Statement of Financial Responsibility and Disclosure Statement
This agreement states the terms and conditions regarding your Gateway Technical College (hereinafter, Gateway) student account and is designed to help you to understand the commitment that you are making in the payment of your tuition and fees during your terms of enrollment at Gateway. The words “you “and “yours” mean each of those signing this agreement. “We”, “us” and “our” mean Gateway and its official agents.
Definition of “Student Account”
You have a unique cumulative balance account that was established for you at the time of your application and/or registration to become a student at Gateway. This account uses your (the student’s) Social Security Number or Student Identification Number to identify you for the purposes of maintaining your account. This account becomes a part of your permanent information file at Gateway, and remains even if you graduate or cease to be enrolled. Your student account will include all the charges and credits assessed to you during your enrollment at Gateway. Some examples include, but are not limited to: tuition and fees, financial aid credits and adjustments, payments made to your account, late charges, interest charged against your outstanding balance, and various fines, such as library and parking violations. You have the right to request a copy of your student account at any time by contacting the Student Accounts Department during regular business hours.
Student Financial Responsibility
By signing this agreement with Gateway, you acknowledge to take financial responsibility for the payment of all your education-related charges and fees that become a part of your student account, when those charges are due. You accept full responsibility to pay all tuition, fees and other associated costs assessed as a result of your registration and/or receipt of services.
I understand and agree that if I drop or withdraw from some or all of the classes for which I register, I will be responsible for paying all or a portion of tuition and fees in accordance with the published tuition refund schedule found on the Gateway tuition refund policy web page. I have read the terms and conditions of the published tuition refund schedule and understand those terms are incorporated herein by reference. I further understand that my failure to attend class or receive a bill does not absolve me of my financial responsibility as described above.
Account Statements and Billing Information
A billing statement will be available through the student’s MyGateway/online student account at any time. Students are responsible to view the bill through their MyGateway/online student account. If you do not provide us with an address, you will need to access your bill via MyGateway/online student account. You agree to notify us promptly if your address changes.
Gateway will provide you with access to an online (“MyGateway”) account. Through your MyGateway/online student account, among other things, you will be able to register for classes, access your grades and class schedule, view billing information, including amounts owed by you to Gateway, make payments and view the status of any financial aid you may be entitled to receive.
Communication
I understand and agree that Gateway uses the Gateway student email as an official method of communication and therefore the student is responsible for reading the emails they receive from Gateway on a timely basis.
Educational Loan
Your student account is considered by Gateway, a non-profit institution of higher learning, to be an educational loan made to you to assist in the financing of your education, and therefore is not dischargeable under the United States Bankruptcy Code at 11 U.S.C. 523(a)(8)). The outstanding balance due on this loan is subject to finance charges as established in the current policies outlined in the Gateway Student Handbook, and Gateway has the right to recover any collection and/or litigation costs incurred in the collection of any amount due.
Payment Plan
Gateway offers a student payment plan to you as a payment arrangement. The payment plan is broken into four installments which are due throughout the semester in which the payment plan was initiated. Due dates are displayed on Gateway’s website and on the payment plan form and MyGateway/online student account. A payment plan late fee will be assessed for any scheduled payment that is not paid by the payment plan due date. Students who plan to enroll in the payment plan can sign up for the plan at the time of registration.
Prior Debt Option - Financial Aid
If your financial aid, including any disbursements of Title IV funds such as Pell Grants or Federal loans, creates a credit balance on your student account, you will need to confirm with the Student Accounts Department that you wish to use these funds to cover a prior semester balance. Refunds of Title IV funds are available on Friday each week.
Adjustments to Financial Aid
Any balance due to Gateway as the result of adjustments made to your estimated or confirmed financial aid or your refusal to apply for any or all of your financial aid, or your inability to complete the financial aid verification process become your responsibility for payment. You agree to supply the Financial Aid Office with any reasonable information or documents that they may request to complete the verification process within the time requested.
When an Account Becomes “Past Due”
Tuition and charges related to your enrollment as a student at Gateway are due and payable, either by your financial aid in process or by your direct payment, on the due date noted on each statement, or on the first day of each term of enrollment. Accounts not paid in full by the last day of each term are subject to late payment penalties and interest charges as published in the latest Gateway Student Handbook. If a balance is not paid in full, registration for future terms of enrollment may be blocked. When a student’s account becomes past-due, they will have limited access to other services until the account becomes current. If the student account remains past due after thirty (30) days from the due date of the account, Gateway has the right to place the account with an outside collection agency to assure payment of the outstanding debt, and to recover from the student any and all costs involved with the collection of the debt.
Collection Agency Fees
I understand and accept that if I fail to pay my student account bill or any monies due and owed to Gateway by the scheduled due date, Gateway may refer my delinquent account to a collection agency. I further understand that I am responsible for paying the collection agency fee which may be based on a percentage at a maximum of 33.5 percent of my delinquent account, together with all the costs and expenses, including reasonable attorney’s fees, necessary for the collection of my delinquent account. Finally, I understand that my delinquent account may be reported to one or more of the national credit bureaus.
Financial Hold
I understand and agree that if I fail to pay my student account bill or any monies due and owed Gateway by the scheduled due date, Gateway will place a financial hold on my student account preventing me from registering for future classes or receiving my diploma and limiting access to other services.
Returned Payments/Failed Payment Agreements
If a payment made to my student account is returned by the bank for any reason, I agree to repay the original amount of the payment plus a returned payment fee of $35.00. I understand that multiple returned payments and/or failure to comply with the terms of any payment plan or agreement I sign with Gateway may result in cancellation of my classes and/or suspension of my eligibility to register for future classes at Gateway.
Students in Bankruptcy
We have a right to assess your creditworthiness based on past bankruptcy/credit history with Gateway. If you are currently active in bankruptcy and/or have listed Gateway as a debtor on a bankruptcy filing, we have the right to request payment in full at the time of registration and refuse other financing options. This is an educational loan agreement and therefore any debt incurred with Gateway is rarely dischargeable through bankruptcy.
IRS Form 1098-T
I agree to provide my social security number (SSN) or taxpayer identification number (TIN) to Gateway upon request as required by Internal Revenue Services (IRS) regulations for Form 1098-T reporting purposes. If I fail to provide my SSN or TIN to Gateway, I agree to pay any and all IRS fines assessed as a result of my missing SSN/TIN.
I consent to receive my annual IRS Form 1098-T, tuition statement, electronically from Gateway. I understand that if I do not consent to receive my 1098-T electronically, I can withdraw this consent through the student's MyGateway/online student account at any time and a paper copy will be mailed to the address on file within 30 days.
Your Rights as the Borrower
- You have a right to clearly understand the financial obligation that you are accepting by enrolling as a student at Gateway.
- You have a right to fair and equal treatment by Gateway and any of its official agents in the administration of your student account.
- You have a right to have your questions about your account respectfully answered until you understand.
- You have a right to dispute any and all charges and credits to your student account by following the proper procedure for disputing items on your account as contained in this document.
- You have a right to respectful and honest treatment by the staff and administrators of Gateway and its agents.
Our Rights as the Credit Grantor
- We can delay or waive any of our rights without losing them permanently.
- As part of this agreement, you authorize us to investigate you or your co-signers’ credit-worthiness as part of the process of granting you credit to finance your education at Gateway Technical, as we deem necessary. You also authorize us to report your account status with consumer credit reporting agencies, creditors, and others, as defined by the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.
- We can change the terms of this agreement at any time. When we are required to give you notice, we will notify you by posting any changes in our offices unless federal or state law requires us to give you additional notice. You agree that any changes will apply to your prior balance due as well as to any new charges and credits.
- Your account is subject to applicable Wisconsin and federal laws. If the law makes part of this agreement void, the other terms will be valid and enforceable.
To Notify Us About Errors on Your Student Account
If you think your bill is wrong or you want to dispute any item contained on it, describe the nature of your dispute in writing and mail it to us at, Gateway Technical College, Student Accounts Department 3520 30th Avenue, Kenosha, WI 53144. Write to us as soon as possible to preserve your rights. We must hear from you no later than thirty (30) days from the time that we sent you the first account statement on which the error or problems occurred. You can inform us later of the problem, and we will attempt to resolve it, but you will not preserve your legal rights if you do not notify us within thirty (30) days. In your letter, give us the following information:
- Your name and student ID number.
- The dollar amount of the suspected error.
- Describe the error in as much detail as you can; explaining why you believe there is an error.
After we receive your written notice, we will acknowledge your letter within thirty (30) days. Within ninety (90) days from the receipt of your letter, we must either correct your error, or explain our findings to you. During the time an item on your account is in dispute, we will not try to collect that item. We will continue to bill you for the amount, including finance charges accruing on the item. You do not have to pay any disputed amount while we are investigating the alleged error, but you will still be responsible to pay any amount on your account not in dispute. We will waive any finance charges or late fees related to any error on our part. If we did not make a mistake, you may have to pay the accumulated finance charge and fees and you will have to make up any missed payments by your next statement due date.
Contact
I understand and authorize that Gateway and its agents and contractors to contact me at my current and any future phone/cellular phone number(s), mailing address, email address(es) or wireless device(s) regarding my delinquent student account(s)/loan(s), any other debt I owe to Gateway, or to receive general information from Gateway. I authorize Gateway and its agents and contractors to use automated telephone dialing equipment, artificial or prerecorded voice or text messages, and personal calls and emails, in their efforts to contact me. Furthermore, I understand that I may withdraw my consent to call my cellular phone by request in writing to Gateway or in writing to the applicable contractor or agency contacting me on behalf of Gateway.
Entire Agreement
This agreement supersedes all prior understandings, representations, negotiations and correspondence between the student and Gateway, constitutes the entire agreement between the parties with respect to the matters described, and shall not be modified or affected by any course of dealing or course of performance. This agreement may be modified by Gateway if the modification is signed by me. Any modification is specifically limited to those policies and/or terms addressed in the modification.
I agree to the terms and conditions of this agreement, as well as those contained in the official policies of Gateway as published in the most recent edition of the Student Handbook as condition of my enrollment as a student at Gateway. I acknowledge that I have read this agreement.
Agreement can be acknowledged at My Gateway | WebAdvisor & Self-Service | Personal Information | Update Personal Information.