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Financial responsibility agreement

All registered and enrolled RISD students must annually review, sign and submit the Student Financial Responsibility Agreement. This agreement details billing and payment information, as well as your financial obligations.

You will receive the agreement as a task in Workday and must review, sign and submit the agreement by mid August to remain registered and enrolled. If you have questions please contact Student Financial Services (SFS) at sfs@risd.edu.

2024 student financial responsibility agreement

Making payments

You can make payments to your student account through Nelnet Campus Commerce, RISD’s payment vendor. Find the steps you need to take in order to make payments below.

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If someone other than yourself will be primarily making payments, it is important to first grant them access to your student account. Once they have access, they can set up their Nelnet profile for payment processing (see step two below).

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Our payment vendor Nelnet offers interest-free monthly payment plans with both domestic and international payment options for a flat rate of $68 per semester.

You or any third parties with access will need to create a Nelnet profile in order to enroll in a payment plan and make payments to your account.

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Once enrolled in Nelnet, monthly payments in US dollars will be automatically deducted on the first of each month. Each term typically includes five equal monthly payment installments per the schedule below:

Early July: fall semester payment enrollment
Aug–Dec: payments processed on the first of the month
Mid December: spring semester payment enrollment
Jan–May: payments processed on the first of the month

All payments should be made online electronically with the exception of outside scholarship checks and 529 college savings plan payments that are not available for electronic funds transfer. We accept the following payment methods:

Checking or savings account with ACH
Debit/credit cards (a 2.85% processing fee applies)

RISD has the right to deny specific payment methods, as well as payment plan enrollment, to students who have returned payments and/or adverse payment history.

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We provide two vendors for international payments that have been vetted for safety and security: Convera and Flywire.

Both payment vendors are available directly through Nelnet, please note that payments via unauthorized service providers will not be accepted.

Convera benefits and features include:

secure, user-friendly payments
140+ currencies
213 supported student geographies
10 languages
the following payment methods: UnionPay, Alipay, ChinaPay, SOFORT, POLIpayments, iDeal, NetBanking, Trustly, Visa and Mastercard
competitive exchange rates held for 72 hours
payer support, resources and contact
- studentsupport@convera.com
- 877 218-8829

Flywire benefits and features include:

trusted, safe and convenient payment method
140+ currencies
240+ countries/territories served
14 global offices
flexible, local payment methods
payer support, resources and contact
- help.flywire.comlywire.com/help
- support@flywire.com

Please call Nelnet Campus Commerce at 800 609-8056 with any questions regarding international payments.

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Billing timeline

We issue your RISD bill electronically on a semester basis. Once we release your bill, you will receive a notification in your RISD email account that includes a Workday link to view your student account.

In order to remain registered for academic coursework, you must have financial arrangements in place to pay in full by the following deadlines.

Apply aid to your bill

Learn how aid is applied to your bill as well as the steps you need to take to apply different types of financial aid.

Apply your aid

Non-payment of tuition and fees

To avoid late payment fees, ensure that you meet all RISD financial obligations by their due dates. Late payments can lead to the following consequences:

$200 late payment fee for balances less than $2,000
$500 late payment fee for balances greater than or equal to $2,000
Students with outstanding balances of $500 or more may be blocked from the following:
- Registration for future terms
- Room selection for on-campus housing
Students with outstanding balances of $5,000 or more, who are scheduled to graduate in the same semester, will not be permitted to participate in commencement activities.
Students with an account balance are ineligible for travel and may forfeit any funds already used to book travel arrangements.
RISD will not release diplomas for any graduating student who has an outstanding balance of any amount.
Missed or returned payments that lead to a defaulted balance may be assigned to a collection agency. Students may be responsible for collection and/or legal expenses.

If you have an outstanding balance at the conclusion of any semester you may be placed on administrative leave. Once you have satisfied your outstanding balance, you may submit an application for reinstatement.

Credit balances and refunds

You will be issued a refund automatically for any payments and credits that exceed RISD’s direct charges for the semester. Refunds are generally available within the first week of classes.

Credit balances generated from a parent PLUS loan are remitted to the parent borrower. Refund checks are mailed directly to the parent unless requested otherwise.

We strongly encourage you to enroll in direct deposit to prevent lost or stolen checks. See below for guidance on setting up your payment elections for refunds in Workday.

Set up Payment Elections for Student Refunds in Workday