Policies and Procedures
Financial Policies

 

• Students studying on approved international or domestic off-campus programs will be charged the Skidmore comprehensive fee for their semester or year off campus. This fee is equal to Skidmore tuition, room at the on-campus apartment rate, board if applicable, and mandatory college fees. (Note: Skidmore's comprehensive fee will differ from the fees of the program providers.)
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• All off-campus study participants will be billed by Skidmore’s Bursar for the Skidmore comprehensive fee.
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• For both Skidmore and Approved Programs, Skidmore will cover tuition and mandatory academic fees, standard room charges (based on program’s “standard” option), board if applicable, mandatory medical insurance, and any other mandatory program fees. Students are responsible for airfare, on-site transportation (if not included in the provider’s program fee), books, accommodation upgrades, meals when full board is not included on the program, optional field trips and excursions, refundable deposits, and personal expenses. Students are responsible for paying any refundable deposits and non-standard program fees directly to the program provider.
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• Skidmore will pay the program for tuition and mandatory academic fees for the student’s off-campus program; Skidmore will not pay for courses that will not be granted transfer or Skidmore credit. Students must obtain OCSE approval prior to enrolling in any courses that carry additional fees, including any course with a study tour or travel component. Note: Skidmore does not cover the cost of courses with optional study tours or travel components. Students must seek pre-approval from the Director of Off-Campus Study & Exchanges in advance of registering for a course with additional travel fees. Please contact OCSE to discuss this process.
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• OCSE requires that students enroll in a full-time credit load as defined by the program, typically the equivalent of at least 15 US credits. Any student seeking an exception to this requirement must contact OCSE’s Senior Associate Director in writing prior to registering for below 15 US credits or above the program’s full-time credit load.
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• All students studying on an off-campus program will submit a $500 non-refundable confirmation fee by the deadline noted on their acceptance email or the deadline noted on the program provider acceptance letter/email. The $500 confirmation deposit will appear as a credit on the student’s semester invoice. Students studying on an Approved Program are responsible for paying any refundable deposits, most commonly a housing deposit, directly to the program provider.
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• Students are required to use program arranged room and board where available. Students wanting to live in non-program arranged housing should consult with an OCSE Program Manager prior to making those arrangements. Students living in non-program arranged housing are responsible for covering the costs of housing and board independently. Skidmore will adjust the comprehensive fee accordingly.
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• Students are responsible for securing their own housing and board when participating in programs that do not provide those items. If the program does not include room and/or full board, the Skidmore comprehensive fee will be adjusted accordingly. Note: Students in Australia and the UK can elect to be placed in “residential colleges” which typically do not provide a board plan. Skidmore will not charge board for residential colleges; however, we also will not cover the additional cost associated with residential colleges, since there are various additional amenities included. Students will receive an invoice directly from the provider for a supplemental accommodations fee for this type of housing.
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• Skidmore will handle payments to the program providers on behalf of students. However, some programs will submit invoices directly to students via mail, email or their online portal/system. Students that receive invoices for expenses that are covered under Skidmore’s comprehensive fee must submit them to OCSE for payment. Do not disregard invoices that you receive as doing so may jeopardize your enrollment in the program.Additionally, failure to submit the invoices in a timely fashion to OCSE may lead some providers to impose late fees which will be the students’ responsibility.
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• Students may use financial aid on all Skidmore and international and domestic Approved Programs. Students receiving financial aid should speak with a Skidmore Financial Aid representative to review possible aid adjustments based on increased expenses while studying off campus.
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