Expenses

Click on a link to be taken to the entry below.

Tuition and fees are subject to change. The official charges are those billed by the Bursar’s Office during the fee payment period for each term. For the most recent tuition and fee rates, see the Bursar website at www.niu.edu/bursar.

Fee Coverage

The General Fee is assessed to all undergraduate students taking courses at our main campus in DeKalb. Allocations from these fees support: building maintenance for classroom buildings and other campus facilities such as Holmes Student Center, the Recreation Center and the Convocation Center, and campus infrastructure improvements in order to provide students with a quality learning environment; Student Health Center which is managed and operated in partnership with Northwestern Medicine; the Huskie Bus service (fee paying students can ride buses without paying charged fares); the university’s intercollegiate athletic programs for both men and women; the university’s grants-in-aid program (a merit based scholarship program); Arts and Culture (performances from School of Music and School of Theater and Dance); and the Student Association and its activities such as concerts, films, speakers, etc.

Academic Program Enhancement Fee is assessed to all undergraduate students at all campus locations.  Revenues from this fee provide funding for cutting edge academic programs, library journals and books, support for courses in high demand, and technology upgrades.

See Tuition and Fees as listed on the Office of the Bursar web site: http://www.niu.edu/bursar/.

Regional Courses

Courses taught at regional sites are included in the calculation of tuition charges, but are excluded from total hours in the assessment of general student fees. Tuition charges are applicable to the total enrolled hours, with an additional delivery fee for each regional course. (See “Special Fees” below.)

Special Fees

A student may be charged for departmental field trips, library fines, or excess breakage. When a course involves use of materials, rather than equipment, the student will ordinarily pay for such materials. Other special fees, not applicable to all students, are as follows.

Apostille fee: $10.00
Enrollment certification fee: $5.00
Fee for new nonimmigrant students: $125.00
Graduation fee (baccalaureate degree): $29.00
Outreach delivery fee: $56.00 per semester hour
Lost identification card (after the first is issued):$20.00
Replacement of damaged or broken card (must bring card to the OneCard Office):$10.00
Transcript fee: $8.00

Class material fees where applicable will be billed as part of the total billing. See https://www.niu.edu/bursar/tuition/fees.shtml  for a summary of additional fees and common charges.

Residence hall room and board rates for the current academic year can be found by visiting https://www.niu.edu/housing/halls/compare/index.shtml#halls=neptune,stevenson,grant. All residence hall rates include the Huskie Block 12 option (12 meals and 100 dining dollars). Students can optionally upgrade plans with larger meal counts and additional dining dollars. 

Specific questions about our room and board rates can be found at niu.edu/housing or by calling Housing and Residential Services during regular business hours Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at 815-753-1525.

In the following discussion of policies governing refunds of tuition and fees, it should be understood that “refund” refers to a “reduction or adjustment of tuition and fee charges,” and may or may not result in the return of funds to the student. Where payment in full has not been made, an equivalent adjustment may occur on the total amount due. If only a partial reduction in tuition or fee charges occurs, a student who had a balance due may still owe an additional amount beyond what has already been paid. If no reduction in charges occur, not only will funds not be returned to the student, but the student will be responsible for the unpaid balance.

Tuition and fees, due by the established university due date, include tuition, general student fee, material fees, academic program enhancement fee, outreach delivery fees, regional course fees, health insurance fees, and any other required fees associated with enrollment at the university.

A student that has registered and officially withdraws from all courses for the semester, possibly can receive a refund of tuition and fees, which may or may not result in the return of funds according to the following withdrawal schedule.

Semester Withdrawal and Course Drop/Withdrawal Refund Schedules

The add/drop period constitutes the first two weeks of the semester for 16 week courses and the first week of the semester for 8 and 4 week courses. The university may designate shorter refund periods for special courses, short courses, and other enrollments of a limited nature. For additional information on refund schedules please visit, https://www.niu.edu/bursar/account/withdrawals/spring.shtml

Students may receive a refund of tuition and fees if the university declares them ineligible for enrolled status prior to the first day of regularly scheduled classes.

Impact of Course Drops and Withdrawals on Financial Aid

Course Drop prior to end of add/drop period

Courses dropped prior to the end of drop/add that have a 100% tuition refund and will not appear on a transcript as withdrawn will not be reflected in financial aid eligibility for the semester. Aid is adjusted and credited to student accounts after the add/drop period.

Course Withdrawal after end of add/drop period

After the add/drop period has ended, students who withdraw from a course or courses they have attended, but do not withdraw from all courses for a semester, generally have no change in financial aid previously awarded/disbursed for the respective semester. These are courses that will appear on the transcript as withdrawn and will be used in the tuition and fee calculation for the semester.

If aid is awarded/disbursed after the course is withdrawn from, the course cannot be used to calculated Pell Grant eligibility. Most other aid will be based on enrollment level at the end of the add/drop period. Likewise, students who withdraw from a course never attended are not eligible for some aid based on that course.

Any courses withdrawn from that reflect a grade of W may impact future aid eligibility. Students must have a 67% successful completion rate of courses attempted, including courses with a grade of W or F, to maintain eligibility for federal and state aid.

Semester Withdrawal

Students who are recipients of federal aid and withdraw from all courses for a semester before the 60% point of their enrollment dates for the term (period of enrollment), are subject to federal return-of-Title IV funds rules. Federal programs assume attendance for the entire period of enrollment and are not considered “earned” by regulation if the student ceases attendance. NIU is required to return, to federal programs, a percent of the federal funds received based on the percent of the period of enrollment not attended.

The funds returned will reduce prior credits on the student account and may result in the student owing funds to NIU. In some cases, but not all, the funds returned may be offset by a reduction/refund of tuition and fee charges. Frequently the funds are returned to federal loan programs and reduce the student’s outstanding loan balance.

Students whose tuition and fees was paid by a resource other than federal aid, such as NIU scholarships or state aid, and receive a credit balance refund of federal aid, will have to repay part or all of that refund.

Students who reduce the number of semester hours carried prior to the end of the add/drop period may receive a refund of tuition and all fees not applicable to their new status, excluding student medical insurance. If the number of semester hours is reduced to fewer than 6, the student medical insurance may be refunded.

Students who reduce the number of semester hours carried (but remain enrolled in some course work) after the end of the add/drop period day will no longer be eligible for a course refund. If the number of semester hours is reduced to fewer than 6, the student medical insurance may be refunded.

Part or all of a student’s tuition and fees may be refunded because of a student’s death, disability, extreme hardship, or being called to active military service. The student, or in the event of a student’s death, his or her family, must contact the office of the Vice Provost for Undergraduate Studies to request an adjustment of charges for tuition and fees and to receive a partial or full return of funds paid when semester withdrawal is the consequence of one of the aforementioned circumstances. The student or his or her family will be required to provide documentation supporting the request. In the event of disability, medical documentation is to be sent to Health Services. In the event of being called to active military service, a student’s death, or extreme hardship, documentation should accompany the request sent to the office of the Vice Provost for Undergraduate Studies. A semester withdrawal (i.e., withdrawal from all courses in a given semester) is an academic procedure that must be completed by the student’s college advising office, or Academic Advising Center if the student has no college affiliation. Contact with the office of the Vice Provost for Undergraduate Studies should be only for the purpose of seeking an adjustment of tuition and fee charges.

Students enrolled in foreign study programs must adhere to the refund regulations stipulated by the Division of International Affairs.

For answers to questions on the refund policies, please contact the Office of the Bursar at 815-753-1885 or email, bursar@niu.edu.

The above refund policies are subject to change.

Payment of all charges on the student’s account is due by the established due date for each term. Any additional expenses incurred after this initial payment due date for the term will be due by the due date indicated on the student’s MyNIU account. Any student who pays less than the total amount due on the payment due date will be assessed a late payment fee on the unpaid balance. The late fee rate can be found by visiting https://www.niu.edu/bursar/payments/payment-policy.shtml.  This late payment fee will be assessed monthly on the unpaid balance that continues to be past due.

Any student with a balance will have a hold placed on the student’s account records. This hold will prohibit the student from registering for classes and/or obtaining official transcripts until the account balance is paid in-full.

Financial Responsibility: By registering for courses at Northern Illinois University the student is accepting financial responsibility for the costs of and related to the student’s registration at the university including choosing to reside in the university’s residence halls, selecting a meal plan, or other university services. In the event a student’s account is past due, late payment fees will be applied to past-due amount. Continued failure to pay a past due debt may result in the debt being listed with credit bureaus, the State Comptroller’s Offset Program and, if necessary, referred to a collection agency and/or authorize legal action for the collection of this debt. The student is then responsible for all fees and costs incurred by the University in the collection of the past due debt, including collection fees and/or attorney’s fees. To view the Student Financial Responsibility Agreement visit https://www.niu.edu/bursar/payments/student-financial-agreement.shtml.

Beginning Fall 2018 domestic students (including permanent residents, undocumented and select visa holding students) will be charged the same tuition rate, regardless of their state of U.S. residency. However, residency will still need to be determined for institutional reporting, financial aid purposes and a variety of other needs.

Students who take exception to the residence status assigned shall pay the tuition assessed, but may file a petition in writing to the Office of Registration and Records for a reconsideration of residence status.

The written claim must be filed within 30 calendar days from the date of assessment of tuition, or the first class day of the term for which tuition is payable, whichever is later, or the student loses all right to a change of status and adjustment of the tuition assessed for the term in question.

The following is based on Regulations of the Board of Trustees, a copy of which is available on the Internet at www.niu.edu/board/regs/botregtoc.shtml.

Adult Students. Students 18 years of age and over are considered residents for tuition purposes, if they have been bona fide residents of the state for at least six consecutive months preceding the first class day of the term and continue to maintain that residence. An adult student whose parents are Illinois residents and who lives with them or elsewhere in the state also will be regarded as a resident.

Minor students. The residence of a student under 18 years of age is considered to be and follow that of the parents. Self-supporting minors are subject to the same regulations as adults.

Exceptions

Marriage. If a nonresident student marries a resident, the nonresident can request reclassification as a resident before six months have elapsed. All other regulations pertaining to adult students apply.

International students. A person who is not a citizen of the United States of America may establish resident status unless the person holds a visa which precludes intent to permanently reside in the United States. Non-citizens may commence establishment of residency with notification of permanent residency status by the United States Immigration and Naturalization Service provided the person meets and complies with all the applicable requirements of these regulations. To be considered a resident, a student who is not a United States citizen must have “Permanent Resident” status or “Refugee” status with the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization service and must also comply with all other requirements of these regulations.

Armed forces personnel. The nonresident portion of the tuition will be waived for a person on active duty who is stationed and present in the state in connection with that service and who submits evidence of that service and station. Spouses and dependent children who live in the state are also eligible for waivers.

University staff and faculty members. Nonhourly staff members of the university, and faculty members of Illinois state-supported institutions of higher education, employed at least one-quarter time, and their spouses and dependent children, are considered residents. The term “staff members” does not include graduate assistants or student hourly workers.

Teachers. Teachers in the public and private elementary and secondary schools of Illinois may be assessed at the resident rate, during the term in which they hold appointment at least one quarter time.

A student who takes exception to the residence status assigned shall pay the tuition assessed, but may file a petition in writing to the Office of Registration and Records for reconsideration.

The written claim must be filed within 30 calendar days from the first class day of the semester for which the tuition is payable or the student loses all right to a change of status and adjustment of the tuition assessed for that semester.