Schedule of Tuition & Fees, and Room & Board

The College establishes tuition and fees each February for the upcoming school year. The schedule of tuition, fees and other charges for the 2024/2025 academic year is below.

Prior to final housing assignments, the below estimation for room & board costs will appear on your bill.

Tuition Payment Details

All tuition and fees are due in full by August 1st for the fall semester and January 2nd for the spring semester, unless the account is on an installment payment plan with active affiliated autopay. It is the student’s responsibility to settle their account balance.

Students may either:

• Pay semester tuition and fees in full on or before the tuition due date, or

• ​Enroll in a deferred installment payment plan by the enrollment deadline & have active affiliated autopay in place.

Students are expected to read and understand the registration, withdrawal, add/drop, leave of absence, and refund policies of Cornish College of the Arts.

Late Payments, Collection Efforts, and Registration Holds

If your balance is unpaid by the due date, a payment plan is not established, or your payment plan is behind on one or more installment, your bill is considered past due. Cornish charges late fees on a monthly basis for past due accounts at the rate of $10 per $1,000 past due, with a minimum late fee of $25.

There is a ten-day grace period before the first late fee is charged. After this, fees are charged every 30 days from the initial due date. We may temporarily cancel your registration until the balance due is paid. Any outstanding balances remaining at the time of registration for the upcoming semester will result in a registration hold being placed on the account, in effect preventing the student from registering for class until the debt is settled. If you are a graduating senior, your outstanding balance must be settled in order to participate in the commencement ceremony.

Collection costs are added to the past-due amount when it is necessary to refer the account to a collection agency. Collection agency action against a past due student account or Perkins loan balance will be governed by Washington State law. Students agree that by providing contact information to Cornish, including cellular telephone numbers and secondary personal reference information, they consent to be contacted by Cornish or anyone working on the College’s behalf by manual or automated dialing.

Payment Plan Option

Cornish offers an optional monthly payment plan, which allows you to make several payments over the course of each semester instead of one large payment at the start of the term. These payment plans are only for the current semester and are not automatically renewed - you must enroll in a new payment plan for each semester you wish to defer your tuition payments.

Payment Plan Enrollment

Payment plan enrollment is completed within the online student account in an interface called Transact. Please note that students and parents use different credentials and URLs to access this online account; while students will access Transact through the My Online Account link on the Student Accounts tab of Compass, parents will log in with the link & credentials provided to them via email if/when the student grants them access to the account. See "Electronic Billing & Parent Access" below for more information on parent access.

Find the ‘Installment Payment Plans’ section and click ‘Enroll’ in the payment plan. Follow the guided prompts to set up the installment amounts, agree to the terms, and pay the $40 enrollment fee. The payment plan will automatically set based on your current account balance. If you need a lower plan amount because you’re expecting an outside scholarship to arrive, please contact the Office of Student Accounts.

After setting up the payment plan, the payment account you wish to use for automatic payments must be designated. Follow the prompts to the Auto-Pay section and enter the information for the bank account or credit/debit card you will use to make payments. Auto-Pay is required to take advantage of the payment plan, and payment plans which lack complete set-up will be removed from payment plan service. Please note that the email address you provide in this screen will be the primary contact for receiving notifications regarding this payment plan.

Throughout the course of the semester, your account is subject to change based on additional charges, payments, or financial aid. In these cases, the payment plan will be automatically adjusted.

Payment Plan Fees, Enrollment Deadlines, and Installment Dates

All payment plans have an enrollment fee of $40 per semester, which is collected as a manual payment during the payment plan guided setup. Once you have completed the Payment Plan setup & the subsequent AutoPay setup, installments are charged on the 5th of the month (or following business day) to your designated bank account or credit/debit card. 

Late enrollment in a payment plan is possible but will result in necessary catch-up payments.

Payment Plan Deferment Options

• Fall Semester: 5-Month plan, June to November

​Enrollment Deadline:  June 30th

Installments Begin:  July 5th

Installments End: November 5th

• Fall Semester: 4-Month Plan, July to November​

​Enrollment Deadline:  July 31st

Installments Begin:  August 5th

Installments End: November 5th

• ​Spring Semester: 5-Month Deferment, November to April 

Enrollment Deadline: November 30th

Installments Begin: December 5th

Installments End: April 5th

• ​​​Spring Semester: 4-Month Deferment, December to April

​​Enrollment Deadline:  December 21st

Installments Begin:  January 5th

Installments End: April 5th

Transaction Fees by Payment Plan Auto-Payment Method

• Online ​Credit/Debit Card - ​2.85% Service Fee

• Online ACH (E-Check) - ​No Additional Fee​s 

Parent/Third Party Access to the Student Account

The privacy of student educational records is protected by the Family Educational Rights & Privacy Act (FERPA). For this reason, any third party wishing to view and/or discuss the student account must have documented authorization from the student on file with the institution.

If a parent or other third party person wishes to gain access to any of the following:

• View detailed student account history

• View the online student account with their own credentials

• Set up & manage payment plans

• Discuss the student account in detail with a staff member at Cornish

• Obtain tax Form 1098-T

• Remit payment online

The student must provide this authorization from within the online student account portal by creating a “Payer” profile.

How does a student create a Payer profile to provide this authorization to them?

1. The student logs on to COMPASS > Student Accounts tab > "Go to My Online Account"

2. The student is redirected to another site called Transact- the student's online account

3. ​On the left side of the online student account page, click "My Account"​ then scroll down to the "Payers" section, click the + icon & follow the guided prompts

4. The system immediately sends an email to the new Payer with a temporary password and link

5. ​New users can then set up a custom password and answer security questions for future "forgot password" ability

Tuition & Fee Refunds

If your payments and/or financial aid result in an overpayment to your student account, a refund will be issued to you. The one exception is for refunds which are the result of a Parent Plus Loan disbursement - such refunds are issued in accordance with the parent’s instructions provided on their Plus Loan application. Refunds are processed every week during the academic year. You may wish to have your refund held to be applied against future charges, to accomplish this, simply send an email to studentaccounts@cornish.edu with this request. The College requires a documented request on file in order to prevent the credit balance from being refunded to you.

Direct Deposit (eRefund): To have your refund sent to a bank account via direct deposit, visit your online student account page (Compass > Student Accounts > “Go to My Online Account”), click the “My Account” option from the menu on the left side of the Transact site, and scroll down to the “Direct deposit refunds” section to designate the desired bank account. While you may choose the same bank account for your refund as you do for your payment plan installments, it is a distinct field from your payment plan autopay account and therefore must be selected even if you have autopay in place.

Hard-copy Checks: If there is no direct deposit account set up, and/or if you have actively declined E-Refund via your online student account, you will be issued a hard-copy check. Please ensure that you maintain your local & permanent address information with Cornish during your time here, even if you live on campus.

Refunds & Withdrawals

Tuition for each semester is posted to your student account upon registration. If you withdraw or reduce your enrollment after registering for classes, you may become eligible for a refund (Due to federal financial aid recalculation requirements, it is also possible that you may end up with a balance upon withdrawal, even if you were previously paid in full). Please note that tuition, comprehensive fees, late fees, tuition deposits, and housing deposits, are all subject to distinct refund policies.

The following schedule will be followed to determine the percent of the tuition refund owed to the student who has officially withdrawn from the College:

Withdrawal During Fall & Spring Semesters

First Day of Class through Census Date

• Tuition Refund: 100%

• ​Comprehensive fee refund: 100%

​​Day after the census date through the end of Week three (Friday)

• Tuition Refund: 75%

• Comprehensive Fee Refund: Non-Refundable​

Weeks Four to Six

• ​​Tuition Refund: 50%

• ​Comprehensive Fee: Non-Refundable

Weeks Seven to Nine

• ​Tuition Refund: 25%

• Comprehensive Fee: Non-Refundable

Weeks Ten to Fifteen

• ​Tuition Refund: Non-Refundable

• Comprehensive Fee: Non-Refundable
  

Tuition deposits and late fees are non-refundable.

Lack of attendance, course abandonment, or cancellation of student registration due to lack of payment does not cancel a student’s financial obligation. Students who withdraw from courses and do not inform the college of their withdrawal by the end of the semester will be considered to have withdrawn at exactly 50% into the semester for federal financial aid recalculation requirements & tuition refund calculations. This is referred to as an Unofficial Withdrawal.

When a student leaves school or does not register for the next semester, they must schedule an exit interview with the offices of Financial Aid and Student Accounts if they are recipients of Stafford loans. Graduates must also complete an exit interview and have their student account paid in full prior to graduation.

Residence Hall Charges 2024/2025

The following rates reflect the housing cost per student. These rates include all utilities and amenities and are subject to change. Students should see their signed housing contract for any specifics or reach out to housing for questions.

Prior to final housing assignments, the below estimation for room & board costs will appear on your bill.

Housing and Meal Plan Refunds

The housing and meal plan contract may be canceled during its term for the following reasons:

• Completion of graduation requirements

• ​Withdrawal from the College for at least one semester

• ​Ineligibility to continue enrollment due to failure to meet academic or other requirements

• In the event of such cancellation, the resident must properly check out of their room within 48 hours of notifying 

Housing and Residence Life of their cancellation and/or withdrawal from the college, and the following refund schedule applies per semester:

Cancellation Date and Refund Schedule

​Fall Semester

• Before May 1st
  ​Housing Refund - 100%
  Housing Deposit Refund - 100%
  Meal Plan Refund - 100%

• July 1st to the First Day of Class
  Housing Refund - 50%
  Housing Deposit Refund - Non-Refundable
  Meal Plan Refund - 100%

• ​After the First Day of Classes
  Housing Refund - Non-Refundable
  Housing Deposit Refund - Non-Refundable
  Meal Plan Refund - 100%

Spring Semester

• Before May 1st
  ​Housing Refund - 100%
  Housing Deposit Refund - 100%
  Meal Plan Refund - 100%

• July 1st to the First Day of Class
  Housing Refund - 100%
  Housing Deposit Refund - Non-Refundable
  Meal Plan Refund - 100%

• ​After the First Day of the Fall Semester Classes
  Housing Refund - 50%
  Housing Deposit Refund - Non-Refundable
  Meal Plan Refund - Non-Refundable

• After the first Day of the Spring Semester Classes
  Housing Refund - Non-Refundable
  Housing Deposit Refund - Non-Refundable
  Meal Plan Refund - Non-Refundable

More information regarding housing & meal plans can be found in the Housing Contract, and on the Student Life department’s pages of Cornish.edu & Compass.

Withdrawal and Recalculation of Financial Aid

If you withdraw and are subject to recalculation of your financial aid & tuition, Cornish will provide you with a written recalculation and a revised statement. Cornish will also supervise your payment and coordinate the return of funds to government agencies, if applicable. If you have overpaid, the surplus amount will be refunded to you. If you owe a balance after the recalculation, you will have 30 days to pay your bill. Students with an account balance of $0 are eligible to return to Cornish.

Institutional Aid Recalculation

Grants, scholarships, and waivers awarded by Cornish College of the Arts will follow the same recalculation schedule as the tuition refund schedule. 

Federal Aid Recalculation

Federal regulations require you to repay a portion of your federal financial aid funds in proportion to the length of time you remained enrolled, up until 60% of the semester. If your withdrawal date is within the first 60% of the semester, Student Accounts will counsel you regarding how much of your federal financial aid must be returned, and what you will owe after your financial aid recalculates. 

Examples of federal financial aid include but are not limited to the Pell Grant, Stafford & Parent PLUS Loans, Federal Supplemental Opportunity Grant (FSEOG), and the Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education (TEACH) Grant.

State Aid Recalculation

State regulations require you to repay a portion of your state financial aid funds if you withdraw before 50% of the semester has been completed. You will be required to pay back one-half of the unearned portion, as calculated by the length of time you were enrolled. 

Examples of state financial aid include but are not limited to the Washington State Need Grant (SNG) & College Bound Scholarship (CBS).

Disclaimer

Fees published in this document are for the academic year 2024-2025. Cornish reserves the right to change fees, tuition, and policy.

If you have any questions about Cornish’s Cost of Attendance, please click here for additional information: https://www.cornish.edu/tuition-financial-aid/