Payment Questions
An email will be sent to your Salem State email address, so please check your Salem State email on a regular basis. If you have other authorized users, they will receive an email as well to their individual email address.
For student’s sending payment to Salem State University from a 529 Plan, please use the following address to mail paper checks. Please make sure your student ID # is somewhere on the check for processing.
Student Navigation Center
Attention: Student Accounts
352 Lafayette Street
Salem, MA 01970
If you have received a scholarship from a source outside of Salem State University, please make a copy of the scholarship award letter and complete one of the following:
- Email a copy of the scholarship award letter to: navcenter@salemstate.edu
- Stop by the Student Navigation Center to drop off a copy in person
- Mail a copy of the scholarship award letter to:
Salem State University
Attn: Student Navigation Center
352 Lafayette Street
Salem, MA 01970
If payment of your tuition bill is not received on time, you may be assessed late fees and you will have a financial hold placed on your account. That financial hold will prevent you from registering for the next term until your bill has been paid in full. Once the next semester starts, any students who are not registered will be withdrawn from the university.
Fall tuition bills are due the second Wednesday of August.
Spring tuition bills are due the second Wednesday of January.
Summer I & Summer II bills are due the second Wednesday of May.
Bill Questions
Payments update every hour once a payment is made.
- If the payment was a credit card, the payment will go through instantly.
- If the payment is an Echeck, it may take a few days for the payment to clear your account.
- If the payment was mailed, it can take 5-10 business days for processing.
You can add your parent or guardian as an authorized user of your account
Find directions for both students granting access and parents/guardians logging in.
Payment Plans
Payment plans due dates cannot be changed. Due dates for current term plans are as follows:
Fall (5 installments) – 1st of each month starting in August
Spring (5 installments) – 1st of each month starting in January
Summer (3 installments) – 5th of each month starting in May
To schedule a payment, click on the gear button next to the installment amount. When scheduling a payment, please make sure that you have already set up your payment profile from My Profile. You will need to schedule payments for each monthly installment of your plan.
When a student signs up for a monthly payment plan they are required to pay a set amount of money each month to Salem State.
Since a payment plan is not like a loan, which directly pays out in full to SSU, we receive your payments on a monthly basis and apply them to your bill. A monthly statement is provided online to show these payments deducted from your outstanding balance.
Receiving monthly billing can also help students to determine if any corrections are needed to their budget. Examples might be: additional costs from adding a class, reduction in financial aid, or a miscalculation of your actual budget.
Students age 60 and over are eligible to receive a discount on your tuition; fees not included.
First-time students who wish to receive this discount should call the Student Navigation Center at 978.542.8000 and speak with a Student Service Specialist. You will be asked to email a valid government issued ID to navcenter@salemstate.edu to secure your discount.
Returning students who have previously provided their ID will receive the discount each semester they are enrolled. The discount will display when viewing your account activity.
State employees and their families may be eligible for tuition remission. Interested employees should contact their HR departments for details. Find additional tuition remission information.
Current students on a semester payment plan who miss an installment payment will have their plan terminated the next day. If your plan has been terminated, please contact the Student Navigation Center to see what options are available.
If you have a Student Financial Hold (SFH) from a past due balance, you will not be able to enroll into a payment plan online. Please contact the Navigation Center to discuss options.
Refund Questions
If a student has a credit balance from excess financial aid, dropped classes, or an overpayment, they can receive the funds through our eRefund process directly into their checking or savings account. Financial Aid refunds are issued in October for the fall semester, and in February for the spring semester.
If there is a credit on your student account a refund will typically be created for you within 2-4 weeks. A student can request a direct deposit for their refund. If they do not, the refund will be a paper check.
If a payment was made by a credit card, the refund will typically go back to the credit card.
Refunds are sent to students approximately 6 weeks after withdrawal notification by the student.
Tuition and fees are refunded if the university cancels the course.
A matriculated day student carrying 12 or more credits is billed at the full-time flat tuition and fee rate. As there is no additional charge for credits in excess of 12, there is no refund if credits are reduced from 15 to 12.
Collections Questions
You can reach the collections department by email or call 978.542.2150.
Disputes may be submitted in writing within 15 business days from receiving a collection letter.
As long as your account is still with SSU, you can pay through your Navigator account.
If your account is with a collection agency, you will need to pay them directly.
- F.H.Cann and Associates: 877.750.9804
- Radius Global Solutions: 855.753.1581
Please email collections when you have made your final payment to ensure your holds are lifted as soon as possible.
Please allow 3-5 business days once you have paid an agency for the funds to be transferred to SSU. If you require immediate action, please email collections.
Please contact the IT Helpdesk for assistance getting back into your Navigator account if it has been some time since you have logged in.
All students must acknowledge their financial obligation to the university and agree to the terms once per academic year at the university.
This agreement acknowledges that:
- you understand and agree to your responsibility as a student for the cost and expense of all tuition, fees, housing, meal plan costs and other expenses;
- that you will be billed via your university email address, that you are responsible for keeping your contact information current with the university,
- that you are responsible for knowing the rules around registering and withdrawing from classes, and
- that if there is a financial hold on your account, you may be denied services including, but not limited to, registering for classes, receiving your, diploma, or receiving your academic transcript.
Find information on completing your Financial Obligation Agreement.
Students who are in a past due balance plan and miss a payment, will have their plan terminated next day and no future plans will be offered.
Past due balance payment plans may be offered through our Collections Department. Please contact them directly at collections@salemstate.edu. For additional information regarding payment plans, please visit "How to set-up past due balance payment plans".
For additional information regarding what do to about a past due balances, please visit https://ask.salemstate.edu/kb/how-set-past-due-balance-payment-plan-schedule-payments.