Fall 2023 tuition charges are scheduled to be calculated the weekend of June 30 for registered students. Students registering after that date will see their charges shortly afterward. Housing charges should be reflected in your PAWS Student Center shortly before or after this time. Once charges are posted, you’ll be able to see a future balance due, and you’ll likely have some questions. Here are some of our FAQs!
[expand title=”What do I owe?”]
You will NOT be sent a paper bill. An email will be sent to your @uwm.edu account asking you to view your billing statement in your PAWS Student Center. Those emails will go out shortly after charges are added. Please read all emails carefully.
It is very important that you select “View Billing Statement” (shown below) which takes into account anticipated financial aid. DO NOT SIMPLY LOOK AT THE ACCOUNT SUMMARY.
Watch this video if you’d like a more detailed walkthrough of how to read your billing statement.
- If the amount of anticipated aid is LESS than the amount owed, you will have a balance due the university. If you are unable to pay the amount due in full by the due date, you are strongly encouraged to sign up for the UWM Payment Plan. New as of Fall 2022, students must OPT IN each semester if they wish to make payments in 2-3 installments.
- If you will have a credit balance (i.e. you owe less than your anticipated aid), you do not need to make a payment; just confirm after August 28 that all of your aid has been applied to your charges and that your charges are paid in full. Sign up for direct deposit (ACH) refunds at: https://uwm.edu/finances/refunds/
In some instances, you may appear to have a credit balance, but this may not be the case if all of your charges haven’t been posted. Please confirm all charges are reflected on your billing statement. Billing/payment plan questions should be directed to the Student Financial ServiceCenter: (414) 229-4541, finances@uwm.edu, Mellencamp Hall Room 162
[/expand]
[expand title=”What if I don’t have enough to pay my entire bill?”]
If you are unable to pay your university charges in full by the due date, you should sign up for the UWM Payment Plan. There is a $25 non-refundable enrollment fee and students must enroll every semester. Students who do not pay their charges in full by the due date and do not sign up for the Payment Plan may be charged a $25 Late Payment Fee and a Finance charge of .5% per month on the amount owed.
If you have already been offered financial aid but need additional funds, please visit Additional Financial Aid Options.
[/expand]
[expand title=”What if I don’t have any anticipated aid showing?”]
Read the PAWS Financial Aid Tutorial for help reviewing your PAWS account including “To Do Items and Accepting Aid.” If you haven’t applied for aid, it isn’t too late. Apply online as soon as possible at https://fafsa.gov. If you don’t have any anticipated aid, you should pay the amount due in full or sign up for the UWM Payment Plan.
[/expand]
[expand title=”When will my aid disburse?”]
Financial aid disbursement begins Saturday, August 26, ten days before classes begin. You should be able to see disbursed aid posted on your PAWS account that afternoon. We will send you an email the following week either confirming your aid has been disbursed or explaining why it has not. Emails will also be sent in July and August to those whose accounts show they may experience a delay in their disbursement.
Beginning the week before the first disbursement, call volume is extremely high, and you will experience longer than usual wait times. Please do not call before August 27 to ask if your aid will disburse. If you do not see any To-Do items in your PAWS account and do not fall under one of the categories below, you can assume your aid will disburse on time.
The easiest way to verify your funds have been disbursed is by checking your PAWS account after August 27 and reading emails sent to your UWM account.
If your aid is more than your charges, the excess will be sent to you to use for your other educational expenses. Sign up for Direct Deposit of Refunds to receive your excess funds as quickly as possible. If you do not sign up for direct deposit, the excess check will be sent to your PAWS mailing address. If you are expecting a check, please make sure that your mailing address on PAWS is correct. The Office of Student Accounts will begin mailing these on Tuesday, August 29. Excess checks can not be held for pickup. If you have questions about your excess cash check, after allowing for postal delivery times, contact the Student Financial Service Center.
[/expand]
[expand title=”What could prevent my aid from disbursing?”]
Even when disbursement runs smoothly, some students experience delays in receiving their funds. The most common problems are listed below:
YOU ARE ENROLLED PART-TIME, BUT YOUR FINANCIAL AID BUDGET IS FULL-TIME:
- Original financial aid offers are based on the assumption of full-time enrollment. If you are an undergraduate student enrolled in less than 12 credits, you must tell us how many credits you will take. Our office will review your aid for possible revisions and make sure these match which then allows your aid to disburse. In most cases, a minimum of six undergraduate credits is required to receive any amount of financial aid. If you have not previously provided our office with this information, please do so now. The most efficient way to inform us is via our online contact form. Please provide the number of credits you will take (fall and spring if known). Include ENROLLMENT or CREDIT LEVEL in the subject line and also make sure you include your STUDENT ID # in the body of your email.) Failure to notify our department by August 10 may result in a delay in the disbursement of your aid.
- Graduate students enrolled in less than 8 credits no longer need to tell us. We will adjust our records to match your enrollment in mid-August. Enrollment in a minimum of 4 four graduate credits is required to receive Federal Loan funding.
YOU HAVEN’T COMPLETED ALL LOAN REQUIREMENTS:
- A one-time MASTER PROMISSORY NOTE (MPN) and ENTRANCE COUNSELING must be completed in order for Federal Direct and Grad PLUS loans to disburse. If this is your first time borrowing one of these loans, you will need to complete both of these requirements online at studentaid.gov. Select Step 4 Sign Loan agreement to complete the loan application and Step 5 Complete Entrance Counseling if you are borrowing for the first time. If you need to do either of these, you should see it reflected as a “To Do Item” on your PAWS account. Watch a tutorial for help.
- NURSING LOANS – A new promissory note is needed each year. You should see it as a “To Do Item” in your PAWS account if one is needed.
A HOLD HAS BEEN PLACED ON THE DISBURSEMENT OF YOUR AID UNTIL WE CAN VERIFY YOU ARE MAKING SATISFACTORY ACADEMIC PROGRESS (SAP):
- If you are on an academic plan, financial aid warning, or probation, we need to confirm that you are meeting the SAP requirements to remain eligible for aid. This review is generally not completed until closer to the start of the semester.
[/expand]
[expand title=”What else do I need to know?”]
If you change the number of credits you are enrolled in after your aid disburses, an adjustment to your aid may be required. For details, please refer to the “Census Date” section of the online version of the 2023-24 Undergraduate Financial Aid Handbook or the 2023-24 Graduate Student Financial Aid Handbook. Now would be a good time to review the entire handbook for important and timely information.
Pounce the Chatbot allows you to ask your questions 24/7 and most questions will be answered immediately. You can also contact a representative by phone or email. Advisors are available to assist with more complex issues via appointment. You can schedule an appointment online. You can select your preferred way of meeting. We currently offer phone or Teams/Virtual, and walk-in appointments on Wednesdays from 10 AM–3 PM.
You can reach a representative by phone 9 AM – 4 PM Monday through Thursday and Fridays 9 AM – 3 PM. Staff are also available for general questions during those same hours in the Student Financial Service Center, Mellencamp Room 162.
You can get all your questions answered remotely and submit most documents via e-mail or fax.
The office will be closed September 5 for Labor Day.
Find all of our contact information on our website.
[/expand]