What are Payment Plans?
Paying for a college education is a concern for nearly every student and family. Having a solid plan for covering the cost of college is an important step toward graduation. We’re pleased to provide a payment center to make the process easier for you. This is not a loan program. You have no debt, there are no interest or finance charges assessed, and there is no credit check.
- There are two payment plan options—the monthly plan or the FAFSA pending plan
- The monthly plan is an option if you do not receive any type of financial aid (Pell grant, loan, scholarship, A+, etc.). The sooner you enroll in the monthly plan, the longer you will have to pay your account balance, which means the payments will be smaller.
- The FAFSA pending plan is an option if you have filed a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and expect to receive financial aid. Financial aid sometimes doesn’t cover the entire tuition fees balance. Payments are based on any balance left in your account after all financial aid has been applied. To be eligible to enroll in the FAFSA pending plan, you must complete a FAFSA and have received the results of that application before signing up for plan.
If you sign up for either plan, you will be assessed a $25 per semester nonrefundable set-up fee. If you enroll in the monthly payment plan, the set-up fee will be automatically deducted from the designated account at the time you enroll. If you enroll in the FAFSA pending plan because your FAFSA is on file with SFCC, the set-up fee will be charged to your student account.
IMPORTANT information to note before enrolling in a payment plan:
If you have recently submitted your FAFSA, Financial Aid will not have received your award notification. (It takes about 10 to 14 days for SFCC to receive a FAFSA after it’s been filed.) If you enroll in a payment plan before your FAFSA has been processed, you will need to enroll in the monthly plan, which means you will be assessed a $25 set-up fee immediately from your banking/credit card. Payments will also be withdrawn from your bank account or charged to your credit card when payment dates occur.
When your FAFSA has been processed and you are notified that you will be receiving financial aid, you need to contact the SFCC Business office immediately to have the monthly plan terminated. If your financial aid package does not cover your entire balance, you may want to enroll in the FAFSA pending payment plan or make alternate arrangements to pay your bill in full by the appropriate fees due date. If you elect to enroll in the FAFSA pending plan, the $25 payment plan set-up fee will be charged to your student account. The Business office will not automatically do this process; you must request the change from the monthly plan to the FAFSA pending plan.
Be sure to confirm with Financial Aid that the staff has received and processed your financial aid application. You may check the status of your FAFSA in the Financial Aid Requirements channel on the Financial Aid tab in mySFCC. (If you attempt to sign up for the FAFSA pending plan before your FAFSA is received and processed by SFCC, you will not be directed to the correct payment plan option.)
When to Enroll
Generally payment plan enrollment opens in June for fall semester, October for spring semester and April for summer semester. Please be aware the college may elect not to have the payment center available during specific times and dates during class enrollment.
Enrolling in a Payment Plan
Before accessing the mySFCC Payment Center to enroll in a payment plan, download these Payment Center instructions about logging in, how to enroll and e-statements, and have the following information.
Note: Preferred browsers for mySFCC Payment Center are Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer 10 and 11, and Opera. Pop-up blockers will need to be disabled. Access the support websites for these browsers for assistance in disabling pop-up blockers.
- Account information for the person responsible for the payment
- If paying by automatic bank payments, you will need the bank name, telephone number, account number, and the bank routing number. Most of this information is located on your check.
- If paying by credit card, you will need the credit card number and expiration date.
- If you do not have a bank account or credit card, your options include buying a pre-paid credit card or opening an account at your local bank or credit union with a minimum of $25 to cover the payment plan set-up fee.
Frequently Asked Questions about Payment Plans and the mySFCC Payment Center
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How long do plans remain active?
Plans remain active throughout the semester and recalculate each morning. Email notices are sent to student email accounts for notification of recalculated payment amounts.
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How are payments applied?
Any payments made on your accounts apply sequentially to payments (the first payment is paid off first, then the second, etc.) If you are on the FAFSA pending plan, you will not necessarily have two payments of 50 percent each.
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What types of charges will my payment plan include?
When you set up a payment plan, your payment amounts will include any charges currently posted to your student account for the term (tuition, fees, room, board, etc.). However, please note payment plans are recalculated daily and payment amounts will be adjusted as new charged are incurred (i.e. Campus Store charges, library fines, class changes, etc.). Email notification of the revised payment amounts will be sent to your student email account. It’s extremely important that you check your student email account on a regular basis. It’s one official way SFCC communicates with students.
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When will payments be deducted from my account or charged to my credit/debit card?
Payments are processed on the 5th of each month and will continue according to the schedule of payments allowed at the time you enroll in the payment plan. Email notices are sent out four days prior to any scheduled payments. It is extremely important for you to check your student email account on a regular basis!
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What if I don’t have enough money in my account to cover a payment?
If a payment plan payment is attempted by credit card and it is unsuccessful due to insufficient funds, the payment will be reattempted each day until it is successful. This may result in two payments on the same date.
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How does my financial aid affect my payment plan?
Financial aid must be transferred to your student account to be recognized as a payment for plan recalculation. Aid is transferred to your account after your attendance has been verified and all financial aid steps have been completed. Financial aid offers do not stop payments from processing through the payment plans.
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Can the Business office reschedule my payments?
No. The staff in the Business office cannot reschedule your payments.
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How do I cancel my payment plan?
Contact the Business office if you withdraw from classes and need to terminate your payment plan.
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What if I want to use a bank account or credit card that’s not mine?
If you want to use a bank account or credit card that does not belong to you, we recommend you set up the account holder as an authorized user in the Payment Center, and then have the authorized user create the payment plan. This will allow email reminders to be sent to the authorized user’s email address.
- After logging in to the Payment Center, choose the “Authorized Users” link at the top of the screen.
- Choose the “Add Authorized User” link in the middle of the screen.
- Enter the email address of the authorized user, and then choose whether or not you authorize them to see your billing statement and/or payment history.
- The authorized user receives two emails. One contains the link to the Payment Center and the next contains their password. This is the information they will need to login to the Payment Center. They do not access the Payment Center through mySFCC.
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What if my credit card or banking information changes?
If you change your credit card or banking information, you need to update your payment profile with the updated information.
- After logging in to the Payment Center, choose the “Payment Methods” link at the top of the page.
- Complete the section to “Add a New Payment Method.”
- Once the new payment method has been created, you will need to choose the “Payment Plans” link at the top of the screen, and then change the payment method attached to your scheduled payments.
- If the original payment method is no longer valid, you will need to go back to your saved payment methods and delete the incorrect method by clicking on “Delete.”
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Can I can get a text reminder about payments?
Yes. You can choose to have text messages sent to you as a reminder of upcoming payments. Your carrier may charge a fee to receive text messages if you do not have a text messaging plan.
- After logging into the Payment Center, choose the “Personal Profile” link at the top of the page.
- Complete the “Communications” section with your cell phone number and carrier.
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Are financial aid funds direct deposited?
No. We do not use the refund function through the Payment Center. If you want to receive your financial aid disbursement by direct deposit, you must complete an authorization form and return it to the Business office at least two weeks prior to the scheduled disbursement date. Authorization forms are available online and at the Business office and Financial Aid on the Sedalia campus.
