Frequently, student charges or a portion of student charges are paid by an employer, federal or state agency, military or some other external resource.

The University of Maine at Augusta only accepts unconditional authorizations (payment not contingent on minimum grades, cumulative Grade Point Average or other factors) from third party sponsors.  The authorization is submitted at the time of registration and must detail specifically what charges and amounts are covered for a particular term.  The student is expected to have arrangements in place to pay uncovered charges at the time of registration, and the student is responsible for all costs the third party organization does not pay.

The Student Accounts Office will transfer sponsored tuition, fees and book charges from a student’s account to a separate billing account created for the third party sponsor.

The Third Party Authorization Form is intended to make clear the rules that we should follow in billing the sponsor.  Here are a few examples:

• The sponsor will pay 100% of all charges (tuition, fees and books).
• The sponsor will pay the balance of tuition and fees, only after federal financial aid has been applied to the student’s account balance.
• The sponsor will pay the balance of tuition, fees, and books after federal, state grants and scholarship funding has been applied to the student’s account balance.  The student would retain any loan funds.

Since registration and financial aid awards can be ‘moving targets’ during the early part of the term, it is important that the Authorization Form indicate the sponsor’s intent to pay.  Amounts that should be applied against a student’s account balance prior to the sponsor’s contribution should be reported on the Authorization Form, whether or not the individual student has applied for or secured financial aid.

The Third Party Authorization Form should be printed and submitted to the third party sponsor for joint completion and signature.  In order to allow adequate processing time and better serve our students, the Third Party Authorization Form should be submitted to the Student Accounts Office two weeks prior to the beginning of the term or session.

Students are ultimately responsible for their account balances and are encouraged to apply for aid or submit third party authorizations in a timely fashion.  Balances not satisfied by due dates -- whether intended to be paid by the student, external sources, or financial aid -- may incur a late fee.

Students are legally obligated to report any and all additional resources not currently included in their award calculation. Waivers, scholarships, and assistance of any kind from a Federal or State agency, private organization, or scholarship foundation must be reported. Failure to report outside assistance may result in the need to repay financial aid funds.