Written by Mia Pollard.
This month’s Finance Division Knowledge Base spotlight is on What is Nelnet and what do they do?
NC State allows all students to pay education expenses monthly – interest-free – through our partner, Nelnet Campus Commerce.
The monthly payment plan allows students to spread the cost for a fall or spring term over five monthly installments for a non-refundable fee of $50 per semester. Payment plans are not available for summer terms.
The monthly payment plans run from June to October for fall semesters and from November to March for spring semesters. If a student signs up for a payment plan in the first month, each payment will be 20% of the total balance. If the student signs up in the second or third month of the payment plan, the first/down payment will be equal to 40% or 60%, respectively, to make up for the missed payment(s). To avoid cancellation and penalties, payment plans must be in place prior to the tuition due date.
It is important to note that, due to FERPA regulations, Nelnet does not have access to students’ accounts, only the information entered by the student/parent setting up the plan. The payment plan balance must be manually updated as charges are added or removed from the account.
For example, if a student signs up for a monthly payment plan but then increases their credit hours from part-time to full-time, they must increase the payment plan balance to account for the increase in tuition and fees. If a student’s account balance is paid off before the payment plan is complete, the scheduled payments will continue to draft if the payment plan is not updated or canceled. If necessary, due to a payment plan balance not being updated, a refund for overpayment will be sent via direct deposit to the account on file.
Need Help?
For technical assistance with payment plans, please contact Nelnet at 888-470-6014.