APU Careers & Learning Online Learning Tuition Assistance

Understanding your Student Ledger

ledger-questionsFor any college student, regardless of the university, it is important to understand the expenses and credits on your student account. Tuition and fees make up a majority of your expenses, while Federal Student Aid (FSA), private aid, and personal payments make up a majority of your credits. It is important to understand that any payment types (i.e. credits) will first cover your tuition and the rest of your cost of attendance. Only after all of your cost of attendance is paid for will you actually receive a credit balance, if you happen to have one.

Some students at American Public University (APU) have questions about understanding their ledgers. Below is a quick guide to help APU students understand what their ledger is showing them.

  1. After logging into your account, select the “My Student Account” link under the Records Menu tab.
  2. You will find your Financial Status, Ledger, and Registration Confirmations under this link.
  3. On the Ledger, you will find “Balance Summary” and “Term Summary.”
  4. The Balance Summary will show if you have any credit balance or balance due from previous terms. For many students, the amount will be $0.00.
  5. The Term Summary will provide you with detailed information for your current term. Click the “View Details” link to see this information.

This is the point where there is some confusion for students. There is a vast amount of information in this tab. The first list of items you will see is Charges. All of your classes and technology fees, even if they have been dropped or withdrawn, show up on this list. If you click “View Details” you can see how each class or fee is being paid for. If a balance is being shown on this list, then some of your classes have yet to be paid for.

The next list is pretty self-explanatory. The “Disbursed Federal Financial Aid” list will show you how much of each type of FSA has been posted to your account, and what date that disbursement happened. The “Payments Received” list will show any payments other than FSA (self-pay, outside loan/scholarship, TA/VA benefits) that have been utilized for the current term. The fourth list, “Refunds,” will show you how much your refund is, the type of refund you selected (return to student or keep), and the date the refund was posted to the ledger. This is an important list to monitor so you can see when your refund will be received. APUS must process a refund 14 days after it is received to stay in compliance with Federal guidelines. Lastly, any anticipated funding will be under the “Anticipated Funding” list. It is also important to monitor this list, as anything under this list is just an estimate and not guaranteed to be received. It is your responsibility to make sure all balances are paid in full.

The ledger can be a difficult resource to understand. If you follow the tips above, you should be able to navigate your student ledger easier. If you have any questions, Student Support and Financial Aid administrators will be happy to assist you. Please do not assume or guess if you do not understand something on your ledger. Make sure you get the right information by contacting a financial aid representative at APU if you are still struggling to understand something on your student ledger.

By Ryan Laspina
Senior Specialist, Red Flags and External Reviews at APUS

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