FAQ

The City University of New York has contracted with NELNET, an outside agency that administers tuition payment plans for students.

By applying early, payments can be spread over five months, beginning in July for the fall semester and beginning in December for the spring semester. Tuition payment plans are also available during the summer session.   

Students receiving Financial Aid that satisfies all outstanding registration charges for the semester will have a positive service indicator placed on their accounts and classes will not be deregistered.

*If you do not plan to attend the semester, you must either drop all courses by logging onto CUNYfirst or visiting the Office of the Registrar, in Room AC-1H06, before the first day of classes to avoid incurring a tuition liability.*   

Once your financial aid is approved and your awards appear on CUNYFIRST, you must contact NELNET to have your payment plan either modified or canceled.

Students that have outstanding balances will have a negative service indicator placed on their account. What is a negative service indicator? A negative service indicator will prevent a student from registering for classes or receiving any additional services from any department within the institution.

When a student’s account reflects more financial aid (e.g. federal loans, scholarships, Pell, etc.) or payments than necessary to cover tuition and fees, the student may be eligible for a refund. Refunds are generally processed by CUNY on a weekly basis. Students who do not opt to enroll in Direct Deposit will receive a check to their mailing address.

All students that are entitled to a 1098T form will receive one. Forms are mailed directly from The City University of New York to the mailing address listed on file.  The forms will be sent no later than January 31st.  If you have not received your 1098T form by February 15th, contact the Bursar’s Office for assistance at either 718-262-2185 or 718-262-2186.  In addition, students may view and print their 1098T forms online via the self-service page.

Self Service >> Campus Finances >> View 1098T

General information regarding the 1098T form may also be found at www.cuny.edu/1098tfaq

When a student makes an eCheck payment, the transaction will automatically post on the student’s CUNYfirst account. However, the bank’s withdrawal of funds from the student’s bank account may take longer. The exact amount of time it takes for a withdrawal to be posted to an account is regulated by the bank. When the student’s bank statement reflects that the eCheck funds have been withdrawn from the account, then the college has received the payment. The student will not receive a paper or an electronic receipt.

The eCheck payment option through CUNYfirst Self-Service continues to be an alternative payment option that is cost-effective and does not charge a service fee. If a student decides to make a credit card payment, the credit card service charge cannot be waived. 

There are two options when making partial payments on a current semester’s outstanding balance.

Option One:

• A student may make partial payments on a current semester’s debt, but the partial payments will only be accepted after the current semester has started. (Refer to the Academic Calendar). If a student does an unofficial partial payment before the semester has started, this action does not guarantee that semester classes will not be de-registered (dropped).

Option Two:

• A student may join the interest-free Nelnet Tuition Payment Plan.

The Nelnet Tuition Payment Plan offers interest-free plans that allow students to spread out tuition payments up to a six-month period. Effective summer 2020, the enrollment fee is $25 per term. Winter session payment plans are not available.  Students may enroll in the payment plan by using credit cards, automated bank payments, or eChecks.

Students who are interested in using the payment plan must enroll online by logging into their CUNYfirst Self-Service accounts and following the navigation: Student Center>> Finances>> and select Enroll/Manage Payment Plan. For further information and assistance, call 1-888-470-6014.

Note:

• When completing the Payment Plan Budget Worksheet, please include any prior balances so they can be incorporated into your initial payment plan total.​
• If you do not include your prior balance in the initial payment plan total, your payment plan balance will be recalculated (on the eighth day of the semester) to include any prior balances. Prior balances will be divided among your remaining installments.
• If your financial aid award has been removed for a prior semester, please note that this balance will be included in your payment plan.
• Any payment plan payments will be applied to the earliest balance first. For example, if you are enrolled in a spring 2021 payment plan and also have an outstanding fall 2020 balance, any payment plan payments will first be applied to your fall 2020 balance until it is fully covered; subsequent payments will then be applied to your spring 2021 balance.

Please see the tutorial on the payment plan below:

http://cisweb.cuny.edu/cunyfirst/videos/training-simulations/Nelnet-Training-Video-Captioned/cuny-make-a-payment.mp4

Yes. A student may make partial payments on a prior semester’s debt. The partial payments will be accepted until the debt has been paid in full or it has been forwarded to the collection agency. Making partial payments will not stop the debt from being forwarded to the collection agency. Once a student’s semester’s debt has been forwarded to collections, the college will no longer accept direct payments from the student.

If a student enrolls in the Nelnet payment plan for a prior semester, this action will not release the Bursar hold. The debt must be paid in full before the prior semester’s Bursar hold is released.

No. Once a prior semester debt has been slated for collections, it will be forwarded to collections.

Payments received through the mail will be processed upon receipt.  Please allow time for your payment to be received and processed.  To ensure payments are received, kindly use the mailing address below:

York College – The City University of New York The Office of the Bursar- Room# AC-1H01 94-20 Guy R. Brewer Blvd. Jamaica, NY 11451

A paid receipt will be mailed to the student using the address noted in CUNYfirst. Do not send cash in the mail.  Paying online using the credit card and eCheck options are the most efficient payment method.

Please check the office’s web page to in-person office schedule.  Paying online using the credit card and eCheck options are the most efficient payment method.

Domestic wire transfers are not accepted. However, for information on how to initiate an international wire transfer, please contact Suzette Foster-Jemmott or Alan Wong.  

Please note: It is advised that when an international wire transfer is sent, the amount of the wire transfer is the exact amount that is owed. If there is an overpayment, the overpayment will not be refunded to the student. An international wire transfer overpayment is either sent back to the sender, or it is posted to the student’s next semester CUNYfirst account.

The student should be aware of the upcoming semester payment due dates so that the international wire transfer is posted to the student’s account on time.

It is advised that the student join the Nelnet Tuition Payment Plan to secure the classes.

If the wire transfer is a sufficient amount to cover the entire debt owed, then the student will receive a refund of only the amount paid to the payment plan. There is never a refund from an international wire transfer.

The student should contact Nelnet and request that the payment plan be canceled.

To make a one-time credit card or e-check payment online:

1. Select the Make a Payment link in your Self-Service Center in CUNYfirst (make sure your pop-up blocker is disabled).
2. Select View & Pay Accounts from the left-hand menu. Click Make Payment. You will see a screen that displays all of the CUNY schools (past and present) associated with your student ID number. Next to each school will be a payment amount box. 
3. Since each school is listed, each payment amount box will either be populated with a dollar amount, if you owe money to that school or will be blank if nothing is owed. You can choose to pay the entire amount in the payment amount box or you can override the prepopulated figure and enter the amount you wish to pay in the payment amount box next to the corresponding school.
4. DO NOT enter amounts into payment amount boxes of schools with no amounts due. If you do, a payment will be made to that school.
5. Click the Pay drop down to select your payment method (credit card or e-check). Before you finalize your payment, review your payment information to  make sure you are sending money only to a school where you have outstanding charges, and to  confirm the payment amount. If the information is wrong, cancel and start over.

Note:

If you pay by credit card, a non-refundable service fee of 2.65% will be charged to your account in addition to your payment.

Courses may be deregistered (dropped) if payment is not received by the due date.

*If a student does not plan to attend the semester, the student must drop all the courses by logging onto CUNYfirst before the first day of classes to avoid incurring a tuition liability.*