Policies and FAQs

Payment of tuition and all other fees becomes an obligation of the student at the time of registration. Students must have their accounts paid in full (with the exception of pending financial aid), or have a current monthly payment contract per our outlined payment deadlines.

According to University policy, no student may begin a new semester or term with a balance owing from previous semester or term attended. 

For more information on how to pay your bill or sign up for a payment plan, please click here!

All new students are required to complete the below items (continuing students may re-submit the forms as needed).

1. Master Promissory Note

   • Signing and completing this document is required of all students attending California Lutheran University. It indicates your promise to pay all assessed tuition and fees as a result of registration. Lack of filling out this form may result in a Business Hold being placed on your student account.

2. FERPA Authorization
   

   • Signing and completing this document is required of all students. The FERPA Act requires that we safeguard and maintain the privacy and confidentiality of all student records, which prohibits discussion of financial matters with anyone other than the student except by written consent of the student. Complete this form to tell us if you choose to allow or decline someone other than yourself (i.e. your parents, guardian, spouse, etc.) to speak with us.

3. Sign up for eRefunds
   • Please view the below dropdown titled "eRefunds" to sign-up
4. 1098-T Form Electronic Consent
   • Please view the below dropdown titled "1098-T Forms" for information and how to sign-up

If you have a credit balance on your account and would like it refunded, we can assess an electronic refund after the term's add/drop date.

How to sign up for eRefunds

1. CLUpay
2. On the CLUpay Overview page, scroll down to Sign up for direct deposit refunds!
3. Click Sign up
4. Click I agree and enter your CLU ID#
5. Follow the instructions on the screen and enter your bank account information for the bank account you would like the refund released to

What is a 1098-T Form?

The 1098-T form is intended to help students and families in determining if you are eligible for an Education Tax Credit. 1098-T forms are available on or before January 31st for the prior tax year. A college or university that received qualified tuition and related expenses on your behalf is required to file 1098-T with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

The Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997 states that educational institutions, such as Cal Lutheran, are required to file and furnish a 1098-T Form to students whose payments for qualified paid tuition and related expenses were received in the calendar year. The information being reported to the IRS verifies your enrollment with regard to certain eligibility criteria for the Hope Tax Credit, the Lifetime Learning Tax Credit, and the Higher Education Tuition and Fees Deduction. However, the enrollment information by itself does not establish eligibility for either credit or deduction.

Electronic 1098-T Form Option

To continue to promote our efforts towards sustainability and our paperless processes, Cal Lutheran is offering all students an electronic 1098-T form option for IRS federal reporting of the Education Tax Credit benefits. By consenting to receive an electronic form you will be able to view, print, and save the form via the MyCLU portal. You will not receive a paper form through the mail. Your consent will be on record until you withdraw your consent; at which time any future paper 1098-T form will be mailed to the address listed on the University’s record.

You may access your Electronic 1098-T Form via their MyCLU portal account any time after January 31st.

Benefits to receiving the Form 1098-T electronically vs. through regular postal mail:

• Online delivery provides 24/7 access to the 1098-T Form.
• Online delivery eliminates the chance that the 1098-T Form will get lost, misdirected or delayed during delivery, or misplaced once the student receives it.
• Students can receive their 1098-T Form even while traveling or on assignment away from their home address.
• Students can change their minds and withdraw from online delivery at any time by sending an email to clu1098t@CalLutheran.edu.

By not giving your consent, your 1098-T Form will be mailed to your address on file.

If you should have any questions, concerns or requests, please email to clu1098t@CalLutheran.edu.

IRS References

For more information about qualified educational expenses, please go to:
https://www.irs.gov/credits-deductions/individuals/qualified-ed-expenses 

Refer to the “Specific Instructions for Form 1098-T” section at https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i1098et.pdf for detailed information.

All students must pay in full (or sign up for a payment plan if eligible) by the outlined deadlines to avoid interest and other fees. California Lutheran University charges interest on any remaining balances at the rate of 0.83%. Interest is assessed on the first of each month.

A Business Office Hold from the Office of Student Accounts is an administrative measure assessed for student accounts for reasons including:

• Past due balance
• Returned check/payment
• Missing California Lutheran Master Promissory Note
• Return mail

Business holds prevent a student from making any registration changes and will prevent the diploma from being released.

All account balances must be paid in full in order for a business hold to be removed.

Any accepted Financial Aid (scholarships, loans, grants) will be applied to the student account per each allocated term/semester as outlined in the student’s Financial Aid portal.

Learn how to view and accept your awards

For additional Financial Aid information, please visit the Financial Aid website or contact Financial Aid at finaid@callutheran.edu, 805-493-3115.

A $35 fee is charged for any returned payments including check, ACH, and wire transfer payments. The fees apply to any returned payment made in person or online through any of our service providers (additional fees from those service providers may apply).

California Lutheran University reserves the right to withdraw students from the monthly payment plans due to two or more returned payments. Withdrawal from non-completed payment plans will result in interest charges of 0.83% assessed each month on unpaid balances, courses and housing may be canceled, and a hold will be placed on the student account. Returned payments may also result in online payment restrictions via our CLUpay portal.

Any unpaid balances will accrue interest and a hold will be placed on the student account.

Payments can be made towards a student account balance as many times as desired before the payment deadline. Learn how to make payments here

If you add or drop a class, please contact Student Accounts immediately to confirm your balance. You should review your account balance monthly to verify adjustments and contact Student Accounts with questions or changes.

Additional Information on Adding/Dropping Classes:

• If you are enrolled in a monthly payment plan, your payment plan will not automatically be adjusted if you add or drop a class.
• A $63 late registration fee is assessed for registration submitted after the add/drop date.
• California Lutheran University does not automatically drop students from a class if they register but do not attend.
• Depending on the date you drop a class, you may be financially responsible for the class depending on when you drop. Please see the Tuition Refund Schedule in the section below to view how much you may be responsible for.

Please view the Academic Services website for additional information on adding/dropping a class

If, for whatever reason a student drops, withdraw or changes their enrollment status (full-time to part-time) from California Lutheran University, they may be eligible for a prorated refund of their tuition, room, and board charges according to the appropriate schedule below.

The date of drop or withdrawal for purposes of tuition credit shall be the date on which the class was officially dropped by the registrar in Academic Services. Students who drop units or withdraw from the University are financially responsible for a reduced portion or possibly all of their tuition, room and board charges according to the Tuition Refund Schedule for their program. Financial drop or withdrawal dates used by the Student Accounts office for reduction of charges may not be the same as the academic withdrawal and drops dates used by the registrar in Academic Services. Students who receive federal financial aid are subject to a pro-rated return of federal funds if they withdraw through the 80% period of each semester.  

The calculation of the return of financial aid funds may result in the student owing a balance to the University and/or the federal government. If funds have already been released to a student because of a credit balance on the student’s account, then the student may be required to repay some of these funds.

Tuition Refund Schedule

Full-time undergraduates may take 12 to 18 units each semester for the full-time tuition flat rate. Additional units over 18 will be billed on a per credit overload basis..

California Lutheran University will provide one unit of overload tuition refund per semester, per student for the Group A courses listed below (all private and group fees still apply). In addition, California Lutheran University will provide an overload tuition refund for students registered in any of the Group B courses listed below. Tuition overload refunds will not be granted for any other coursework.

Tuition Overload Examples:

• A student has 18 units of coursework and a 2-unit Private Violin class for a total of 20 units. The student will receive one unit of tuition overload refund because they are enrolled in a class on the Group A list and will only be charge one unit of tuition overload.
• A student has 18 units of coursework and a 1-unit Private Violin lesson and 1-unit of Jazz Ensemble for a total of 20 units. The student will receive two units of tuition overload refund, one for a qualifying course in Group A and one in Group B.

A tuition deposit and housing deposit (for all students living on campus) are required for all incoming students.

Enrollment Deposit

A $500 enrollment deposit is required for all incoming students. Your enrollment deposit will be applied to your student account and deducted from your account balance during your first semester/term.

Housing Deposit

A $400 housing deposit is required when a student submits their application/contract. The deposit is required and refundable, less any damage assessments, at termination of residency and fulfillment of contract. Damage of undetermined origin will be distributed to all students in the hall. Residence Life will release the housing deposit to the student account upon completion of campus housing per contract details. Please visit the Residence Life website for additional information

Students who participate in the Employer Tuition Reimbursement program are responsible for adhering to the below policies:

• In the instance that the student's employer fails to provide 100% reimbursement, the student is responsible for paying the difference prior to their first class meeting.
• If full payment has not been received within six (6) weeks after the last day of the term, interest charges will accrue monthly on the entire unpaid balance, including charges for a current term (per our Interest policy).
• The student is not eligible to defer tuition if they have a past due balance. A hold will be placed on the student account to prevent future registrations until the balance has been paid in full. 
• If a student's employer reimbursement plan has a maximum annual limit, California Lutheran University will cancel the student's deferral once this limit is reached. The student will be responsible for payment of all tuition charges exceeding the policy limit prior to their first class meeting.
• A late transaction fee is assessed for student applications and/or employer plans that are received by the Student Accounts office after the second week of the term.

Learn more about Employer Tuition Reimbursement

At the completion of a term, any account with an outstanding balance will be placed on a pre-collection hold. A pre-collection hold prevents the student from continued enrollment or ordering a diploma. The pre-collection hold will only be removed if the outstanding balance is paid in full. Per University Policy, all outstanding balances will continue being evaluated for monthly interest and an extended billing fee is assessed.

Delinquent Student Accounts 

Student Accounts reviews all delinquent accounts and will contact students via letters, phone calls, and CLU emails. The entire outstanding balance is required to be paid in full before a student can enroll into any future classes. If the account cannot be paid in full, terms of repayment will be discussed and agreed upon between the student and the Office of Student Accounts.

Students whose accounts have a delinquent payment history will be required to pay all out-of-pocket tuition and fees, less any awarded financial aid, before being permitted to enroll into any future classes. This requirement will be valid for a minimum of two consecutive terms/semesters.

Collection Agency Accounts 

Should the efforts of the Student Accounts Office be exhausted and a student balance remains unresolved, the account will be forwarded to an outside collection agency. Once assigned to a professional collection agency, correspondence and communications to the student will come from the collection agency. Accounts in collections must pay their balance with the collection agency; we do not process collections payments in our office. Collection agencies may report delinquent accounts to all credit bureaus until the account is paid in full with the agency.

Students whose accounts have a collections history, and would like to return to Cal Lutheran after paying their balance in full with the collection agency, will be required to pay all out-of-pocket tuition and fees, less any awarded financial aid, before being permitted to enroll into any future classes. This requirement will be valid for a minimum of two consecutive terms/semesters.

Collections Coordinator Contact Information

Please contact the Collections Coordinator at California Lutheran University if you have any questions regarding your past due (delinquent or collections) account.

Make sure to include your name, CLU ID #, and use your CLU email. 

• Email: collections@callutheran.edu (Make sure to include your name and CLU ID # in any correspondence. Please also email via your CLU email.)
• Phone: (805)493-3180
• In-person by appointment:

    Office of Student Accounts

    Student Services Center

    60 W Olsen Road #1220

    Thousand Oaks, CA 91360