Tuition and Fees

The amounts shown in this section are provided to better assist students in assessing the cost of enrolling at the University of Houston-Downtown. While this information is intended to be comprehensive, tuition and fees are subject to change without notice by action of the Texas Legislature and/or the Board of Regents of the University of Houston System. Students are responsible for any additional amounts due to UHD, including changes to any fees and waivers, resulting from audits and corrections, such as registration assessment errors, or schedule changes resulting in additional charges. For current information on tuition and fees refer to the table online at http://www.uhd.edu/cashiers/tuition_fees.html.

Residency Status for Tuition Purposes

Residency status is determined in accordance with Rules and Regulations for Determining Residency Status, published by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board and pursuant to Title 3, Texas Education Code. Applicants provide residency information in the Application for Admission.

If the information provided is insufficient, UHD will classify the applicant as non-resident and request additional information. As a UHD student, you must establish both Texas residency and US residency in order to pay in-state tuition. If the student has been classified as a nonresident, the student may be required to show proof of either Texas or US residency, or both. If you are a first time student at UHD or it is your first semester as a transfer student you must go to the Admissions Office to request a change in residency status along with all supporting documentation. If you have established any academic history at UHD, you must request a residency reclassification form and provide all supporting documentation to the Registrar’s Office.

The burden of proof lies with the applicant that the residency requirements have been met for UHD to consider reclassification. Residency appeals must be submitted with all appropriate documentation by the Official Day of Record of the current semester. See University Academic Calendar  for dates.

Tuition for Excessive Undergraduate Hours

Newly enrolled undergraduate students may be charged a tuition rate not to exceed that charged to nonresidents, if they are a resident of Texas and the number of hours required for completion of their undergraduate degree is in excess by at least 30 hours. Details on this law are available from the Office of Student Services and Enrollment Management, Suite 380-South.

Auditing Courses

To audit a course is to enroll in a course on a noncredit basis. Audit students pay the regular tuition and all other applicable fees as set for the current academic year. Senior citizens 65 years or over may be eligible for an exemption of tuition for an audited course on a space-available basis. A change to credit status may not be made after the student has registered to audit a course. Changes from credit status to audit status in a course must be made prior to the end of the Official Day of Record. A Request to Audit form must be processed in the Registrar’s Office by the Official Day of Record for the appropriate term along with Instructor approval. Students wishing to audit courses should contact the Registrar’s Office for further details. http://www.uhd.edu/registrar/students.html.

Texas Rebate Program

As authorized by Texas Education Code (Section 54.0065), any student who enrolled for the first time since fall 1997 for their first baccalaureate degree from a Texas public university may be eligible for a rebate of a portion of their undergraduate tuition up to $1,000. To be eligible, a student must complete his/her degree with no more than three hours attempted in excess of the minimum number of semester credit hours required to complete the degree, including transfer credits. The form to apply for this rebate can be found at the following online location: https://www.uhd.edu/student-resources/cashiers/Pages/cashiers-forms.aspx.

A student must wait until after the end of their final semester to submit this form to the Registrar’s Office. The form will be forwarded to the various departments listed on the form for review and approval. The final review and processing will be done by the Student Accounting department.

Fees

In addition to tuition, all students are subject to the following mandatory fees; Center Fee, Student Service Fee, International Education Fee, Incidental Fee, Records Office Fee, Extended Access & Support Fee, Advising Fee and Library Fee. These amounts can be found in the Tuition & Fee tables online at http://www.uhd.edu/cashiers/tuition_fees.html. Some courses and services also require additional fees:

*For students who initially enrolled in any institution of higher education from the fall1999 semester through summer 2006, this fee applies to attempted hours that exceed 45 beyond their degree program’s maximum. For students initially enrolling in the fall 2006 semester, this fee applies to attempted hours that exceed 30 beyond their degree program’s maximum.

The university reserves the right to change tuition, other charges, and related requirements and regulations as necessitated by Board of Regents or legislative action.

Fall 2016 Undergraduate Tuition and Mandatory Fees

All fees are subject to change without notice.

The Fall 2016tuition rate for Texas resident students is $202.50 per semester credit hour and for nonresident students the rate is $610.50 per semester credit hour.

Mandatory fees also vary according to the number of semester credit hours a student is taking.

In addition to nonresident tuition and fees, international students also pay an international student service fee of $45 per long semester. Student health insurance is also required for each semester. Students purchasing health insurance in the spring semester are covered through the summer and need not purchase the insurance again for any summer semester. Students attending summer sessions but who did not attend or pay for health insurance in the spring semester must purchase health insurance for the summer.

The university reserves the right to change tuition, other charges, and related requirements and regulations as necessitated by the Board of Regents or legislative action.

Method of Payment

Students shall be provided with two alternative methods of payment of tuition and mandatory fees for each semester for which they are enrolled.

• Full payment of all tuition and mandatory fees prior to the beginning of the semester, or
• Installment Plan

Fall and Spring semesters - Up to seven equal payments with the first payment plus a $24 or $16 installment fee (depending on plan option) to be made in advance of the beginning of the semester, the remaining payments to be made monthly, and the final payment to be made before the last day of the semester. There will be a $10 late fee added for each installment payment not received by the due date and a $50 default fee added for any remaining balance at the end of the semester.

Summer semesters - Up to three equal payments with the first payment plus a $24 or $16 installment fee (depending on plan option) to be made in advance of the beginning of the summer term and the final payment to be made before the last day of the term. There will be a $10 late fee added for each installment payment not received by the due date.

May/Winter Mini semesters- Up to two equal payments with the first payment plus a $16 installment fee to be made in advance of the beginning of the term and the final payment to be made before the last day of the term. There will be a $10 late fee added for each installment payment not received by the due date.

Installment payment plans are available at the Cashier’s Office or online through Student e-Services under the My Payment option. Enrollment in an installment payment plan is equivalent to acknowledgement of financial responsibility for the semester. Students are only eligible for one installment plan option per semester. Once the installment plan is executed for the semester, it cannot be altered. Any charges incurred after the execution of the installment plan are due immediately, Additional charges that are incurred and not paid in full with the next installment are subject to being assessed a $10 late fee.

Payment may be made by cash, check or credit card. Payment may be made in person, by mail, online (credit/debit card or echeck) or through the payment drop box located in the hall next to the cashier’s office on the third floor of the One Main Building. Credit card payment (Visa, MasterCard, American Express, or Discover) may be made over the web via UHD’s Student e-services (www.uhd.edu) or by fax to 713-223-7437 (authorization form available at (https://www.uhd.edu/student-resources/cashiers/Pages/cashiers-forms.aspx). Please remember that mailed payments must be received by the posted payment deadlines to avoid having classes dropped or late fees assessed. UHD does not receive mail on Saturday, so payments must be received by Friday for Saturday deadlines.

The University of Houston System charges a processing fee on all credit card transactions. The processing fee is assessed on all credit card brands. The processing fee imposed is not greater than the University’s applicable merchant discount rate for credit card transactions.

The credit card processing fee is assessed to Credit Cards, Debit Cards, Gift Cards, PrePaid Cards, and Check Cards. This fee is assessed on all credit card transactions that occur online or in person at the Cashier’s Office.

Health Insurance fees shall be paid prior to the beginning of the semester.

Most financial aid awards will be credited to your account automatically once processing is completed and you are registered for the same number of hours for which you are awarded. It is the student’s responsibility to check their account statement to ensure that their funds have been posted to their account before the payment deadline and that 100% of their tuition and fee charges are paid to secure enrollment. If financial aid has not been posted or does not cover 100% of the term charges, the student must make the payment or other arrangements with the Cashier’s Office or online by the deadline to avoid enrollment cancellation. Student account statements can be viewed through UHD’s Student e-services (www.uhd.edu), My Payment option.

Students receiving financial aid equal to, or in excess of, the total amount of tuition and fees prior to the beginning of the semester may not participate in the installment plan. The full payment of tuition and fees for the semester in which they are enrolled must be made upon issuance of that semester’s financial aid funds before any excess amounts will be refunded.

Withdrawal from the university, for whatever reason, will not cancel the obligation to pay the full amount of the installment plan. If the amount of tuition and fees credited as a result of withdrawal is less than the remaining balance of an installment plan, the balance remaining is still the obligation of the student. If the credited amount is more than the balance of an installment plan, the remaining credit will be refunded to the student.

Any student who has elected to pay tuition and fees by installment, and who is delinquent in making payment by the final installment due date, is barred from registering at any institution in the University of Houston System until full payment, including delinquent charges, has been made. Additionally, students with delinquent accounts will be barred from request of official transcript or diploma. Each university maintains records and informs other institutions about the status of payments should the student attempt to register for courses or pursue a degree at any other component of the University of Houston System.

An additional default fee of $50 is collected from any student who fails to make all installment payments by the end of the semester. This fee, in addition to all other amounts due, must be paid prior to the student’s registering for courses during a subsequent semester.

Financial Responsibility

Students are required to meet all financial responsibilities to the university. An outstanding debt at any university within the University of Houston System (UH, UH-Clear Lake, UH-Downtown or UH-Victoria) will prohibit a student from enrolling in or the release of an official transcript or diploma from all University of Houston System Institutions. Establishing a payment agreement with the University does not satisfy the conditions necessary to receive credit for courses completed or for the release of an official transcript or diploma. Students are required to complete an electronic Financial Responsibility Agreement each semester upon registration. This statement outlines the terms and conditions of the financial responsibilities and obligations associated with attending the university

Returned Checks

Students who write checks to the university on accounts with insufficient funds are assessed a $20 service charge for each such check, regardless of the amount, and may be referred to law enforcement authorities and/or credit bureaus. If a check is returned as a result of bank error, the student must contact their bank for reimbursement of the $20 returned check charge paid to the university. If such a check is presented in payment of tuition and fees, the payment will be reversed from the student account and the student will be subject to all applicable late fee and drop dates. Failure to make a valid payment by the drop date WILL result in loss of registration and a reinstatement charge may be required before reenrollment is approved.

Financial Hold Removal

Students must clear financial holds with all University of Houston System Institutions before credit can be granted for coursework completed and an official transcript or diploma released. There is a minimum 15-day hold on all personal check/electronic check payments which will prevent the release of an official transcript or diploma. Cross-campus financial hold removal can take 2-24 hours to be updated across all UH System Campuses. It is the student’s responsibility to contact the UHD-Cashier’s Office to request financial hold removal after payment has been submitted.

Collections

A student who does not meet financial responsibilities to the university may be subject to withdrawal from classes and may be referred to an outside collection agency. . Once an account is referred to a collection agency, the student is responsible for payment of additional collection fees. The student agrees to reimburse the university the fees of any collection agency, which may be based on a percentage at a maximum of 33.3% of the debt, and all costs and expenses, including reasonable attorney’s fees, the university incurs in such collection efforts

Refunds

All refunds are processed through HigherOne, the issuer of your HigherOne Card. In order to receive a refund you MUST activate your HigherOne Card and choose one of the three refund methods. To activate your HigherOne Card, go to www.uhdgatorcard.com. If you have not received your card, you can click on the Where’s My Card? link also at www.uhdgatorcard.com to see the status.

No refund shall be issued to a student who has not met all financial obligations for the semester, including full payment of installment balances.

If a balance is owed for a semester other than the semester due the refund, funds may be automatically moved to cover that balance. If a student is allowed to register with an outstanding balance or incurred a debt after registering, that balance must be paid in full before being permitted to register for future semesters and/or receive a transcript or a diploma. It is the student’s responsibility to check his/her account summary and hold status after the receipt of a University issued refund to ensure that there is no outstanding financial obligation.

The first posting of financial aid to student’s accounts is not allowed until 10 working days before the first class day. Financial Aid refunds will be issued within 14 business days. See information below regarding overpayments.

All refunds for schedule changes and withdrawals are made in accordance with the following rules and regulations:

Complete Withdrawal (Processed after the Official Day of Record listed in Academic Calendar)
Students who officially withdraw from all university courses may be eligible for a refund of tuition and mandatory fees. Please refer to the current academic calendar for the refund schedule. All 100% refunds incur a $15 processing fee. Students who are withdrawing and who have received financial aid should consult the Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid.

Partial Withdrawal (Processed after the Official Day of Record listed in Academic Calendar)
Students who officially drop some but not all of their courses within the first 12 class days of the fall or spring semester, within the first four days of a summer session, or within the first two days of the May/Winter mini sessions are eligible for a 100% refund of tuition and fees for the dropped classes. After this period there is no refund for partial withdrawals. Refunds resulting from dropped classes will not be processed until after the ADD/DROP period has ended. Students who are withdrawing and who have received financial aid should consult the Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid. Financial Aid adjustments may be required for partial withdrawals and before processing of a refund. Part of Term courses may have a separate drop schedule. Please see Academic Calendar  for specific dates and deadlines.

Overpayments (Processed after the Official Day of Record listed in Academic Calendar)
Payments received on student accounts with a zero balance will be returned to the student or vendor sending the payment to the address on file or listed on the payment

Payment by Check
Payments by check that result in a credit balance will be refunded to the student HigherOne Card after a 30 day clearing period.

Payment by Credit Card
Payments by credit card that result in a credit balance will be refunded back to the credit card used to make the payment.

Payment by Cash
Payments by cash that result in a credit balance will be refunded to the student HigherOne Card.