t posted yet, your request will be listed as pending until the tuition system detects the charges. If your account is in an “awaiting review” status, this means our office will be reviewing your charges on the upcoming Monday or Wednesday (whichever comes first) to calculate the correct amount. If you need your account reviewed prior to an adjustment date, you can email our office.

When to Apply for the Tuition Benefit

You can apply for the tuition benefit as soon as we open the online tuition system to requests for a given term; we list our open and close dates in Policy 406.5. To avoid late payment fees, the latest you should request payment of the benefit is upon receipt of your first term bill from Student Financial Services, which should arrive by email asking you to log into their PennPay system. As a student, it's your responsibility to ensure you receive your bills from Student Financial Services and apply for the tuition benefit in a timely manner so a payment can be made before your billing deadline. The date you receive a bill is based upon Student Financial Services’ billing cycles, which is driven by when you register and when your academic program posts the charges to your student account.

Checking Your Tuition Benefit and Student Accounts

Generally two business days after your tuition benefit is approved, you can go into your student billing account to verify your payment and review any remaining balance (using their “view activity" options; remember the official billing statements are a snapshot of a period of time and don’t update until the next statement). Alternatively, you can subtract your pending tuition benefit payment (as shown in the online tuition system by going to “Tuition benefits for myself” and then clicking “View details” for the term in your Benefits History box) from your total bill to determine if you have any balance to cover. This will allow you to make a payment even before the tuition benefit payment has been made. You should check every billing statement you receive in case you have fees we do not cover or tax liability.

Dropping Courses

You are bound by your educational program’s academic policies, even if you’re enrolled on a non-degree or non-matriculated basis. If you decide to drop a course, you must do so during your educational program’s official “Course Selection” period (usually ending about two weeks into a semester). Dropping or withdrawing from a course after this deadline means you will incur substantial financial penalties that are your responsibility. The tuition benefit payment will be removed at the end of the semester for any courses that are dropped or from which you withdraw. Make sure you’re aware of your educational program’s academic calendar to ensure you don’t incur financial penalties for dropping or withdrawing from a course.

Paying Your Student Bill

It’s your responsibility to review your bill each semester to ensure that your benefit has been applied correctly and there are no additional charges or tax liability you need to cover. You must adhere to all payment deadlines set by Student Financial Services. Your student account is under your name and social security number. If you do not pay a balance due, your account could go into collections which could potentially affect your credit. Eligibility for the tuition benefit would not prevent an unpaid balance going into collections which is a standard procedure for any student account. For this reason, you should review any billing statement email notifications and ensure both your charges and tuition benefits are correct and check for any balance due to fees the benefit does not cover or tax liability. You can access your billing information through Student Financial Services or the University’s student home page portal. SFS also outlines their billing cycles on their site here.

Questions?

Visit our FAQs for more information.

If you have questions about:

• your statement or payment deadlines, contact Student Financial Services.
• course charges on your bill, contact your educational program.
• the amount or application of your tuition benefit, contact the Tuition Benefit Office.