Office of the Bursar
W111 E. Raymond Smith Building
814-949-5028

The Office of the Bursar is responsible for maintaining student accounts pertaining to acceptance fees, tuition billing, charges, payments, and refunds.

Tuition Statement

Account statements are prepared on a monthly basis. Billing begins in early August for the fall semester and early January for the spring semester. However, this may vary slightly depending on when a student enrolls in classes. Enrollment typically occurs in conjunction with New Student Orientation.

Students will receive a notification via their Penn State email account when their statement is available to view/pay through the Student Center in LionPATH. Residence hall charges are included in the statement, if applicable. Paper statements are NOT mailed. The Office of the Bursar, as well as other Penn State departments, will communicate important information to students through their Penn State e-mail account. It is important that students monitor their Penn State email account.

Remind Your Student

  • Sign up for eRefund (direct deposit).
  • Grant online Authorized Payer access for parents/ other individuals (optional).
  • Grant online Delegated access for parents (optional).

Financial Responsibility Agreement

Students must sign a Financial Responsibility Agreement (FRA) prior to enrolling in classes each semester. The FRA is a student’s promise to take responsibility for the payment of his or her account.

Paying Tuition

The eCheck option is a fast and convenient method to pay the tuition statement directly from a personal checking account drawn on a U.S. bank. There is no charge to pay by eCheck. Credit card payments (Visa, MasterCard, Discover, or American Express) are also accepted. A service fee will be charged for credit card payments.

If students want to mail a check, a payment stub may be printed and mailed with the payment to Penn State.

The payment must be received and posted to the student’s account by the due date on the student’s statement to avoid a late fee. Please allow five to seven business days for processing after the payment is received.

Payment Plans

Penn State offers an Installment Payment Plan every semester. Enrollment in the plan allows students/ authorized payers to pay 1/4 of the semester charges (tuition, fees, room, and meals, if applicable) each month, over a period of four months. Fall semester installment payment due dates are August 22, September 22, October 22, and November 22. Spring semester due dates are January 22, February 22, March 22, and April 22. There is a $45 non-refundable enrollment fee per semester, which covers administrative costs. The payments can be made with eCheck or credit card (Visa, MasterCard, Discover, or American Express).

Students/authorized payers can enroll in the plan online once the tuition statement is available. To enroll with 1/4 of the payment, students/authorized payers must complete the enrollment process and make the first payment prior to the first installment due date. Enrolling after the first installment due date will require an initial payment of 2/4 of the balance payable at the time of enrollment. Please check the Bursar website for actual installment due dates.

Additional Student Aid

The Anticipated Financial Aid section on a student’s tuition statement reflects the most current known available financial aid. Students with scholarships, grants, or loans that are not reflected in their statement should contact the Office of Student Aid.

[email protected] | 814-949-5055 | W113 E. Raymond Smith Building

Outside Scholarship Information

Many students will receive scholarships from various organizations, agencies, and foundations as they graduate from high school. In order for your student’s tuition statement to reflect these outside awards, it is important to send the scholarship checks as early as possible to the address below. Please include the student’s Penn State ID in the memo line.

Penn State Altoona
Attention: Bursar’s Office
3000 Ivyside Park
Altoona, PA 16601

eRefund

For the quickest delivery of a refund, students are encouraged to have their refund electronically deposited into a bank account. eRefund is only available to students. Parents receive ParentPLUS loan refunds by paper check.

Tuition Assessment and Planning

Penn State assesses tuition based on the student’s campus, college, major, residency classification, credit load, and semester classification. Once an undergraduate student completes 59.1 or more total credits (which include credits earned through advanced placement or transferred from another institution), the student is considered to have obtained Junior/Senior status at Penn State. The Board of Trustees approves the tuition and fees for the academic year in mid-July. Tuition rates can be found on the University's Tuition site. For additional information, please visit the University's Office of the Bursar site.

Granting Authorized Payer Access

Students grant Authorized Payer Access

To grant access follow these steps:

  1. Log in to your Student Home Base in LionPATH.
  2. Click on "My Finances" on top of the page.
  3. Select "Manage My Account/Make A Payment" to get to your Student Account Dashboard.
  4. Scroll down the overview page and click on “Send a payer invitation.”
  5. Complete the information requested for the Authorized Payer and click on “Send invitation.” Your Authorized Payer will receive an email with the Authorized User and temporary password, and a link to log in to the student account.