Student Accounts

How do I make payments on my student account? What forms of payment are accepted?

Online

• Current students - CWU real time payment system. Please refer to this document(pdf) for guidance.
• Parents - You can make payments as an authorized user, if the person you are paying for creates an account for you. Please refer to this guide(pdf) to see how.
• International payments - Please click here for more information about Flywire, our international payment system.
• Payments posted through the online page will take one to two working days to appear on the account. The payment cutoff time is 3 p.m. PST. For example, payments made after 3 p.m. Friday will be posted on Tuesday. Payments can be made using a credit or debit card (Discover, Visa or MasterCard) or bank account (checking or savings). Please allow sufficient time for this payment to be processed by the due dates
• Notice: There is no charge for web payments made from checking or savings account. TouchNet, the online credit card processing company, imposes a convenience fee of a 2.95 % on the amount of each transaction only to web payments made with the credit or debit card products: Visa, Master Card, and Discover.

In Person

The Ellensburg Cashiers Office is open for payments Monday through Friday, 8:00 to 4:45.

By Mail

If paying by mail, make sure to allow sufficient time for delivery. Make sure your check has your name and ID number for proper identification. Checks must be payable to Central Washington University and sent to:

Central Washington University
Cashiers Office
400 E. University Way
Ellensburg, WA 98926-7490

Credit card payments cannot be made over the phone, by mail or by email.

When paying online with a credit or debit card, you will be assessed a 2.95% processing fee or $3, whichever is greater.

Many other universities in Washington and throughout the nation are currently utilizing credit card payment processing companies that charge processing fees. Nevertheless, if you pay with your checking or savings account on the web there is no extra charge.

Only payments made online using a credit or debit card are charged the 2.95% credit card processing fee.

• You can avoid paying the fee if you pay with your credit or debit card in person at the Cashiers Office.
• You can avoid paying the fee if you pay online with your checking or savings account.
• Checks, money orders, cashier's checks or traveler's checks do not have a fee. Remember to always include your CWU ID number on the check

If you make a credit card payment in error, the processing fee is charged by the payment processor, and it is not refundable even if the payment to which it relates was made in error, is canceled, refunded, or charged back.

Should your balance be less than $2.00, you will need to use a credit or debit card as the form of payment.  E-checks will not process if your balance is less than $2.00.

No. If you utilize the Real Time Payment system by paying online through your MyCWU account, you can select specific terms your payment should be applied to.

If you mail in a payment, you can include a note to specify which charges to pay. 

Please note, if you are paying online through your MyCWU account and do not select a specific term, your payment will be applied to the current term automatically.

No. Credit card payments cannot be made over the phone, by mail, fax or by email. This is to ensure confidentiality and protect your credit information.

CWU offers a payment plan for current quarter charges that allows the student to pay the charges for the quarter in up to three installments. Students are able to enroll online through their MyCWU account. Any previous quarter charges must be paid before enrollment in this type of Payment Plan.

Not yet. Nevertheless, students and their parents can make prepayments for a future quarter in person and by mail, clearly stating the student’s full name, ID and the quarter they want to pre-pay. Pre-payments cannot be made online.

Any payment made in excess of the student charges due will be refunded by the end of the current term, unless the student requests, in writing, that the credit remain on the account to apply to future charges or a future quarter. 

Over-payments cannot be carried over after Spring/Summer quarter, into the new school year. 

1. To release the hold for balances within the current aid year, please ensure that your past due balance is reduced under $1,000, the hold will be lifted within 24-hours of payment.
2. If you have past due charges from a previous aid year, you may have an additional prior year enrollment hold that would require those prior year tuition, room and board charges be paid in full. 
   • The prior year balances would be eligible for a payment arrangement with the enrollment exception form below. 
3. Alternatively, you may complete and submit the Enrollment Exception Form to establish a 3-month payment plan for your entire past due balance, with 1/3 of the past due charges due upon submission of the exception form. 

• Do note that the intention of said plan is to have your past due balance paid in 3 months and your upcoming quarterly charges paid in full.

Students are encouraged to use all eligible resources available to them before entering into a payment plan (Including tuition waivers, grants, scholarships, third-party contracts, or loans).

Future arrangements to lift holds will not be made until the balance of your current petition is paid in full.

1% Interest– Disputed Charges - Interest Waiver Petition Form

1% Interest on Past Due Accounts

Central Washington University has implemented the charge of 1% interest on past due accounts in accordance with RCW 43.17.240. It will apply to items on the CWU account that are at least 30 days past due. To avoid the 1% interest charge CWU accounts must be current at all times. For questions related to the interest charge, contact the Student Accounts Office by phone at: 509 963-3546, or by email at: StudentAccounts@cwu.edu.

Disputed charges

The Office of Financial Management (OFM) has adopted rules specifying circumstances under which we will waive the interest. A charge that is disputed in writing and received by the Student Accounts Office before the interest is assessed will not accrue interest until the dispute is resolved. Make sure to send any dispute of a charge in your account to the Student Accounts Office by mail, email at: StudentAccounts@cwu.edu, or stop by our office in Bullion 110 to submit your dispute. Disputes submitted to other departments may not be processed and the interest may be assessed on the disputed charge.

Interest Waiver Petition Form

Once the interest have been assessed, account holders may request a waiver based on certain situations prescribed by the Washington Code. An interest waiver petition form is available that contains all the guidelines on which you can base your petition. If you meet any of the conditions in the guidelines, please submit your 1% Interest Waiver Petition to the Student Accounts Office.  Incomplete petition forms will not be processed.

Flywire is a secure and trusted online payment process that makes paying tuition easy from countries around the world, typically in your home currency. Please visit our website more information about Flywire.

A hold is placed on an account when there is an overdue or outstanding balance. Holds may also be placed by other University departments for department-specific reasons.

Please view your Student Dashboard on MyCWU for more information regarding your holds or call Student Accounts at (509)-963-3546 for further assistance.

In order for CWU to disclose information regarding your student account to your parents or significant others, authorization is required. Please note that without your explicit authorization, we are unable to provide any information about your account, even if your educational expenses are being covered by your parents.

To authorize the release of information, please complete the necessary steps through your MyCWU self-service portal. For instructions, visit our Release of Information Guide (PDF).

If you do not have authorization to access our payment processor Touchnet, you can request access to become an authorized user. This authorized user guide (PDF) provides a step-by-step process for students to assign an authorized user to their profile.

If you have signed up for direct deposit, your refund should be deposited to your bank account approximately 1-3 days after the refund shows as posted to your MyCWU account if there are no refund holds for reveiw.

You will receive an email from the Student Accounts Office when the direct deposit is processed.

If you have not signed up for direct deposit, your refund will be issued as a paper check and will be mailed to the Mail/Preferred address or Home address you have in MyCWU. Refunds are mailed within 2 days of the date they are posted to your account. Please allow several days for the United States Postal Service (USPS) to deliver your refund.

If you have not received your refund within two weeks of the date it was posted, please submit a Refund Reissue Request using our online form. 

*Please note that any reissued check will generate a $35 reissue fee, unless the student sets up direct deposit*

Visit the Financial Aid website for answers to important dates and any other financial aid related questions.

If you are residing in campus housing, please note that your residence hall/dining plan or apartment rent will automatically be billed to your student account.

If you intend to live in an on-campus apartment and would like to utilize your financial aid to cover your full quarter's rent upfront, please refer to Campus Housing's apartment FAQ regarding Rent Applied From Financial Aid (RAFFA).

Employee paychecks are distributed on the 10th and 25th of each month.

In the event that these dates fall on a Saturday, paychecks will be available on the preceding Friday. If the 10th or 25th falls on a Sunday, paychecks will be distributed on the following Monday.

Should you have any questions or concerns regarding your paycheck, please direct your questions to Payroll at (509) 963-1202 or by email at Payroll@cwu.edu.

No, our policy does not allow for the cashing of checks. All Central Washington University checks (refunds, payroll, etc.) can be cashed at US Bank.

If you are awaiting a scholarship to apply to your account, please reach out to Scholarships@cwu.edu.

In the event your scholarship has not been received, please work with your donor. It is the student's responsibilty to communicate with their donor.

If scholarship funds are received after the tuition due date, you may be liable for all published late fees. Should you anticipate a delay, please forward any documentation from your donor for consideration of delaying any late fees.

The 1098-T form will be mailed or be made available on MyCWU by January 31st.

In addition, you can view and print all your 1098-T information online through your MyCWU account. For more information, please visit our 1098-T Tax Credit Information page.

If you know in advance that you will owe a balance not covered by financial aid, you have the option to sign up for the quarterly payment plan, to spread payments out over the quarter. If you owe a balance you were not expecting, and you have spoken with Financial Aid and determined you cannot receive aid to pay toward the balance, we recommend you contact Student Accounts to talk about your options, as it may be possible to arrange to pay monthly installments toward your balance. Account balances can prevent you from being able to register for classes for the next quarter.

If you owe a balance and you have stopped attending Central, we will send a Final Notice letter when the balance is 60 days past due and you will be contacted by our business partner, Flywire with their Collection Management (CM) program, to let you know that you have 30 days to pay your balance in full or accept a monthly payment plan with them (the payment plans are set up through the Flywire: CM website).

If you do not accept a monthly payment plan and your balance remains unpaid after the charges are 90 days past due, Central will need to turn your account over to a collection agency, and the agency will contact you regarding your debt. Please be advised that if your account is sent to collections, your balance will increase by 25-30% for the agency’s collection fees.

CWU has partnered with Flywire through their Collection Management (CM) program to help collect balances on student accounts. They are not a collections agency; they work with CWU to notify students about account balances owed. When a student ceases attendance and has an account balance they still need to pay, Flywire: CM’s website makes it easy for the student to set up a monthly payment plan, to pay the total balance owed. This is a trusted CWU partnered organization.

Please Note: Signing up for a payment arrangement through Flywire: CM does not lift your enrollment or diploma hold. This program is only used for those who will no longer be in attendance at Central.

No, accounts placed with collection agencies must be negotiated with, and paid directly to the agency that is servicing your account. If a payment is made directly to Central (whether in person, by mail, or online), on an account placed at a collection agency, Central will immediately notify the collection agency of the payment and corresponding collection fees will be added to your account, without exception.