Transylvania is an independent, nonprofit educational institution. Tuition, fees and other charges paid by the student represent only a part of the university’s instructional and operating expenses. The balance needed to meet expenses and to fund continuing additions to the physical plant comes from the endowment fund and contributions by alumni, churches, businesses, foundations and friends of Transylvania.
The university reserves the right to set new fees and charges as economic conditions change. Published notice of any change will usually be given well in advance of the effective date. Students are billed on a per-term basis.
The tuition for full-time students for 2019-20 is $38,570, and the general fee is $1,640, for a total basic charge of $40,210. First-time freshmen opting in to the Level Tuition Program (LTP) in the 2019-20 cohort will pay tuition of $38,570 with a $1,600 Level Tuition Option Premium for a locked-in tuition rate of $40,170 for 4 years (8 consecutive terms), plus the current annual general fee. The tuition for full-time 2019-20 LTP cohort students is $40,170, and the general fee is $1,640 for a total charge of $41,810.
Room and Board Fees
Room: Full-time students (those taking three course units or more) are required to live on campus unless they meet any one of the following criteria: (1) achievement of senior status (completion of 27 course units before the beginning of fall term); (2) 21 years of age by the first day of classes of the fall term; (3) married and/or have dependents, or (4) living with parent(s) or legal guardian(s) within 50 miles of campus.
Regular part-time students may not live on campus except under highly unusual circumstances and with the permission of the dean of students. Rooms may be occupied the day before classes begin at the start of each term and must be vacated on the last day of the term. Residence halls are not open during the Thanksgiving holiday, the period between fall and winter terms and spring break.
2019-20 Room Rates
Standard room rate: $6,090 per year (Poole, Rosenthal and select university houses)
Room rate for other residence facilities:
Hazelrigg Hall: $5,920 (single occupancy)
Thomson Hall: $6,590 per year (double occupancy)
Dalton-Voigt, Bassett and Pioneer residence halls: $6,990 per year (double occupancy)
Single-room supplement: $2,500 per year
Board: Service begins the first day residence halls open each term and ends on the last day of the term. Students living in university residence halls are required to eat in the campus dining facilities. No meal credit will be allowed for temporary absences.
2019-20 Meal Plan Rates
Standard meal plan: $4,380 per year — choose from:
- 10-meal-per-week plan plus $350 dining dollars per term
- 14-meal-per-week plan plus $200 dining dollars per term
- 160-block-meals-per-term plan plus $150 dining dollars per term
Additional meal plan option:
- 19-meal-per-week plan: $4,680 per year
- 80-block-meal plan plus $75 dining dollars — available only for commuter students and residents of 338 N. Upper Street House (required) and the Fourth Street Apartments/select houses (optional)
- Commuter meal plans: (available only to those living off campus) — choose from:
- 40-block-meal plan plus $50 dining dollars for $560
- 60-block-meal plan plus $50 dining dollars for $840
Students may make changes to their selected meal plan up until census day each term.
Students who were enrolled full time and completed both fall and winter terms are eligible to attend May term at no additional charge for tuition or room and board*. This includes students who study abroad either in the fall or winter term for one of the two terms. Students who were enrolled full time and have completed only one of the two previous terms (fall or winter) are eligible to attend May term with no additional charge for tuition but must pay prorated charges for room and board. Students who were not enrolled full time during one of the previous terms (fall or winter) pay a prorated tuition, general fee and room and board charge for May term. Students who do not attend May term or who withdraw during May term do not qualify for a fee refund.
Students must be enrolled in at least one unit of credit during May term to live in campus housing during this period unless prior approval has been granted by the Dean of the University or the Dean of Students. Student athletes participating in a sport that extends into May term may be exempted from this requirement with the written permission of the athletic director. Students who withdraw from the university during winter term cannot attend May term unless readmitted.
Students who enroll in a May term travel course are responsible for the travel costs associated with the course. The cost for these courses vary.
*Students who participated in August term may take a fourth May term at no additional tuition charge. If the student resides in a residence hall and has a meal plan, they will be charged the cost of extending their meal plan for the fourth May term.
Fees for part-time students for 2019-20 are $4,280 per course unit. Part-time students are also charged a proportion of the general fee at the rate of $180 per course unit.
Late Registration/Enrollment Fee |
Any student who fails to complete registration by the end of the designated period will be required to pay the late fee. |
Audit Fee per Course |
Regular students carrying a full load may audit without additional charge with the consent of the institution. Students may not audit applied music courses. |
Overload Fee per Course |
The overload fee is charged for credit enrollment at or beyond the overload level. |
Tuition Refund Plan |
Student Services Deposit |
All students must maintain a deposit. |
Late Payment Fee |
$20 per late payment |
12-month Payment Plan Fee |
$60 per term |
Applied Music Fee (Policy: www.transy.edu/applied-music-policy) |
$180 per half-hour lesson |
Payment of Tuition and Fees and Financial Obligations
The tuition bill is established once the student has registered for classes. If eligible for financial aid, the students’ aid will be credited to their student accounts after they accept their financial aid award. Students choose a tuition payment plan each year. They can either pay in full once per term or pay in monthly installments.
Pay-in-Full Plan: The student account is payable in full on Aug. 5 for the fall term and Jan. 5 for the winter term.
12-Month Plan: The student account is paid in monthly installments with a processing fee of $60 per term. Each term’s charges are split into six monthly installments due on the fifth of each month—July 5 through Dec. 5 for fall term expenses and Jan. 5 through June 5 for winter term expenses.
Late payments are assessed a $20 late fee per month, and returned checks (including electronic checks) are charged a $10 fee. Failure to meet an installment automatically cancels the privilege of class attendance. No diploma, certificate, transcript, term grade report, letter of honorable dismissal or letter of recommendation will be granted to students who have indebtedness to the university. Students having any indebtedness to the university will not be permitted to complete enrollment for the following term’s classes.
Method of billing: The university uses electronic billing as its official billing method. Students are responsible for viewing and paying their student accounts by scheduled due dates. Failure to review the bill does not constitute a valid reason for not paying the bill on time.
Sound business practice provides guidelines for all financial transactions with the university, including but not limited to the payment of fees and other obligations. These practices include a respect for accuracy and punctuality. The university deals with students and those granted specific authorization by the student when questions concerning these transactions arise.
Dropping or Withdrawing from a Course
Students dropping or withdrawing from a course which results in the student falling below full-time status will receive no reduction in tuition and fees if the change occurs after tuition charges become final, normally the fifth day of classes. (Specific dates are published in the academic calendar.)
Students dropping or withdrawing from a course that originally resulted in an academic overload will receive no reduction in tuition and fees if the withdrawal occurs after tuition charges become final, normally the fifth day of classes. (Specific dates are published in the academic calendar.)
Withdrawal from the University and Refunds
The completion of registration contractually obligates the student and the student’s benefactors to pay all of the student’s tuition and fees for the entire term. A withdrawal is considered official only upon the submission of a completed withdrawal form. Non-attendance does not constitute an official withdrawal.
Students have a right to appeal decisions made regarding financial transactions. The process begins with the billing specialist in Student Accounting Services.
Transylvania has adopted the following refund policy:
Fall and Winter Terms:
Tuition and Room Charges
Tuition and room charges will be prorated during the first 4 weeks of the term with the maximum refund of 50 percent. There will be no refund after Week 4 (28th day of term).
If a student withdraws |
Percent Refunded |
First 7 days of term |
8th through 14th day |
15th through 21st day |
22nd through 28th day |
There are no refunds after the first 7 days of the term. The full amount will remain due.
Summer and May Terms:
There are no refunds or proration of charges for tuition, room or meal plans after the first 2 days of the term. The full amount will remain due.
Treatment of Financial Aid When a Student Withdraws
Federal Financial Assistance
The law specifies how Transylvania must determine the amount of federal financial assistance that has been earned when a student withdraws from the university during a term. The federal financial assistance programs Transylvania offers that are covered by this law are: Federal Pell Grants, Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grants, Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants, Federal Direct Loans, and Federal Direct PLUS Loans.
Although federal financial assistance is posted to the student’s account at the start of each term, these funds are earned as the student completes the term. If a student withdraws from Transylvania during the term, the amount of federal financial assistance earned up to that point is determined by a specific formula.
At the time of a student’s withdrawal, the university is required to complete a recalculation of federal financial aid based on the withdrawal date. Unearned funds, according to this calculation, are returned to their source. The amount of federal financial assistance that has been earned is proportional to the number of days of the term that have been completed by the student up to the 60 percent point in the term, when all federal financial assistance is considered to have been earned by the student.
Additional details about the treatment of federal financial assistance when a student withdraws during a term can be found in the Federal Student Aid Handbook available in the Office of Financial Aid.
State, Institutional, and Other Financial Assistance
State, institutional, and all other outside types of financial assistance are treated differently than federal financial assistance is when a student withdraws during a term. These funds are recalculated based on the percentage of tuition and room charges to be refunded to the student by the university. According to the university’s refund policy, following the fourth week of the term, no tuition or room refund is due to the student, therefore, no state, institutional, or other outside financial assistance will be returned to its source.
When a student withdraws during a term and is due a tuition or room refund according to the university’s refund policy, the student will be eligible to retain the same percentage of the total state, institutional, and other outside financial assistance as they are charged for tuition and room. In other words, a student due a 25 percent tuition or room refund will be eligible to retain 75 percent of their total state, institutional, and other outside financial assistance. The calculated amount to be returned to the source will be allocated in the following order:
- Kentucky CAP Grant;
- Kentucky Tuition Grant (KTG);
- Go Higher Grant;
- Teacher Scholarship;
- Kentucky Educational Excellence Scholarship (KEES);
- Kentucky Coal County College Completion Scholarship;
- Kentucky National Guard Tuition Assistance Program (KNGTAP);
- Private education loans;
- Institutional loan programs;
- Institutional grants or scholarships;
- Other outside grants or scholarships.
Unofficial Withdrawal from the University
Students who cease class attendance and receive non-passing grades in all courses in a term, but fail to officially withdraw from the university through the Office of the Dean of Students, are subject to the same recalculations of financial assistance as documented above for official withdrawals. Non-attendance does not relieve students of their financial obligations to the university. Amounts of tuition, fees, room, and board that were paid by financial assistance but were returned to the source in the above recalculation based on the documented last date of attendance become the financial responsibility of the student.