Tuition and fee assessments are based on the student’s Illinois residency status, college and curriculum of enrollment, and amount of credit for which the student registers. Credit is organized by “ranges” (e.g. Range I for fall and spring terms is twelve or more hours), and the amount of tuition and fee assessments may vary by range of enrollment. For example, if a student registers for fewer than six hours in fall or spring terms, or less than three hours in summer, certain fees would not be assessed. And in that case, the student would not have access to the services associated with those fees.
In addition to tuition, certain courses carry a fee to cover instructional costs. These fees may apply to computer equipment and usage, laboratory equipment and supplies, musical instruments for practice, and similar instructional costs. Instructional fees are noted in the Class Schedule and assessed along with tuition and other fees.
The Office of Admissions and Records Web site contains complete information about tuition and fees assessment, current fee structures, and which services are supported by specific fees.
The University E-Bill system reflects all charges incurred and credited to a student’s account. These charges may include tuition, fees, instructional fees, University Housing charges, parking tickets, library fines, emergency loans, and credits from financial aid sources, scholarships, and payments.
Students are notified by e-mail (to their University e-mail account) when E-bills are posted. Students with questions about their accounts should contact the Office of Student Accounts and Cashiers at 333-2180. Complete information about E-bills can be found at https://epay.uillinois.edu/ebills.html.
A student’s assessment of tuition and fees may be adjusted for a number of reasons, including changing the number of hours of registration, cancelling registration, or withdrawing from the University. Because tuition and fee assessments are based on the hours of credit organized by “ranges”, adding or dropping classes could result in a student moving from one range to another, which would result in either an increase or decrease in the assessment.
If a student reduces course enrollments to a lower assessment range (e.g., from Range I to Range II), the student may be eligible for a refund.
Refund policies vary depending on the action taken by the student and when the action is taken. Before any refund is made to the student, the University must make a refund to the appropriate financial aid programs providing assistance to the student. If the student is indebted to the University at the time of withdrawal or when they are due a refund, the amount owed is deducted from the amount of any refund available. Students should be aware of details and specific dates, which can be found on the Refund Schedule.
If a student wishes to cancel registration and avoid payment of tuition and fee charges, the student must complete a Withdrawal/Cancellation form (PDF) and submit it before 5:00 p.m. on the last business day before the first day of instruction of the term (including requests by mail). Cancellation of registration is only permitted if a student has not attended classes and has not used any University services. If cancellation is approved, all tuition and fee charges are removed from the account for that term. A student must obtain permission from their departmental office, the Graduate College, and International Student and Scholar Services (international students only) before depositing the Withdrawal/Cancellation form at the Records Services Center of the Office of Admissions and Records.
A student who wishes to drop all courses after the cancellation deadline whether enrolled for one or more, must withdraw from the University for that semester. Students withdrawing from the University are refunded on a pro-rata basis until a specified date in the semester after which no refund is available. No portion of the health insurance fee or health service fee is refundable. Students who withdraw continue to be covered by health insurance and are eligible to receive health services (if these fees were paid) until the first day of instruction for the next term. The withdrawal refund policy contains more details.
Special refund policies apply to those who withdraw to enter active duty in the armed forces or other approved national defense service. See the complete policy, Rule 3-314 of the Student Code.
Tuition Waiver Policy stipulates the guidelines for waivers associated with assistantship appointments and fellowship and traineeship appointments. For the complete policy, see the Tuition Waiver Policy.
Waiver-generating appointments are defined as assistantship appointments (see chapter VIII.A.2) ranging from 25 percent through 67 percent time (based on a forty-hour week) for three-quarters of the term, defined as the period starting on the first day of classes and ending on the last day of final examinations. Three quarters of the term is defined for spring and fall as 91 days and as 41 days for the summer term. Waiver-generating assistantship appointments provide either a waiver of full tuition or waiver of base-rate tuition, depending upon the curriculum in which the student is enrolled.
A waiver-generating fellowship or traineeship provides a living allowance of at least $3,000 per semester and requires no services in return (see chapter VIII.B).
Waiver-generating fellowship appointments provide a waiver of all tuition assessed, regardless of whether the student's program is full or base-rate for assistantship waiver purposes. All waiver-generating appointments also waive the service fee, the health service fee, the Academic Facilities Maintenance Fund Assessment (AFMFA) fee and the Library/Technology fee. They also provide vision insurance, dental insurance, and partial payment of the health insurance fee.
Other provisions of the tuition waiver policy include:
Current tax law exempts teaching assistants (TAs), research assistants (RAs), and most fellows from having to pay taxes on the value of waivers of tuition and selected fees associated with these appointments. Some students holding graduate assistantships (GAs) or pre-professional graduate assistantships (PGAs) may be required to pay taxes on tuition and fee waivers that exceed a value of $5,250. Students receiving waivers associated with GA or PGA appointments will receive information from the Payroll Office to assist in determining what portion, if any, of the waiver should be considered taxable income and whether or not it will be necessary to withhold additional taxes from these students' paychecks. See the policy on Taxability of Tuition and Fee Waivers Associated with Assistantship and Fellowship Appointments for more information. For information about the taxability of stipends, see chapter VIII.B.4.