Students are responsible for all fees on their account. Past due accounts greater than two terms will be subject to a Debt hold and being sent to collections.
Students with fees remaining on their account after the start of the term will be notified of their past due balance via e-mail, when a student accrues two terms of debt on their account then their account will receive a hold which will prevent them from future registration until the debt is paid. The student will also be subject to having their account sent to collections.
If a student failed to attend a course and did not drop the courses by the refund deadline, they will be responsible for all fees accrued. Failure to drop a class does not warrant a refund or waiver.
What is CEDAR FINANCIAL SERVICES?
CEDAR is a program that provides MiraCosta College with a method of collecting Accounts Receivable balance for students financial and non-financial aid debts. Cedar offers to report to credit bureaus, and this could have a debtor’s credit adversely affected.
Who gets sent to Collections?
If your account becomes past due, amounts greater than 2 semester terms will be sent out to our third-party collection agency called Cedar Financial Services, and you will be notified by them to work on paying the past due debt.
MiraCosta will send 3 official debt collection letters through USPS. The 3rd letter you receive is considered the final letter in which you will have 30 days to respond to the notification before it is sent to CEDAR.
If you believe you have a balance in error, it is the student’s responsibility to contact the cashier’s office at 760-795-6835 to examine their account in a timely manner.
Students Responsibilities
Students are responsible for knowing their balances due and can be viewed through the students SURF portal at https://surf.miracosta.edu.
Students must ensure that they have the correct mailing address on file with MiraCosta College, if a student does not receive a debt letter due to an invalid or old mailing address, it is not the college’s responsibility.
When a student receives a debt letter or e-mail from MiraCosta College, it is the student’s responsibility to contact the college to make payment arrangements or pay the balance in full.
When a student receives a CEDAR FINANCIAL SERVICES debt letter, it is their responsibility to resolve the debt with CEDAR FINANCIAL SERVICES Agency.
FAQ
I am a Veteran with Federal VA Funds, why do I have a past due balance?
If you are a student using Federal VA Educational Benefits and dropped a course after the add/drop deadline without notifying the Veterans office of the change you may owe the debt back to MiraCosta College. If you have added a class without notifying the Veterans office, you may owe the differences on your account. Any changes you make resulting in an add or a drop, please notify vetsbenefits@miracosta.edu.
I use Tuition Assistance, why do I have a past due balance?
If you are a student using Tuition Assistance and withdrawal or drop a course after the add/drop deadline, before 60% of your course being completed, MiraCosta will return any unearned TA funds back to the government, which could result in the student owing the difference back to MiraCosta.
I received Financial Aid, why do I have a past due balance?
Students who have received a financial aid payment, then withdraw or drop a class after the add/drop deadline could result in owing the financial aid payment back to MiraCosta College. These are often calculated case by case, students can reach out to the financial aid office for further clarification.
I had a payment plan, why do I have a past due balance?
Students who set up a payment plan and do not have sufficient funds in their bank account could result in a return of funds, which then MiraCosta will reapply the charge to the account for payment. Students who request a chargeback from their bank on a payment which was made toward their tuition and fees and are awarded the funds, will have the charge reapplied to their account for payment. Students may see a balance because they did not have the payment plan to cover their entire balance or classes they may have added after they enrolled in a payment plan.
MiraCosta College has used COTOP Collection Agency in the Past. Please do not disregard those notifications as they could be from a past debt. Please email Cashier@miracosta.edu if you have any questions or concerns.
