College Expenses

Tuition and Fees

Residence and Meal Plan Rates

Billing, Payments, and Deadlines

Special Course Fees and Additional Program Costs

Other Administrative Fees and Charges

Refund Checks

Tuition and Fees Adjustment Policy

Financial Petitions

2009–10 Graduate Tuition and Fees

Students must pay or arrange payment for all semester charges (minus applicable financial aid) by August 3, 2009, for the fall semester and January 4, 2010, for the spring semester. Students who do not meet these deadlines will not be allowed to confirm their semester attendance, register for classes, or occupy on-campus housing. They also may be assessed a late payment fee of $250. The College reserves the right to change fees at the beginning of any semester.

A student's account must be paid in full before a diploma, transcript, or certificate can be issued.

Full-Time Graduate Tuition and Fees

Part-Time Graduate Tuition and Fees

¹Tuition
Students enrolled in 2 or more credits will be charged the full-time tuition rate. Students enrolled in fewer than 2 credits will be charged the per-course-credit rate.

²Campus Comprehensive Fee
The Campus Comprehensive Fee supports basic medical services at the Mills Student Health Center, the technology infrastructure, graduate activities, and some public safety services such as the Mills shuttle and on-campus parking. Each Mills student is allowed one parking permit and the use of the Mills shuttle free of any additional charge. No portion of the Campus Comprehensive Fee can be waived or petitioned.

³Kaiser Student Health Plan
The charge for the Kaiser Student Health Plan is mandatory for all enrolled graduate students. The health plan charge may be waived with proof of comparable insurance coverage and when a Kaiser Student Health Plan Waiver is completed online at the StudentNet website during the open enrollment period, July 1–August 31 for the fall semester or December 1–January 31 for the spring semester. Kaiser Student Health Plan Waivers may be accepted up to 10 days after the published deadline with a late health plan waiver fee of $150, but no waivers will be accepted after the 10-day late period. International students are required to purchase the Kaiser Student Health Plan.

Students in "In Progress" status are not charged for medical services nor may they opt to buy in.

Fall semester insurance coverage runs from August 15–January 14. Spring semester insurance coverage runs from January 15–August 14.

Students who have comparable insurance coverage will be required to waive the insurance annually. Students whose health insurance provider changes must submit new insurance information with their new health insurance provider's coverage information to the director of wellness and community outreach in the Division of Student Life within 30 days of the change.

Students who have a waiver on file and wish to reverse it due to loss of coverage may submit a Kaiser Student Health Plan Waiver Reversal Request form and pay the appropriate semester health plan charge, which will be prorated. Waiver reversals may be submitted anytime throughout the year.

Summer Fees
Mills offers a limited number of academic opportunities during its summer term. The costs for these opportunities are:

• Independent Study: $250
• Internship: $250
• Directed Research: no charge

Billing, Payments, and Deadlines

Billing Statements
Registered students will receive a bill before each semester. New students and continuing students who have not registered will receive a billing worksheet, which they use to determine their amount due.

Accounts with past due balances are subject to late payment fees. Charges that are incurred once the term begins are added to the student account when the action occurs and are due immediately.

Billing statements will be sent to all registered students in mid-September for the fall semester and in mid-February for the spring semester.

Students who would like their bills to be mailed to a parent, relative, or other third party must enter that address as a billing address in myMILLS. Students may submit an Authorization for Disclosure of Student Account Information form (available online and in the M Center) authorizing Mills College to release information regarding their student account to parents, spouses, and other designated individuals.

Students are responsible for monitoring their account balance and for verifying payments regardless of who is handling the finances. Mills College reserves the right to place a hold on the student's account for overdue balances. This hold will prevent students from accessing services such as registration, confirmation of semester attendance, ordering transcripts, participating in the selection process for housing, and receiving their diploma or certificate.

Electronic Billing
eBilling enables students to view, print, and download their billing statement from the Web and submit payments online. Visit the Student Accounts website for enrollment instructions. Students may authorize any third party to receive a copy of their eBill by creating an authorized user account.

Authorized users are notified by email when a bill is available for viewing. Paper bills will no longer be sent to students who are enrolled in eBilling unless special arrangements have been made by contacting the M Center.

Payment options include payment through credit card or withdrawal from a checking or savings account. While there is no fee for paying electronically through a checking or savings account, a convenience fee is charged for credit card payments.

Payments in Full
Students wishing to pay their tuition in full can pay by cash, check, credit card, wire transfer, or electronically through a checking or savings account. Checks should be payable to Mills College. Payments by credit card or electronic checking or savings accounts can be made through our payment gateway. While there is no fee for paying electronically through a checking or savings account, a convenience fee is charged for credit card payments. Visit the Student Accounts website for payment gateway information. All fees are payable in U.S. dollars.

Payments by Installment
Students who prefer to pay their balance in installments may contact Tuition Management Systems (TMS) to set up a payment plan. Students pay in five equal installments throughout each semester, plus an enrollment fee, by automatic bank withdrawal, check, or credit card. TMS contact information can be found on the Student Accounts website.

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Special Course Fees and Additional Program Costs

Auditor Tuition
Non-degree-seeking students and part-time students are charged for auditing classes at a rate of one-half the regular per-course-credit tuition cost. Full-time students are not charged for auditing classes.

Book Art
Book art studio fees for individual courses range from $100 to $250. If a student drops a studio class by the add deadline the fee will be reversed; otherwise, the fee will remain on the student's account. Students in the Book Art and Creative Writing MFA Program pay an additional fee of $450 per semester.

Dance
Graduate students in dance should expect to incur additional expenses related to their graduate performances and thesis concert. Contact the department for additional information.

MBA Program
Students who take prerequisite courses for the MBA Program when they are not yet officially admitted into that program are charged at the rate of $2,800 per course credit.

MPP Program
Students who take prerequisite courses for the MPP Program when they are not yet officially admitted into that program are charged at the rate of $2,800 per course credit.

Music
Individual instruction fees, which are in addition to the course credit charge, provide for one lesson per week (a total of 14 per semester). Fees range from $700 to $2,000, depending on the instructor. A list of instructors and their fees is available from the Music Department. Practice rooms may be rented for $60 per semester.

Graduate students in the Electronic Music and Recording Media MFA Program should budget for additional materials required for work in this medium. An average of $600 per semester is required to cover the cost of recordable compact discs and DVDs, hard drives, software, and electronic supplies.

Studio Art
Students in the Studio Art MFA Program are provided with on-campus studios and are charged a mandatory supplemental art studio fee of $500 per semester. An additional materials fee is required for graduate studio art classes in ceramics, electronic arts, photography, video, and ARTS 205 Concentrations in Ceramics, Painting, Photography, Sculpture/Intermedia. The fee varies for each area of concentration ($125–$300). If a student drops a class that has a course materials fee by the add deadline, the fee will be reversed; otherwise, the fee will remain on the student's account.

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Other Administrative Fees and Charges

¹Late Fees
Any late fees that are reversed due to a student's status changing from active to inactive may be reinstated if the student becomes active again.

²Returned Check Charge
There is a $25 charge for each returned check. After a check is returned for insufficient funds, the College will only accept payment via guaranteed funds (cash, cashier's check, money order, or electronic transfer) for the remainder of the academic year.

³Thesis-In-Progress Fee
The fee for "In Progress" status is $100 for the initial semester with a $100 increase for each subsequent semester, e.g., $200 for the second semester, $300 for the third semester, etc. This fee is subject to change.

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Refund Checks

If there is a credit balance on a student's account, a refund check may be issued. Refunds are posted weekly and checks are mailed by the Accounts Payable office on Fridays.

Students may verify a pending refund by checking their student account summary on Thursday night in myMILLS via the Mills Resource Portal and looking for the "RFND" code.

Tuition and Fees Adjustment Policy

Leave of Absence or Withdrawal
All students considering a leave of absence or withdrawal should refer to the Leave of Absence and Withdrawal sections in the Academic Regulations part of this catalog. All financial aid recipients considering a leave of absence or withdrawal should also review the Return of Title IV Aid Policy in the Financial Aid section of this catalog.

The leave of absence/withdrawal date is the date that students notify the M Center of their intent to take a leave of absence or withdraw from the College. Once a student has completed the procedure for a leave of absence or withdrawal from the College, a tuition adjustment will be applied to the student's account which, in turn, may or may not result in a refund to the student. A student will receive a refund only if there is a credit balance on the student's account after the tuition adjustment has been made and after federal, institutional, and/or state financial aid has been returned to the programs, according to the Return of Title IV Aid Policy.

Students who take a leave of absence or withdraw from the College and who have an outstanding balance will be billed quarterly. Students who do not pay their outstanding balance by the due date on their first bill will be assessed a quarterly late fee that starts at $25 and increases by $25 increments, e.g., $25, $50, $75, $100, etc. All College services, including transcripts and readmission, will be withheld until the student account is paid in full.

The Campus Comprehensive Fee and installment fee are nonrefundable once instruction begins.

Tuition charges will be adjusted as follows:

¹Students who take a leave of absence or withdraw up to and including the day of the add deadline will be ineligible to participate in the Kaiser Student Health Plan. Consequently, they will be credited 100 percent for the Kaiser Student Health Plan charge as long as they have not used any healthcare services.

²Students who take a leave of absence or withdraw after the add deadline will not receive any adjustment to the Kaiser Student Health Plan charge and will be insured until the end of the coverage period.

Residential students who take a leave of absence or withdraw from the College will be released from their obligation to pay housing charges only if they are released from their Residence Agreement prior to the commencement of the occupancy period (see Deposits and Refunds). Meal plan charges are adjusted based on the date of check-out from the assigned residence.

Change in Enrollment Status
Students who drop from full time to part time on or before the first day of the term will have their tuition adjusted to reflect their new enrollment status. Students who drop from full time to part time after the first day of the term but by the add deadline will have 80 percent of the tuition charges associated with the dropped credits credited to their student account. This adjustment may or may not result in a refund to the student. After the add deadline, no adjustment will be made.

Part-time students who reduce credits or drop courses on or before the first day of the term will have their tuition adjusted to reflect the number of credits for which they are registered. Part-time students who reduce credits or drop courses after the first day of the term but by the add deadline will have 80 percent of the tuition charges associated with the dropped credits credited to their student account. This adjustment may or may not result in a refund to the student. After the add deadline, no adjustment will be made.

Auditors who reduce credits or drop courses on or before the first day of the term will have their tuition adjusted to reflect the number of credits for which they are registered. Part-time students who reduce credits or drop courses after the first day of the term but by the add deadline will have 80 percent of the tuition charges associated with the dropped credits credited to their student account. This adjustment may or may not result in a refund to the student. After the add deadline, no adjustment will be made.

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