Student Agreement

Student Agreement Text

This Student Agreement and Acknowledgement (“Agreement”) is a legally binding agreement between the student (“Student” or, together with one or more other students, “Students”) and Emerson College (“Emerson” or the “College”).  By electronically signing/accepting this Agreement and paying tuition and fees, or having tuition and fees paid on the Student’s behalf, the Student will be permitted to enroll in and register for courses at Emerson for the applicable academic period, subject to the terms and limitations specified below and compliance with applicable College policies and standards. Please note that this Agreement does not make a promise of, nor create a right or entitlement to, any in-person instruction or services, or access to particular programs, facilities or locations. 

Financial Responsibility

It is the policy of Emerson College to provide educational programs, room and board, and extra-curricular opportunities for Students at a cost reflecting economic efficiency that is compatible with high quality. Students signing/accepting this Agreement are responsible for knowing and understanding charges and fees and for satisfying in full all amounts owed to Emerson by the published deadlines. Additional information pertaining to student accounts including tuition and explanation of fees can be accessed on our website at emerson.edu/billing.

In the case of nonpayment, the College may cancel enrollment as well as deny actions including the following:  class registration, occupancy of residential facilities, use of the College dining facilities, library use, and use of other facilities and services/activities.

Students will be charged in full for willful or careless damage, breakage, or loss of College property, including library materials.  Notice of such charges, with substantiating evidence, will be issued by the College.

Billing and Payment. Tuition, fees, and all other charges are to be covered in full (including approved loans and/or payment plans) prior to the published deadline in order for students to be officially registered (unless otherwise noted). The Office of Student Accounts generates electronic tuition statements for each of the fall and spring semesters. Payment for the summer term is due at the time of enrollment; electronic statements are not created for this term. Statements can be viewed through TouchNet by logging in as a student through eCommon, or as an Authorized User through TouchNet. Email notifications will be sent to students and their Authorized Users each time a new tuition statement has been uploaded.

• Fall semester statements are available in late June and are due by the deadline published on your billing statement and the Emerson College Student Accounts website.
• Spring semester statements are available in November and due by the deadline published on your billing statement and the Emerson College Student Accounts website.
• Non-credit and non-degree course statements and bills are available on the Emerson Professional Studies website, and are due prior to the first day of the course.
• Pre-College statements are available after the deposit and are due by the deadline published on our billing statement and the Emerson College Student Accounts website. Once statements are available for payment, students will receive an email notification.

Payments can be made online, via mail, in person, and by wire transfer. In addition to electronic checking and savings account payments, the College accepts MasterCard, VISA, and American Express via TouchNet. A 2.75% convenience fee will be charged for any payments made via credit card for tuition and fees.

The College reserves the right to change tuition rates or fees at its discretion, whenever it is determined advisable.

Deferred Payment Plans. Student account balances are payable to the College prior to the beginning of each semester, as billed. Students wishing to pay their account balance in monthly installments may do so by participating in the TouchNet Payment Plan through the online billing site. Arrangements for monthly payment plans must be made prior to the published payment deadline.

Pre-College students who are interested in enrolling in a payment plan must contact Student Accounts by emailing bills [at] emerson.edu ( )title="Email Billing & Student Accounts"

Tuition and Fees. For full-time Students, i.e., those registered between 12 and 16 credits a term, one-half of the academic year’s tuition is charged for the fall term and one-half for the spring term.  Part-time Students and those enrolled for more than 16 credits will be billed on a per-credit basis.  Non-credit and Pre-College Students will be billed on a flat fee basis. All payments for tuition and fees made with a credit card online through TouchNet will be assessed a 2.75% convenience fee.

Credit Balances on Student Accounts. Credit balance refunds are available to Students who have overpaid their accounts. To request a credit balance refund, log into your eCommon account at emerson.edu/students/billing. Credit balance refunds are granted to enrolled Students only when a credit balance exists on a student’s account. Please note that no refunds may be issued based on an anticipated credit balance (e.g., financial aid not yet disbursed). A credit balance must exist prior to the refund request. The College’s policy is that the Office of Student Accounts will typically process an eligible credit balance refund within two Fridays after the date on which the request is received. Non-credit and non-degree students have access to their credit balances via the Emerson Professional Studies student web portal.

Refund Policy for Tuition and Fees

Fall and Spring Tuition. Tuition or fee payments will not be refunded, in whole or in part, for any reason, unless Students meet the conditions for a refund specified in this Agreement. Except as noted below, tuition refunds are made only to Students who have officially filed for a leave of absence or withdrawal from the College as follows for regular, full-term courses.

• During the first two weeks of classes: 80% refund of tuition
• During the third week: 60% refund of tuition
• During the fourth week: 40% refund of tuition
• During the fifth week: 20% refund of tuition

After the fifth week: No refund is made

For Speech@Emerson seven-week terms, tuition refunds are made only to Students who have officially filed for a leave of absence or withdrawal from the College as follows:

• Before the first day of classes: 100% refund
• Before the second day of classes: 75% refund
• Before the third day of classes: 50% refund

Starting the third day of classes, there is no refund for the seven-week term.

Spring, Summer, and Fall for Non-Credit Courses:

• Prior to the first scheduled date of any course/workshop: 100% refund 
• After one (1) or two (2) sessions of a course/workshop with three (3) or more sessions: 50% refund. No refund thereafter.
• No refund for dropping a one (1) or two (2) session course/workshop after the first session has met.
• Summer online courses with no set schedule follow the published refund schedule, which are available at the Summer Term page of the Registrar's Office Website for refund policy purposes. Fall and Spring online asynchronous courses follow the refund schedule mentioned above under "Fall and Spring Tuition" (80% refund during the first two weeks, 60% refund the third week, etc).

For Pre-College, if you withdraw from the program three weeks before the program start you will NOT be charged for the full cost of the program; however, the initial $500.00 deposit is non-refundable and will be forfeited. Withdrawal between two to three weeks before the start of the program will result in a forfeiture of 30% of the total fee plus the $500.00 non-refundable deposit. All remaining money paid will be refunded. Refunds will not be issued for withdrawal a week before the program starts.

In order to take a leave of absence or withdraw, a student must follow the process on the College’s website, which involves meeting with the Office of Student Success to discuss the leave or withdrawal process and options. The student will complete the Leave of Absence/Withdrawal Request form online. The LOA or WD request will be reviewed and processed through the Emerson College’s Office of Student Success, Office of Financial Aid, Office of Student Accounts, and the Registrar’s Office.  The student will receive email confirmation once the leave or withdrawal has been fully processed by all offices. The leave of absence / withdrawal policy does not apply to non-credit, non-degree, and pre-college students.

No tuition refund is available when withdrawal of a Student from classes or on-campus is required by College authorities, or when a Student withdraws from a course with a WP or WF grade.

Summer Tuition. Students may drop summer courses online for a full refund prior to the first day of class. If the summer session has started but the course has not yet met, Students cannot drop the course online but may drop the course for a full refund of charges by visiting the Registrar’s Office or emailing registrar [at] emerson.edu. If the course has met once, Students are eligible for a 75% refund.  If the course has met twice, Students are eligible for a 50% refund. If a course has met three times or more, Students are not eligible to drop the course or obtain a refund; they may withdraw from the course but remain responsible for tuition and fees in full. Partial refunds for online asynchronous courses (online courses without a set schedule), follow a refund schedule set by the registrar. Visit the Summer Term page for asynchronous course refund dates and refund policies. Students are not eligible for tuition refunds when their withdrawal from classes or on-campus activities is required by College authorities, or when a Student withdraws from a course with a WP or WF grade. Non-degree students must submit a drop request via the Professional Studies student web portal. Pre-College students who want to withdraw from their program or have questions about their classes must contact precollege [at] emerson.edutitle="Email Emerson Pre-College".

Room and Board Fees. Prorated room and board credit adjustments are made to students living in on-campus housing who file an official withdrawal or leave of absence prior to the published leave/withdrawal deadline and have officially vacated their room. Room and board credit adjustments are based on the date the student completes the housing check-out process, including return of key. Any refunds for the fall, spring, or summer terms will be processed by the Office of Student Accounts upon receipt of a completed leave or withdrawal form and, for students living in on-campus housing, confirmation that the housing check-out process has been completed. No room and board credit adjustment is available when withdrawal of a Student from classes or on-campus is required by College authorities, or when a Student withdraws from a course with a WP or WF grade.

Student Services Fee. Mandatory student fees are assessed to Students each term and are nonrefundable, regardless of whether the Student completes the full academic year or a given term at the College.  The Student Services Fee provides supplemental financial support for a number of student programs and services.  Regardless of how the fee is scheduled or originally budgeted to correspond to any particular program or service, the College reserves the right to redirect funds and expand or restrict the use of particular categories of funds as it sees fit without notice.  Regardless of the category of service or activity associated with a particular fee, the service or activity may not occur in the semester for which the fee is assessed.  Payment of the Student Services Fee does not guarantee or entitle any person access to any specific facility, activity, location, or service, whether in-person or remote.

Financial Aid. Students must promptly report in writing to Emerson College’s Office of Financial Aid should they adjust the number of credits for which they are enrolled, or should they change their housing status. Any changes in enrollment or on-campus housing may directly impact a Student’s financial aid eligibility. Federal Financial assistance can only be applied towards courses that are required for an Emerson College degree program. When Students choose to take courses that do not count towards their degree program progression, those courses are not eligible for federal aid and the Students’ aid awards will be adjusted accordingly.

A Student’s assistance package (financial aid award) is not automatically renewable in future years. Students must abide by all financial aid deadlines for document and application submission each academic year. Emerson College reserves the right to make necessary changes to a Student’s assistance package at any time for any reason.

Financial aid is not available for non-credit, non-degree and pre-college students.

Policies and Rules. Other College policies and rules are set forth on the College’s website and in materials provided by the College. By signing/accepting below, Students acknowledge that they have access to these materials and will familiarize themselves with and abide by the policies and rules in those materials, including, but not limited to, policies located on the Emerson policies webpage, policies related to Housing and Residential Education, the Code of Community Standards, and the Student Handbook, which can be accessed at https://emerson.edu/departments/student-affairs/student-handbook.

Student questions related to policies can be directed to the office overseeing the policy, or to the Office of Community Standards atcommunitystandards [at] emerson.edu ( .)title="Contact Emerson Community standards"

Reservation of Rights

Emerson reserves the right to revise, add, or delete courses and programs; alter the total number of class hours; suspend, cancel, or postpone classes and programs; and/or alter the modality of courses and programs, including by transitioning between in-person and remote learning for any reason including, but not limited to, the following: an epidemic, pandemic, extreme weather, natural or man-made disaster, acts or threatened acts of terrorism or war, government orders or restrictions, other health or safety emergencies, and/or other force majeure events beyond Emerson’s control.

Entire Agreement

This Agreement constitutes the entire agreement between Emerson and Student with respect to the topics herein.  It supersedes all prior or contemporaneous representations, proposals, communications and negotiations, both oral and written.  This Agreement may be changed only by written agreement signed by the authorized representative of the party against whom enforcement is sought.

THIS AGREEMENT IS A LEGALLY BINDING CONTRACT WHEN ELECTRONICALLY SIGNED OR ACCEPTED BY THE STUDENT.