Past Due Balances
Past Due Student Account Balances
The Student Accounts Office is responsible for collecting on past-due student accounts, and we are committed to working with and supporting students to complete their educational goals. There are different requirements for your student account balance depending if you are a current student or not currently enrolled.
Regardless of being a current or former student, a hold will be placed on your account until the balance is paid in full or satisfactory arrangements are made. Transcript requests and Diplomas will remain held until balances are fully paid off regardless of arrangements per the college policy.
Student Account Balance / Registration Holds:
If you owe a balance, a registration hold will be placed on your account automatically in our system. Students can also be subject to an account hold if their student account meets one of the following criteria:
- They owe a balance for any semester prior to the current term.
- Their payment plan for the current semester is inactive or is repeatedly missing payments.
- They have a remaining balance on the current semester, and it is past the due date for that semester.
- You have not completed your LESA form for the year - usually done before allowed to register for Fall classes.
- You have not submitted all of your financial aid paperwork required for your financial aid to be applied to your account balance.
A Student Account hold has the following effects:
- Prevents students from registering for additional semester.
- Prevents students from receiving any transcript request.
- Prevents students from receiving a diploma at graduation.
Current Students With Past Due Account Balances
Students who elect to carry a balance on their Linfield University student account should note that their balance must be paid before they can register for the next term. Also, any unpaid past-due balance is subject to interest charges of 1% per month. In addition if a student owes from a prior term they are unable to access a complete official transcript until all of their prior term balances are paid. Financial Aid can also be placed on hold until a previous term balance has been satisfied.
If you are having difficulty paying your balance, please contact the Student Accounts Office. We understand families run into obstacles paying their accounts in full and we try to be as flexible as we can to work out solutions that will work for the student and Linfield. Communication is key to resolving your balance due and to avoid registration holds on your account. It is important to contact our office as early as you know there are issues paying your account. We can work out arrangements with you and your family to keep you moving forward with your education plan if you reach out to us to work this out.
To make arrangements with the Student Accounts Office, it MUST be requested in writing via email to student.accounts@linfield.edu.
Email Requests must include the following:
- Student Full Name
- Student Account Number
- When you will be able to pay -Actual Dates(s)
- How much you will be able to pay and how frequently
- When your account will be paid in full
We will respond once we review your account and any proposed payment arrangements with a decision on how we can move forward with you.
Former Students With Student Account Balances
For those who are not currently enrolled at Linfield University the balance of your student account is due in full. All Past Due Balances that remain outstanding one month after a student has left the college or have failed to make payment arrangements are subject to be sent to a collections agency. If you are unable to pay your student account in full, the account goes into internal collections and your account and continues to receive a monthly 1% interest charges. Both a transcript hold and registration hold will be placed on your student account.
When students have a balance with Linfield University, they initially are sent a monthly billing statement via their Nelnet Student Account Portal. Students will continue to receive monthly notifications until the end of the semester, at which time they would be ineligible to register for a future semester. Students are responsible for checking their Linfield University emails for all notifications sent by Linfield Offices to ensure you are getting important account updates.
If no resolution after the semester is over, the past due balance on the student account will be moved to our internal collection system, ECSI for further collection efforts. Once your account is moved to ECSI, it is monitored by The Loans Receivable Coordinator in the Student Accounts Office. The Loans Receivable Coordinator can work with you to make payment arrangements if you are unable to pay your account in full. However, if the arrangements are not kept or sufficient, escalated collection activity may continue.
ECSI - Collection Accounts
Once your account is moved to ECSI you will be placed on a payment plan. If payments are not not made for four months, the account will automatically be assigned to one of our collections agencies. Any cost by the collection agency will be the responsibility of the student and the debt will also be reported to the credit bureaus.
We currently work with three agencies that assist us in collecting past due balances:
- NCM
- Asset Recovery Systems
- Security Credit Systems
Once a student's account has been sent to one of the above collection agencies, Linfield University can no longer set up payment arrangements with the student - this is all done through the agency and is no longer with the college. The most accurate information regarding your balance, including any fees owed, may be obtained through the agency with which the account was placed.
To set up the delinquent payment plan please contact the Loans Receivable Coordinator in the Student Accounts Office at mmcune@linfield.edu or call at 503-883-2461.
FAQ - PAST DUE ACCOUNT BALANCES
Can students register for classes if money is owed?
In order to register for the next term, currently enrolled students must have their account balance resolved. Students who are having difficulty paying their bills should contact the Student Accounts Office to discuss what resources may be available or to discuss payment options.
What if students can’t pay the tuition? Who do they contact?
If students are unable to pay their tuition on time, they should contact the Student Accounts Office at student.accounts@linfield.edu or 503-883-2241.
What happens if my student account becomes delinquent?
We understand some people have greater financial issues than others and we try to be as flexible as we can to work out solutions that will work for the student and Linfield University. Communication is key and it is important to contact our office as early as you know you are having difficulty bringing your student account current.
If students do not pay, regardless of the reason, we assess monthly charges and may block the student’s registration and access to their academic records (transcripts).
We send electronic billing statements each month via your Nelnet Student Account Portal, and will send several letters notifying students of the delinquent status of their account. If we do not hear from the student or receive payment, the account will be forwarded to an outside agency for collection, and the student will incur additional collection charges. The collection agency may report the account to national credit bureaus as well as take any other action necessary to collect the debt.
What do I do if my account is past due because my parents have not received any billing statements?
Parents or Third parties will only have access to the student billing account if the student establishes them as an Authorized Payer in the Nelnet Student Account Portal. Please refer to How can my parents log in and view the bill for step-by-step instructions on establishing authorized payers on your account. However, once an account is moved to ECSI, you will not be able to see any balances on the Nelnet system as we can only keep current billing terms on there for actively enrolled students at Linfield.