Frequently Asked Questions - Student Accounts

 

Who should I contact with questions on a student account?

You are welcome to call us during normal business hours of Monday-Friday from 8:00 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Please also feel free to email us with any questions. Please see our names, contact information, and a bit about what areas we are responsible for on the Accounting Office overview page.

 

Who is responsible for handling the Covenant College financial account?

At Covenant College, students are considered the primary parties responsible for managing their college financial affairs. In the past, the College may have assumed that students’ parents were the primary responsible parties. However, recent changes in federal privacy laws, coupled with an ever-increasing variety of parental/child relationships, have led the College to focus on the students when communicating issues regarding their college finances. This has proven to be the most effective way for the College to contact the party most interested in ensuring that financial issues do not impede academic progress.

 

Under federal law, may a student delegate authority to a parent or others?

Yes. A student may designate a parent or other individual as having authority to receive information from the college regarding financial or other matters. The student simply completes the Release of Information form and mails or delivers it to the Office of Records. This form will remain in force until revoked by the student. Without this form, the college may not legally discuss or provide information to anyone other than the student.

 

How does a student manage his/her personal financial account at Covenant?

The key is learning to access the Banner system. Covenant College utilizes an integrated college information system called Banner. The Banner system connects a number of information processes that are important to a student’s academic program at Covenant. These include:

• Registration (class schedule)
• Student Records (grades, transcripts, and financial account)
• Financial Aid (financial aid applications, status, awards, and other information).

 

Will parents or students receive a mailed statement of the balance due?

No. All information is available online (and is updated daily). The most effective way for students to manage their account is to access the balance due online. Your student can set you up as a proxy so that you can view their account 24/7. To avoid late payments, students should check their accounts after major changes to class schedules, board, or meal plans, or at least each month prior to the finance charge deadline. We also send out “e-bills” around the first business day of each month, which automatically goes to the student’s Covenant email address. If the student wishes to add a relative or other party’s email address, that can be done in the Records office.

To check your current account balance, click below.
On-Demand E-Bill Request

 

Sometimes parents are really the ones who pay the bills. How will they get the information they need to pay the bill on a timely basis?

We send out electronic bills or “e-bills” via email around the first business day of every month. An electronic bill is available on demand by submitting this online form with the student’s Banner ID and the e-bill address on file. The system will generate a PDF file of the student account and will send it via e-mail. In addition to this method, a student can provide parents with a copy of these instructions and their Banner User ID and six-digit PIN. Parents can then access the student account directly in the Banner system on a regular basis or when new charges have been added that could affect the balance due.

 

What if neither the student nor the parents pay the balance due by the end of each month?

To encourage students and parents from delaying payments for classes and other services when due, the College charges a late payment fee of 1.17% per month on the unpaid balance as of 4:00 p.m. on the monthly deadline.

 

How does my student receive tax notification forms?

1098T forms and W2 forms are produced annually around the first of February, and these tax notification forms are placed in the student’s mailbox here on campus. After the student leaves Covenant, these forms are mailed to their permanent address in our system. While we cannot reprint a 1098T form, the information is available online on the student’s Banner account.

 

If I mail a check, when will it be deposited at the bank and posted to the student account?

We do not hold checks in our office – on the day we receive a check in the mail or in our office, we take it to the bank, and post the payment amount to the student account. Please check the student’s Banner account after 4:30 p.m. each day to see the charges and payments posted during that day.

 

Is there a fee to pay a bill with a wire transfer?

Yes, there is a $45 charge to do a wire transfer.

 

How do you bill state prepaid tuition plans such as Florida, Alabama, etc.?

After the first week of classes, we bill these tuition plans for the appropriate students with a listing of the credit hours they are enrolled in. In order for us to do this, the student MUST have added the state tuition plan to their “Privacy Release form” in the Records office. Since there is always a delay between when we bill these states and when we receive the payments, we remove the finance charges relative to the amount of tuition being received from one of these plans.

 

When is the bill due for my student?

We do not require you to pre-pay at the beginning of the semester. You are welcome to take the entire semester to pay off the account, however, please keep in mind that you will be billed a finance charge of 1.17% on the last business day of each month on any unpaid balance. If your student has student employment earnings, the paychecks are posted to their accounts as the hours are worked. All balances must be paid before registering for the next semester – for example, a fall tuition balance must be paid before the student arrives in the spring for the next semester.

 

Why is there an accounting hold on my student’s account?

We put a hold on the student accounts that prevents them from registering, viewing grades, or requesting transcripts, until the prior semester is paid off in full.

 

Why can’t I see the enrollment deposit on my student’s account?

Your student is required to pay an enrollment deposit each academic year before March 15 in order to pre-register for the next semester. Once you pay the deposit, it is not visible on the student’s Banner account until fall semester charges are posted in early August.

 

How will my student be paid for student employment?

If your student was awarded an employment contract or Federal Work Study, paychecks go directly to the student's bank account via direct deposit. Student paychecks are issued semi-monthly (mid-month and end of month). Please contact Human Resources regarding direct deposit enrollment.