It is the responsibility of all department executive officers or designees to insure compliance with these practices. Administration of these practices is the responsibility of the Chief Financial Officer.

These rights and responsibilities apply to:

• Any student (past or present) with monies owed to the College.
• The personnel responsible for administration of the College practices.
• Any private counsel or private collection agency employed by the College for the purpose of debt collection.

Each student has the following rights and responsibilities with respect to their financial affairs with the College:

Student Rights:

• To have access to information about the nature and amount of charges incurred.
• To have access to their student account record.
• To dispute charges they believe to be in error.
• To petition for removal of charges due to extenuating circumstances with the Director of Enrollment Management.
• To have the confidentiality of their student account protected.
• To be notified of any impending collection action.
• To be free from unlawful harassment.
• To have access to all policies governing their student account with the College.

Student Responsibilities:

• To conduct all financial affairs in a legal and ethical manner.
• To read and adhere to all published procedures and policies governing their student account including the following:
• To know when registering for a class, charges are incurred.
• The student is responsible for payment of charges incurred when registering, whether or not they attend class.
• To have charges removed; a drop must be processed through either MyMHCC or in person in the Student Services Center during the refund period. An explanation of refund deadlines can be found at http://www.mhcc.edu/drop/.
• To pay all charges incurred by the published payment due date, regardless of whether an eBill statement notification was received or if payment is to be made by another party.
• To ensure student's name, email address and mailing address are correct and if not to update online through MyMHCC or notify Admissions and Records by fax 503-491-7388, phone 503-491-7393 or in person.
• To submit disputes of charges and petitions for removal of charges in writing with the Director of Enrollment Management by the fourth week of the term.
• Pay all penalties, costs and legal fees associated with collection of their student account.
• If a student is under 18 years of age, they will be held liable for all charges incurred and educational loan contracts under Oregon Revised Statutes 348.105.

Federal regulations prohibit the college from releasing financial information to anyone other than the student; therefore MHCC will not release financial information to anyone other than the student without a signed Student Consent form on file. The form is available in the Student Services Center Lobby, Business Office, and Financial Aid Department, located in the Student Services Center.

By signing the form, the student gives permission to MHCC to release all financial and, if selected, financial aid information, regarding their student account to someone other than the student. This form excludes any academic information. The Student Consent form will remain valid until revoked in writing by the student.

Notification:
Student account practices and policies can be found in the applicable catalog, brochures and on the MHCC web site. Reasonable measures will be taken to inform the student of the College's practices and policies, and of the financial status of their student account. Monthly eBill statement notifications will be sent to the email address on file approximately the last week of each month detailing account activity for the previous 30 days. Statements are a courtesy and are only available online. The student is responsible to ensure payment in full by the published payment due date. Account information is available on-line.

Payment Options:

1. Pay all tuition and fees by the first day of the term. If registering after the term begins, pay the same day. Failure to pay tuition/fees by the due date will result in late payment penalties.
2. Student Installment Payment Note - Tuition/fees payment may be deferred if:
• The student registers using an official social security number;
• Tuition/fees total $100 or more;
• No other monies are owed to the college;

Student Installment Payment Notes are not available to international students.

3. Financial Aid/Scholarship - If a student's financial aid is not available by the first day of the term or does not completely cover their tuition amount, they should select option 1 or 2 above.
4. Agency or Company - Arrangements for payment by an agency or company must be pre-approved by the college. The student is responsible to ensure that a payment authorization is on file in the College's Student Accounts department by the first day of the term. Ultimately the student is responsible for payment of all unpaid charges, including late fees and third party service fees.

The college cannot make or accept any special payment arrangements. The only options available are options 1 - 4 above.

For payments by check or money order other than tuition, services will not be provided until 10 business days after the payment date. To avoid the delay, the student may pay by cash, or credit/bank card. For payments made by credit/bank card, provision for requested services will be processed as soon as bank authorization is received.

Collection Repayment:
The College will take appropriate steps; including withholding of services and refusal of registration, to collect debts owed the College. Once a debt has been referred to an outside collection agency, all arrangements for repayment will be made with the outside collection agency. The student's social security number may be used for external/internal credit reporting and collection purposes for all delinquent charges. Click here for use of Social Security number disclosure.

Wait List:
Students are responsible for verifying whether or not they have been added to a class from a wait list. Additional charges incurred by wait list adds are due by the first day of the term. If added from a wait list after the term begins, the tuition is due that day.

Returned Check Penalty:
A $20.00 charge and all collection fees, including court costs and attorney fees, will be charged to the student account on returned checks of any nature, including non-sufficient funds and stop payment, whether written by the student or another party.

Loss of Privileges:
After the college has received two returned checks, all future transactions must be made by cash, money order, Visa, MasterCard, Discover or American Express. Personal checks will not be accepted, whether written by the student or another party. This restriction will remain on the students account for two years from the date the returned check and associated collection fees are paid in full. If the college receives a third returned check, the restriction remains on the students account indefinitely.

Non Payment:
Any returned check intended as payment of a student account, will be considered as non-payment and subject to the conditions listed in the Past Due accounts section below. If a returned check was used to pay off a previous debt in order to register for the current term, the student will be administratively dropped from the current term.

Financial Holds:
Financial holds are placed on student accounts with past due balances after the 2nd Friday of each term. This hold will restrict registration, withholding of diploma and transcripts.

Delinquent Student Account:
A student account that has been assessed one late fee is considered a delinquent account.

Late Payment Penalties:
Failure to pay tuition/fees or to process an approved Student Installment Payment Plan by the due date will result in late payment penalties. A $20 late fee is assessed on charges every 30 days past due with a maximum of $60 each term.

Denial of Credit:
The College may require advance payment of future services on accounts that have been previously referred for collection.

Collections:
Delinquent accounts 90 days past due may be turned over to an outside collection agency for collection of the debt. Prior to referring an account to a collection agency, the College will make a reasonable effort to notify the account holder of the status of the account and impending collection action. The College cannot make or accept special payment arrangements to avoid assignment to a collection agency.

The following are consequences of the student's account being turned over for collections:

• Student will be responsible for repayment of the original debt plus reimbursement of any collection agency fees, which may be based on a percentage at a maximum of 20% of the debt, and all costs and expenses, including reasonable attorneys’ fees we incur in such collection efforts.
• The Oregon Department of Revenue may withhold the student's tax refund and remit it to the college as payment toward their outstanding debt.
• The student's account may be reported to one or more nationally recognized credit-reporting bureaus.
• Arrangements for repayment must be made with the outside collection agency not the College.
• If an account that has been assigned to an outside collection agency is paid by check (at the agency), the financial hold will not be lifted until 10 business days have passed.

Students will receive a 100 percent refund/removal of tuition and refundable fees for classes dropped through the Student Services Center by the refund date printed on the student's class schedule. The drop with a refund deadline for most standard length classes is the second Friday of the term. The refund process will begin no later than the third week of the term. If any payments were made with a bank/credit card, refunds are first credited back to the card, whenever possible. If the refund occurs more than six months after the original payment the refund will follow the cash or check refund procedures. Refunds are automatically processed as a credit on the student account. Any credit applied to a student account resulting from a removal of charges or overpayment will first be applied to any institutional debt. Late registration or class additions may result in little or no refund.

Non-attendance is not a basis for a refund or nonpayment of tuition. Registration constitutes liability unless a formal drop or withdrawal is processed through the Student Services Center during the refund period. Students using financial aid to pay tuition are still liable (even if aid is denied) unless they drop or withdraw within the refund period.

Removal of charges will not be considered for classes dropped after the refund date unless there is one of the following documented extenuating circumstances:

• Illness or injury of a nature that significantly impacted the student's ability to attend classes
• Illness or injury of an immediate family member where the student is the primary caregiver and is unable to continue attending classes
• Mandatory military or career transfer outside the Portland Metro area
• Mandatory work shift changes that conflicts with the scheduled class
• Death of an immediate family member that significantly impacted the students ability to attend class

Written petitions along with the required documentation are submitted to the Admissions, Records, & Registration office.

If a student received financial aid, they will not receive a refund. If they have picked up their financial aid, they must contact the Financial Aid Office at 503-491-7262 about any changes made to their class schedule that may affect their financial aid status.

Recovery:
Educational debt is non-dischargeable under Section 523 (a) (8) of the US Bankruptcy Code. There is no statute of limitation on the collection of educational debt. Therefore, the College will attempt to collect from any student who seeks services of the College, even if that account had previously been deemed uncollectible.