Policies and Procedures

Financial Policies

• Students studying abroad, through the Skidmore/Spelman College Exchange or the Woods Hole program will be charged the Skidmore comprehensive fee for their semester or year off campus. (Note: Skidmore's comprehensive fee will differ from the fees of the program providers.) This fee is equal to Skidmore tuition, room at the Scribner Apartment rate, board if applicable, and mandatory college fees. Students are required to use program arranged room and board where available. Additionally, if provided a housing option, students are required to select a homestay.  Students desiring an alternative to program housing or a homestay should consult with an OCSE Program Manager. If the program does not include room and/or board, or only partial board, the comprehensive fee will be adjusted accordingly. Students are responsible for paying any refundable deposits and non-included fees directly on-site or to the program provider.
  
  
• Study Abroad, Skidmore/Spelman College Exchange, and Woods Hole program participants will be billed by Skidmore’s Bursar for the Skidmore comprehensive fee.
  
  
• Students participating in a National Student Exchange (NSE) and Washington Semester programs will be charged Skidmore tuition and mandatory college fees by Skidmore’s Bursar. These students are charged by the host institutions for room and board at the host institution rates.

• Students studying on an Approved Program should be aware that their program provider's mandatory course enrollment and maximum credit load for the semester may differ from Skidmore's 15 semester credit requirement. Should a student opt to add an additional credit-bearing course(s) that is not included in the provider's mandatory courseload, he/she will be responsible for paying any supplemental fees for said course directly to the provider. Additionally, if a student elects to enroll in courses during his/her off-campus program that have not been approved for academic credit and therefore are not transferable to Skidmore, he/she will be responsible for payment of said course fees. Occasionally, students must enroll in additional coursework in order to stay on track for graduation. If the program provider considers these additional courses to be an overload, the student should consult with OCSE regarding this policy.

• Students studying on a Skidmore Program will be subject to the college's policy on overloads. (Please refer to the Bursar's webpage: http://cms.skidmore.edu/bursar/fees.cfm)   
  

• Students on an Approved Program will submit a $500 non-refundable confirmation deposit to OCSE (not the program provider), payable to Skidmore College, two weeks after receiving CAS approval for off-campus study. This non-refundable deposit will be deducted from the comprehensive fee when billed by Skidmore. Students are responsible for paying any refundable deposits, most commonly a housing deposit, directly to the program provider.
  
  
• Students on a Skidmore Program will submit a $500.00 non-refundable confirmation fee two weeks after acceptance into their chosen Skidmore Program. $400 of the deposit will be credited to your Skidmore College account and the remaining $100 constitutes a processing fee.
  
  
• Skidmore will handle payments to the program providers on behalf of students. However some providers will submit invoices directly to students via mail, email or their proprietary online system. Students that receive invoices for expenses which are covered under Skidmore’s comprehensive fee must submit them to OCSE for payment. Do not disregard invoices that you receive, 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.
  
  
• For Skidmore and Approved Programs abroad, as well as the Skidmore/Spelman College Exchange and Woods Hole programs, Skidmore will cover tuition and mandatory academic fees, room (double occupancy), board if applicable, 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, board where applicable, voluntary field trips and excursions, refundable deposits, and personal expenses. Students are also responsible for their housing and board when participating in programs that do not include those items. The Skidmore Comprehensive fee will be adjusted accordingly in these cases.


• For the National Student Exchange and Washington Semester, Skidmore will cover tuition and college fees. Students are responsible for transportation to the host campus, books, accommodation, board, voluntary field trips and excursions, refundable deposits, and personal expenses.
  
  
• Students may use financial aid on all Skidmore and International and Domestic Approved Programs. Students receiving financial aid should speak with a Financial Aid representative to review possible aid changes based on increased expenses.