Payment and billing

Payment and billing vary for credit and noncredit courses/events offered by VCU Continuing and Professional Education. Please see course descriptions in the course directory for tuition and fee information for individual courses/events.

Noncredit courses/events

All billing for noncredit courses/events is handled by VCU Continuing and Professional Education. Please contact us directly at (804) 828-1322 or ocpe@vcu.edu with any questions. 

In the unlikely event that a noncredit course/event is canceled or postponed due to insufficient enrollments or unforeseen circumstances, the university will fully refund registration fees, but cannot be held responsible for any other expenses, including change or cancellation charges to include but not limited to airlines, hotels, travel agencies, or other organizations.

Select noncredit courses/events that have the option of making scheduled payments by completing an incremental payment plan form. If enrolled in an incremental payment plan, full payment will be due if you choose to drop out after the cancellation deadline.

Virginia529 accounts can fund many qualified higher education expenses, including some continuing education programs. Contact Virginia529 to determine eligibility for use on individual programs.

Some VCU Continuing and Professional Education courses/events are ineligible for waiver use due to partnership agreements. In such cases, the following text will appear on the registration page: “*exempt—this offering is ineligible for waiver use.”

Coupon codes are not available for every course/event, but for certain programs and under certain circumstances, coupon codes may be used, if available.  Due to budgetary implications, the use of coupon codes is at the discretion and direction of the course/event’s respective program manager.  Any available coupon codes must be used/applied at the time of enrollment, cannot be combined with other discounts/coupons or waivers, and will not be retroactively applied.

Registration Fee Responsibility for Minors in Noncredit Courses/Events

For any minor (under 18 years of age) participant in noncredit courses/events, the parent or legal guardian is responsible for any disputed payment.

Refunds and transfers

These policies may be superseded by course or event specific policies listed on the course or event webpage. Please be sure to review the entire course or event specific page.

Refunds

If a participant is unable to attend a class or event for which he or she has registered, a refund or transfer may be available.

Please note if enrolled in an incremental payment plan, full payment will be due if you choose to drop out of the program after the cancellation deadline.

All refunds must be requested via email to ocpe@vcu.edu. Please title the email subject “Refund Request”. Upon submission, you will be contacted to obtain any documentation needed in order to process the refund.

Unless otherwise noted in the event/course information or program website...

• Participant cancellations received 7 business days prior to the start of the class or event will be eligible for a refund, minus a $35 processing fee. In the event that the cost of the event is less than the processing fee, no refund will be given.
• Participant cancellations received within 24 hours of the start of the course or event are not eligible for a refund.

Refunds will only be made back to the original payment source or person.

Please allow 2-4 weeks for the processing of refunds.

Transfers

Registrations for a class or event may be transferred to a different person if requested to the program or event manager in writing via email more than 24 hours in advance of the start of the course or event. Any participant must meet all prerequisites or qualifications required by the course or event.

Event to event transfers (participants wishing to move their registration from one class or event to another) will be granted at the discretion of the event or program manager. Program managers should be contacted directly to request transfers. If you are unsure of who the program manager is for your program or event, please contact VCU Continuing and Professional Education by phone at (804) 828-1322, or via email at ocpe@vcu.edu.

Noncredit financial assistance

Senior citizen waiver policy

View the ‌VCU Continuing and Professional Education Senior Citizen Waiver Policy. Please contact us directly at (804) 828-1322 or ocpe@vcu.edu to request a VCU Continuing and Professional Education Senior Citizen Waiver form.

Other waivers or funding sources

VCU Continuing and Professional Education welcomes the use of waivers in lieu of payment for noncredit courses/events; however, all waivers must be approved prior to registration.
Please contact us directly at (804) 828-1322 or ocpe@vcu.edu for inquiries.

Eligible waivers can only be used if:

1. The request is received and approved by VCU Continuing and Professional Education prior to the registration deadline for each noncredit course/event;
2. The minimum enrollment is met prior to the registration deadline;
3. The following statement is NOT present in the offering information--“*exempt—this offering is ineligible for waiver use”

Some VCU Continuing and Professional Education offerings are ineligible for waiver use due to partnership agreements. The following text will appear on the registration page: “*exempt—this offering is ineligible for waiver use”. Waivers of any kind may not be used for courses and events delivered through these partnerships: Courses and certificates in partnership with The Learning Resources Network (LERN); hospitality programs in partnership with Lovegevity's Wedding Planning Institute (LWPI); or test prep classes with Kaplan.

Other Funding Sources - payments made by someone other than the participant (i.e. personal education loans, scholarships, employer payment, AmeriCorps funding, VCU internal department payments for professional development, etc.)

In order to use other funding sources, please contact ocpe@vcu.edu for information and assistance.

Personal Education Loans
Personal Education Loans are not available for use with all noncredit courses/events offered by VCU Continuing and Professional Education. Loans may only be used for courses/events priced $999 or more, and the course/event must result in the issuance of a credential or certificate of completion.

This office will only accept loan amounts equal to the course/event fee the student is registering for or up to 10% above that amount. In the event that the student requires a loan amount equal to a portion of the event, that amount must be $999 or greater. The full balance of the course/event fee must be submitted prior to the course/event start date. Students must be registered in a course/event prior to the loan being accepted by this office.

Applications for loans are submitted electronically through the lender’s website.

VCU Fees and Services

When enrolling in noncredit courses and events, noncredit students do NOT pay mandatory fees that credit students are required to pay. Fees such as the University Fee, Library Fee, Technology Fee, Campus Learning Center Fee, Activity Fee and Health Fee are not part of noncredit pricing; therefore, services related to the campus offices supported by these fees are NOT available to noncredit students. For example, health services through University Student Health Services are not available to noncredit students. If you have questions or need further information, please contact VCU Continuing and Professional Education directly at (804) 828-1322 or ocpe@vcu.edu.

Credit courses

VCU requires all enrolled students to view and pay their bill online after official registration by logging into VCU eServices. Students are notified at their VCU email address when eBills (account statements) are available in eServices. Paper bills are not mailed to enrolled students.

Tuition and other fees are still being assessed at the standard rates.

Visit the Student Financial Services website for detailed information on payment and billing. When you review your online tuition bill, please check it carefully for accuracy. If you believe an error has been made, call Student Accounting immediately. If your employer or another agency is paying for part or all of your tuition, you will need to make special arrangements with VCU Student Accounting by calling (804) 828-2228. Please remember, once you are officially registered, you are considered a current student subject to the policies and procedures of VCU, including the statement of student financial responsibility.

In-state tuition

Students who have never taken a course at this university must complete an Application for Virginia In-State Tuition in order to be charged tuition at the in-state rate. Complete the form and turn it in with your Credit Registration Form during registration.

Returning VCU students who wish to change their residency status must complete an Application for Change of Domicile and submit it at least 30 days prior to the first day of classes of the semester to:

Residency Appeals Officer
Virginia Commonwealth University
1015 Floyd Ave.
Box 842520
Richmond, VA 23284-2520

Drops, withdrawals and refunds

Students in VCU Continuing and Professional Education courses are subject to the same refund policy as all other university students if the course is scheduled on the regular semester schedule. If the course is shorter or longer than the academic semester, or occurs in the summer, the refund dates are adjusted accordingly. Review the VCU Student Accounting Refund website.

Credit tuition assistance

VCU and VCU Health System faculty and staff

VCU offers tuition assistance to eligible faculty and staff through tuition benefits, while VCU Health System provides education assistance to qualified employees. If a tuition benefit or education assistance is not used, students will be billed tuition from the university at the appropriate off-campus rate. Employees should contact their human resources department for any questions about tuition benefit or education assistance.

• VCU employees: When signing up for a credit-bearing course offered through VCU Continuing and Professional Education, qualified employees of the university should fill out and submit a tuition benefit form provided in DocuSign to Student Accounting as soon as possible. Visit the VCU Human Resources website for more information.
• VCU Health System employees: Qualified employees of VCU Health System should contact VCU Health System Human Resources as soon as they know they will take a class.

Senior citizens higher education program

Some senior citizens may be eligible for tuition waivers. See the Records and Registration website for details on the Senior Citizens Higher Education Program.

Other waivers or funding sources

Other Funding Sources - payments made by someone other than the participant (i.e. scholarships, G.I. Bill, employer payment, AmeriCorps funding, etc.)

In order to use other funding sources, please contact the VCU Financial Aid office directly at https://sfs.vcu.edu/financial-aid/ for information and assistance.