3332-1-10. Tuition and fees

(A) Tuition

(1) Each school must establish a total tuition charge for each program of instruction and the tuition charge must be applied uniformly to all students. This requirement does not apply to group tuition rates to business firms, industry, or governmental agencies that are documented by written agreements between the school and the respective organization. All possible tuition or fee increase policies that may affect a student before their expected graduation date must be set forth in the student's enrollment agreement.

(2) Any additional fees for activities, books, equipment (to be purchased or rented), or room and board shall be stated separately on the school's enrollment agreement and in the school catalog.

(B) Other fees:

(1) A school may charge an application, enrollment or registration fee of not more than fifteen per cent of the total tuition charge for the program or one hundred and twenty-five dollars, whichever is the lesser. This fee is refundable only under the provisions of paragraph (F)(1) of this rule.

(2) All other fees including fees for activities, equipment, books, laboratory supplies, graduation expenses, and room and board must be set forth on the school's enrollment agreement and uniformly applied. Administrative, academic, general supply and any other general fees are considered refundable fees and are refundable in the same manner as a school's tuition. Fees for books or other specifically designated school supply items are refundable in the manner prescribed by rule 3332-1-10.1 of the Administrative Code.

(3)

(C) Collecting tuition and fees

(1) All schools must collect and assess tuition and fees as follows:

(a) Credit hours - for programs organized on a credit hour basis, schools may collect and financially obligate students for tuition and fees for a maximum of one quarter or semester. Any student loans or other financial aid funds received by a school must collected and disbursed in accordance with paragraph (D) of this rule.

(b) Clock hours - for programs organized on a clock hour basis, unless otherwise specifically approved by the board in writing, schools may collect and financially obligate students for tuition and fees for a maximum of three hundred clock hours or six months of instruction at a time, and may not collect or financially obligate students for tuition and fees for the next three hundred hour or six-month segment until it begins. Any student loans or other financial aid funds received by a school must collected and disbursed in accordance with paragraph (D) of this rule.

(D) Student loans and financial aid

(1) Student loans or other financial aid funds received from federal, state, or local governments or administered under the federal student financial assistance programs governed by Title IV of the "Higher Education Act of 1965," 20 U.S.C.A. 1070 et seq., as amended, must be collected and applied in the manner as controlled by the applicable federal, state, or local regulations.

(2) Student loans or other financial aid funds received from private entities including, but not limited to, banks, financing companies, credit card companies, and other lending sources must be collected or disbursed in the following manner:

(a) Loans or other financing payments for amounts less than five thousand dollars may be disbursed as a single disbursement, regardless of course length.

(b) Loans or other financing payments for amounts greater than five thousand dollars that reflect a class term less than six months must have two equal disbursements. The disbursement schedule is as follows: one-half of the tuition amount released initially, and the remainder released half way through the course term.

(c) Loans or other financing payments for amounts greater than five thousand dollars that reflect a class term greater than six months, but less than twelve months must have three equal disbursements. The disbursement schedule is as follows: one-third of the tuition amount released initially, the second disbursement will be released one-third of the way through the length of the training, and the remainder released two-thirds of the way through the course term.

(d) Loans of other financing payments for amounts greater than five thousand dollars that reflect a class term greater than twelve months must have four equal disbursements. The disbursement schedule is as follows: one-quarter of the tuition amount released initially, the second disbursement will be released one-quarter of the way through the length of the training, the third disbursement will be released half way through the length of the training, and the remainder will be released three-fourths of the way through the training.

(3) No school may enter into any contract or agreement with, or receive any money from, private entities including, but not limited to, banks, financing companies, credit card companies, and other any other private lending sources unless the private entity has a disbursement policy that, at a minimum, meets the requirements of paragraph (D)(2) of this rule.

(E) Tuition charges and other fees cannot be discounted. Discounting is not necessarily limited to the following examples:

(1) Offering a student applicant a lower tuition rate if payment is made before a certain date.

(2) Offering an incentive of lower tuition to a student for aiding in the recruitment of other potential or actual students.

(3) Allowing a student to work at the school in lieu of tuition payments or a lower tuition payment.

(4) Offering lower tuition for payment in cash.

(5) Offering lower tuition when other members of a student's family attends the school.

(6) The tuition discounting prohibition shall not apply to tuition discounts provided to employees or members of an employee's family where the discount is available to all similarly situated employees and their families.

(F) Uniform tuition refund policy.

(1) An enrollment agreement or school application may be canceled within five calendar days after the date of signing provided the school is notified of the cancellation in writing. The school shall promptly refund in full all tuition and fees paid pursuant to the enrollment agreement or school application. Such refund shall be made no later than thirty days after cancellation. This provision shall not apply where a student has already started classes.

(2) The state refund policy as set forth in this rule must be uniformly applied to all students, unless the use of local, federal or state financial aid funds mandates the use of the refund policy required by another governmental entity. Schools may use a refund policy that is different from the policy required by this rule if the proposed refund policy is uniformly applied in that school and is more favorable to students and has been approved in writing by the board.

(3) The refund policy of each registered school must be identified and printed on the enrollment agreement and in the school's catalog.

(4) Schools are not required to take daily attendance. However, if a schools does not take daily attendance it must develop an alternative method to accurately determine a student's last date of attendance for refund purposes and this alternative method must be approved by the board in writing.

(5) Refunds shall be made within thirty days after the school has determined that a student has withdrawn unless another refund period is mandated by the use of state or federal financial aid funds. If a student ceases attending school but does not officially notify the school of their withdrawal, the school must treat the student as withdrawn within sixty days of the student's last date of attendance or participation in an academic activity.

(6) A student's withdrawal date used to calculate refunds shall be the student's last date of attendance and participation in an academic activity unless another method for calculating withdrawal dates has been approved by the board in accordance with paragraph (F)(4) of this rule. A school may not require that notice of withdrawal be in writing, on or in any particular form, or delivered in any specific manner.

(7) Schools must complete a refund calculation for each student who officially withdraws, is dismissed, or otherwise ceases attending and a record of the refund calculation must be kept in the student's file. If it is determined that a student is owed a refund the refund must be issued in accordance with paragraph (F)(5) of this rule. If it is determined that that a student is not due a refund, the student must be notified of the determination in writing, within sixty days of the student's last date of attendance, and a full explanation must be made to the student. Any correspondence or other communication dealing with refunds shall be kept in a student's permanent records.

(8) Schools may not assess any additional fees associated with a student's withdrawal or termination from school.

(9) Schools that collect and financially obligate students for tuition charges in individual courses within a program may use a separate courses refund policy if the policy is uniformly applied and approved in writing by the board.

(10) Schools may develop separate refund polices for determining refunds where students withdraw from individual courses during an academic term but remain enrolled in other courses at the school.

(11) If a student stops attending classes and is placed on a leave of absence in lieu of a withdrawal from school, the school must document the nature of the leave of absence and the date the leave of absence ends. No leave of absence may exceed six months unless otherwise approved in writing by the board. A student who fails to return to school at the end of a leave of absence shall be formally withdrawn from the school and any refund of tuition and fees shall be issued in accordance with the last date of a student's attendance in class or participation in an academic activity.

(12) State refund policy for programs organized on a credit hour basis.

(a) A student who starts class and withdraws during the first full calendar week of the quarter or semester shall be obligated for twenty-five per cent of the tuition and refundable fees for that academic term plus the registration fee.

(b) A student who withdraws during the second full calendar week of the academic term shall be obligated for fifty per cent of the tuition and refundable fees for that academic term plus the registration fee.

(c) A student who withdraws during the third full calendar week of the period academic term shall be obligated for seventy-five per cent of the tuition and refundable fees for that academic term plus the registration fee.

(d) A student who officially withdraws beginning with the fourth full calendar week of the academic term will not be entitled to a refund of any portion of the tuition or refundable fees.

(13) State refund policy for programs organized on a clock hour basis:

(a) All clock hour programs that exceed three hundred clock hours must be broken into academic terms in accordance with paragraph (F)(11)(b) of this rule and as approved by the board. The number of clock hours in each academic term must be set forth on the school's enrollment agreement. Each academic term shall constitute a separate refund period.

(b) For programs operating on a clock hour basis, programs of three hundred to six hundred hours will be considered equivalent to two academic terms and, therefore, shall be divided by two. Programs of six hundred to nine hundred clock hours shall be considered to be equivalent to three academic terms and shall be divided by three. Programs that are more than nine hundred hours but that are normally completed in less than one calendar year shall be divided by four. Programs that are normally completed in more than one year shall consider the clock hours scheduled in the second year as new academic terms and those clock hours occurring in the second year shall be divided in accordance with this paragraph.

(c) Refunds in clock hour programs shall be made for each academic term in accordance with the following procedures:

(i) A student who starts class and withdraws before the academic term is fifteen per cent completed will be obligated for twenty-five per cent of the tuition and refundable fees for the current academic term plus the registration fee.

(ii) A student who starts class and withdraws after the academic term is fifteen per cent complete but before the academic term is twenty-five per cent completed will be obligated for fifty per cent of the tuition and refundable fees for the current academic term plus the registration fee.

(iii) A student who starts class and withdraws after the academic term is twenty-five per cent complete but before the academic term is forty per cent completed will be obligated for seventy-five per cent of the tuition and refundable fees for the current academic term plus the registration fee.

(iv) A student who starts class and withdraws after the academic term is forty per cent completed will not be entitled to a refund of the tuition and fees for the current academic term.

(G) In the case of documented student illness or accident, death in the family, or other circumstances beyond the control of the student, the student may be entitled to special consideration and the school may settle the account for an amount which is less than that called for by the school's established policy.

(H) Schools that have their program authorization revoked for cause for any specific program shall provide students enrolled in the program at the time of revocation who have not completed the program and who are unable to complete the program at another institution, the opportunity to receive a refund of all tuition and fees paid for the program. Any refund of tuition and fees under this provision shall first be made to the applicable student aid lenders of each affected student.

(I) Collection procedures used by the school must be consistent with the laws and rules applicable thereto.

Effective: 2/15/2019
Five Year Review (FYR) Dates: 1/4/2021
Promulgated Under: 119.03
Statutory Authority: 3332.031
Rule Amplifies: 3332.031
Prior Effective Dates: 01/01/1978, 04/16/1990 (Emer.), 07/12/1990, 07/01/1991, 10/14/1994, 04/17/2000, 04/02/2001, 10/01/2002, 10/15/2003, 01/02/2007, 06/02/2008, 11/01/2011, 01/04/2016