Frequently Asked Questions

General

Q. What does the Business Services Office do?
A. We bill students and third-party sponsors, post charges to student accounts, send refunds for credit balances, and accept payments and departmental deposits. If you have questions about financial aid awards, please contact the Financial Aid Office. If you have questions about your registration, please contact the Registrar’s Office.

Q. Where is the Business Services Office located?
A. We are located in Forrest County Hall, room 101.

Q. What are your office hours?
A. Our lobby is open between 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. Monday through Friday during normal business days.

Q. How can I check my account balance?
A. Log in to SOAR and select Self Service>Learner Services>Finances. We encourage you to check your account balance frequently.

Q. What is the last day to drop a class and receive a refund?
A. http://www.usm.edu/bizserv/refunds.html

Q. I registered for a mini-session class. How is the tuition calculated?
A. Tuition for min-session classes is charged at the same rate per semester hour as regular classes. Out-of- State fees are waived for mini-session classes. Please be aware that mini-session classes are billed in addition to regular classes.

Q.I am registered for full time hours this semester. If I add a mini-session course, will the total cost of tuition change?
A. Yes, mini-session classes are posted separately and are not included in your regular tuition charges.

Q. I am an out of state student will I be charged out of state fees for a mini-session course?
A. No, out of state fees are waived for mini-session classes.

Payment

Q. How can I make a payment on my student account?
A. You have several options for making payments

Pay with a credit card via SOAR.Log In and select Self Service>Learner Services>Finances>Make Payment
Pay in person in our lobby between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m.
Check payments may be placed in the drop box located to the left of the front door of Forrest County Hall (payments made after 3:00 p.m. will be posted the next business day)

We accept cash, checks, cashiers, checks, money orders, and major credit cards.

Q. How is the minimum payment determined?
A. The University requires that 50 percent of all semester charges be paid before classes start. This includes tuition, housing, meals and any course fees that may apply. Your anticipated financial aid, scholarships and waivers may be used to pay toward the minimum payment. If you have more anticipated financial aid than what is required up front, a minimum payment is not required. In addition to 50 percent of semester charges, 100 percent of all previous semesters must be paid.

Q. May I use my financial aid for this semester to pay a previous semester balance?
A. Financial aid may only be applied to the semester in which it was allocated. It may not be used to pay previous semester balances.

Refunds

Q. When will I receive my refund?
A. After the refund deadline, we mail checks on Fridays.

Q. May I come by the Business Office to pick up my refund check?
A. No, all refund checks are mailed to the student. Checks do not forward to new addresses, so it is important that you keep your address up to date.

Q. Can I have my refund deposited directly to my checking or savings account?
A. Not at this time but we are looking into the possibility of offering direct deposit in the future.

Billing

Q. When do I have to pay my bill?
A. http://www.usm.edu/bizserv/billingsched.htm

Q. I did not receive a bill. What do I do?
A. You do not need a bill in order to make a payment. There are many reasons why you may not have received a bill. Your address may be incorrect or you may not have any charges on your account. If you registered for classes after the pre-registration period, you will not receive a bill from our office. However, you can log on to your SOAR account and view your minimum payment screen to find out how much your payment is.

Q. My bill is wrong. What should I do?
A. If you have a question about tuition, contact our office. If you have a question about a department charge, you must contact the department that placed the charge on your account.

Financial Aid

Q. Why hasn’t my financial aid posted to my SOAR account?
A. There are many reasons why financial aid hasn’t posted. If you have turned in all required documentation, please contact the Financial Aid office. The most common reasons financial aid has not posted are listed below.

The student failed to register for the correct number of units
The Financial Aid office has not received additional information requested
The student is not making satisfactory academic progress
The University has not yet received the scholarship or loan

Q. When can I expect a refund from the proceeds of my financial aid?
A. After classes start, we mail refunds to campus addresses on Friday afternoons. I you do not have a campus post office box, the refund check will be mailed to the mailing address on file. You may check or change your address by logging in to your SOAR account, or you may check with the Registrar’s Office in the Kennard Washington building. Checks do not forward to new addresses, so it is important that you keep your address up to date.

Q. What is a Perkins loan?
A. A Perkins loan is a need based federal loan given through the University.

Q. What is the difference between Perkins loans and Stafford loans?
A. Perkins Loans are given through the University. Stafford loans are issued through a bank. The interest rate is different.

Q. Do I qualify for a Perkins loan?
A.The Financial Aid office awards loans. Please contact them if you have questions about eligibility.

Q. I turned in an outside scholarship. When will it be posted to my account?
A. On average, it takes about two weeks for scholarship checks to post to your student account once a semester has begun.