Students and Parents Financial Services FAQs
►When do I pay my fees? The DUE DATE to pay fees will be posted in advance on the website (click here). Generally, the due date for Fall fees occurs in August and the due date for Spring fees occurs in December. Summer fees are due in March.
►What are my Payment Options? E-Check (Electronic Check) allows you to pay your fees by withdrawing funds directly from your checking or savings account. There is no fee when paying by E-Check.
Credit and Debit payments are accepted online through VISA, MasterCard, American Express and Discover. CashNet SmartPay charges a 2.65% service fee on all credit/debit card payment transactions.
Personal check, cashier's check or money order payments can be mailed to:
California State University Maritime Academy
Attention: Cashier's Office
200 Maritime Academy Dr.
Vallejo, CA 94590
On the memo section of the check, please include the student's first and last name with the student ID number.
►Can I estimate what my fees will be before they are posted to my student account? A Fees Estimator Tool is available on the Cal Maritime website to help you calculate estimated fees.
Training Ship Golden Bear Summer Sea Term, International Experience, Co-Op, and Commercial Cruise are part of the summer term. Tuition and registration charges are billed in March.
►I am not from California, will I have to pay out-of-state tuition? Yes. Unless you are a recipient of the WUE (Western Undergraduate Exchange) Scholarship. Otherwise, non-resident fees are charged at $420 per semester unit for all units enrolled. This is in addition to the other mandatory registration and tuition fees charged to all students.
►How do I apply for the WUE Scholarship? No separate application is needed. WUE Scholarships are awarded to Cal Maritime applicants, from certain western states, during the regular admission process. WUE Scholarships are awarded based on academics and awardees are notified in their acceptance letter. After the first year at Cal Maritime, GPA eligibility requirements must be maintained.
►Are all charges on my account due by the due date? Yes. All charges on the student account must be paid on or before the published due date. If they are not paid in full, you may be charged a $25 late fee and may be subject to enrollment cancellation.
►I'm petitioning to live off-campus. Can I subtract those fees from what I owe? No. All students must pay housing and food costs unless they have received approval, in writing, from the Housing Department to live off-campus. Once Accounting is notified, we will reverse the charges from your student account and a refund, if applicable, will be processed for you.
►Why was I emailed a fee statement when my fees are being paid with financial aid (loans, grants or scholarships)? There are two types of financial aid (FA) credits – an anticipated credit and an actual credit. An anticipated FA credit is money you expect but which hasn't yet been received by CSUM. An actual FA credit is money that's been disbursed to your student account. You may deduct the amount of anticipated financial aid from the amount you owe, remitting only the remaining amount by the due date.
►What if I don't see the anticipated financial aid on my student account that I expected? If no expected anticipated FA appears on your account, it's most often because you didn't apply for financial aid on time or fully complete the process to accept your aid. It takes time to process a financial aid application, especially in cases involving student loans, so make sure you meet all the deadlines.
It's your responsibility to make sure that all anticipated FA credits become actual FA credits by applying on time and completing all steps required to be authorized to receive your aid. We won't remove any late charges on your student account because you didn't file for financial aid on time. You may be subject to enrollment cancellation if fees are not paid or otherwise resolved by the fee due date.
►What if I need to make payment arrangements? Cal Maritime currently offers a no-interest payment plan to students. The Installment Payment Plan requires an initial deposit payment of 33% of the total fees owed on the student account plus a $50 Admin Fee, per semester, payable by the fee due date. The balance will be due in 2 equal payments by the 15th of each subsequent month. Forms must be signed and turned into the Cashier, each semester, before the plan can be setup. A late fee will be charged for each payment received after the due date.
►My student account balance is a credit, how do I receive my refund? Refunds are automatically processed throughout the semester when there is a credit balance on the student account. Refunds (other than refunds from Parent Loans) are always issued to the student. Refunds are either mailed to the student's current mailing address on record, or deposited electronically into the student's checking or savings account, providing the student has opted for Online Direct Deposit. Direct Deposit refunds are processed more frequently than paper checks.
►How can I allow my parents or others to pay my bills? If you would like a parent or other responsible party to receive billing notices and access the payment center you can setup a login for them on the Your Account page under Parent PINs. When a statement is ready to view, each of you will receive an email notification and have access to make payments to your student account. This does not allow that person access to your grades, email or other student information protected under FERPA.
►What is FERPA? FERPA is the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (1974). It establishes rules governing the disclosure of student information to parties other than the student without the student's written consent. Here is the Authorization to Release Information Help Guide to designate what information & to whom you will allow CSUM to release your private information.
The CSU makes every effort to keep student costs to a minimum. Fees listed in published schedules or student accounts may need to be increased when public funding is inadequate. Therefore, CSU must reserve the right, even after fees are initially charged or initial fee payments are made, to increase or modify any listed fees. All listed fees, other than mandatory systemwide fees, are subject to change without notice, until the date when instruction for a particular semester or quarter has begun. All CSU listed fees should be regarded as estimates that are subject to change upon approval by the Board of Trustees, the Chancellor, or the Presidents, as appropriate. Changes in mandatory systemwide fees will be made in accordance with the requirements of the Working Families Student Fee Transparency and Accountability Act (Sections 66028 - 66028.6 of the Education Code).