Tuition deadline nears

The first day of classes is a critical date for college students to remember, but they won’t want to miss a key deadline coming up in two weeks. Tuition for Illinois Valley Community College’s fall classes is due July 31.

“Lock in your spot by paying early,” suggests Director of Admissions Tom Quigley, who doesn’t want to see students lose out by missing that first deadline. If they don’t pay in full, arrange a payment plan or notify the College they’re receiving financial aid, they will be dropped from the roster and lose their seat in class.

If they’re reinstated but their first choice has filled, they face choosing another class time that might be less convenient or waiting a semester or longer to take that course.

Each semester, about 5-10 percent of enrollees are dropped initially for missing the deadline, said IVCC Bursar Miguel Hermosillo. Many are reinstated quickly because they pay within the next week in response to the drop notice or other communication alerts, he said.

This year, IVCC will use a combination of mailings, emails, texts and phone calls to alert students to the deadline and help them recover if they miss it. “If you receive a communication, please take action,” Hermosillo recommends.

If an enrollee hasn’t received any communication from the college, they should make sure their contact information in records is updated, he added.

Hermosillo urges students on payment plans and receiving financial aid to act sooner rather than later.

Payment plans give students time to pay, and about 10 percent of students use them, Hermosillo said. Arranging a plan promptly means a smaller downpayment and more time to pay the balance off in smaller payments, he said.

Payment plans, payments, and class schedules are easy to arrange using the IVCC Self-Service portal at https://ssprod.ivcc.edu/Student/Student/Courses, Quigley said.

Financial aid recipients should also realize aid doesn’t automatically kick in at enrollment, Hermosillo said. Students must verify with the College to be sure financial aid is released for payments. And they must attend class or could be required to pay back the “unearned” assistance. Nearly half of enrollees receive some sort of financial aid.

Hermosillo is happy to share another statistic: Nearly half of all students pay in full, “which shows how affordable we are,” he said.

Here are important dates to remember:

• July 31 – payment deadline
• August 7 – deadline to pay and be reinstated
• August 14 – final drop for non-payment
• August 15 – classes begin

For more information, contact the IVCC cashier’s office at 815-224-0213.