Policies for Financial Aid and Student Accounts

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Student Health Insurance Plan

All enrolled students at Bard College are required to have health insurance coverage. The student health insurance plan charge is included in your semester billing statement.

Students enrolled in the summer semester of the academic year, the two month summer charge and an additional 12 month health insurance plan will be charged along with Summer semester costs.
If the student does not enroll prior to start of the summer semester of the academic year, the student’s account will not be charged the two month summer or the 12 month health insurance plan.

Students enrolled in the Fall semester of the academic year, the 12 month health insurance plan will be charged along with Fall semester costs. If the student does not enroll prior to start of the Fall semester of the academic year, the student’s account will not be charged the 12 month health insurance plan.

Students who were not enrolled in the Fall semester of the academic year and begin their enrollment in the Spring semester of the academic year, the seven month health insurance plan cost will be charged along with the Spring semester costs. If the student does not enroll prior to the start of the Spring semester of the academic year, the student's account will not be charged the seven month health insurance plan.

Students who elect to have alternate private plans must submit proof of coverage at https://www.studentenroll.anthem.com/school/bard for confirmation that, upon review, provides all essential benefits including nonemergency services without referral while on campus in New York. Waivers must be completed every year. If you have questions regarding the policy, please contact Marshall + Sterling at 845-226-3083 or [email protected]. For policy related questions, please call Anthem at 844-412-0752.

If the student begins the academic year in the Summer semester*, the waiver form is open May 1, and the deadline to submit the waiver form is May 20. Waiver submissions will not be granted beyond the deadline.

If the student begins the academic year for the Fall semester, the waiver form is open June 2, and the deadline to submit the waiver form is August 1. Waiver submissions will not be granted beyond the deadline. 

If the student begins the academic year for the Spring semester or a student began the academic year for the Fall semester and was granted the Fall semester waiver only, the waiver form is open October 30, and the deadline to submit this form is December 15. Waiver submissions will not be granted beyond the deadline. 

Please note, payment will be expected until Bard receives the waiver approval from Anthem.

If you are enrolled in Bard College’s Student Health Insurance Plan and decide to withdraw from the college mid-year, your coverage under the plan will not automatically continue. However, you will receive a link via email offering you the option to extend your coverage for up to 90 days after your withdrawal date. If you wish to continue your health insurance during this time, you must opt in and pay for the extended coverage through the link provided. Please be sure to watch for this message and respond promptly to maintain uninterrupted access to your benefits.

*Program specific for MFA, MAT, MBA-NYPA, and Summer Bard NYC

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Tuition Refund Insurance Plan

The Tuition Refund Plan is designed to protect you, the student, from the loss of payments made for tuition, food and housing and required fees.

Should you find it necessary to withdraw from Bard College, Simon’s Rock at Bard College or the Bard Academy because of an illness, accident, or for other medical reasons, this optional plan will cover up-to 70% of your payments. Certain restrictions apply. See the supplemental statement for details. Please read it carefully.

This policy is optional; you are not obligated to purchase the plan. We recommend that you carefully evaluate this coverage. The plan potentially can provide significant financial assistance to you and your family should you need to withdraw for a covered medical reason. The cost may vary per academic year. The current cost can be found on the Bard website

Special information for Bard College and Simon’s Rock at Bard College institutional aid recipients: Institutional aid funds are applied to billable charges. Students who enroll in the plan and who withdraw for covered medical reasons will have their Bard institutional aid reduced up to the amount of their original billable charges. This can result in a partial to full reinstatement of the student’s semester cost. The plan will cover such reinstated charges, provided the student otherwise meets the restrictions and requirements.  
If you are an international student and you are experiencing difficulty accessing the waiver form, please contact our office at  [email protected] for additional information.

Submission of Claim Forms
Claim forms should be submitted as indicated on the forms within 30 days of the medical leave of absence date.  Please use the following link to obtain these forms:  tuitionrefundplan.com/parents under College or University Claim Forms.

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FERPA Compliance

In compliance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974, Bard College does not release information about students' financial records to anyone other than the student. 

Student records can be shared if the student has a signed consent form on file with the Student Accounts Office
By completing the form below, the student is allowing their financial records to be discussed and/or released to individual's noted. 

Note: You must be signed into Google docs with your Bard college email before clicking on the link. Please sign into Google using your Bard email as your user name and then enter your corresponding password.

Submit the Information Release Form

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Refund Requests

If a student has a credit (negative balance) on their account, a refund request can be submitted electronically using the refund request form. 

The Student Financial Services office will review and process the request. During the review process, additional information may be requested. Once Student Accounts submits the request to the Finance Office, a confirmation email will be sent.

If a refund is not requested, the credit (negative balance) will remain on your account to be applied to future semester costs or will be refunded after graduation or withdrawal during account review.

The approximate timeline for a refund check to be available is four weeks from the time that the request is submitted by Student Accounts to the Finance Office for processing. Our office submits refund requests once per week to the finance office, typically on Mondays. Factoring in the time it takes for review and processing, the total approximate timeline for a refund check to be available is six weeks from the date of your electronic submission. Because of this processing time, you should plan ahead for non-educational expenses such as rent, transportation, and child care. 
Example: If our offices receives your electronically submitted request on Tuesday, our office will review and submit the request on the following Monday to the finance office for processing. The estimated date given will be four weeks from that Monday. Please complete the form accurately and completely to avoid delays in processing your request. Our office will reach out to you via your Bard email if additional information is needed as well as to confirm the status of your electronic refund request submission.
 
Credits (negative balances):
For students with a drop/add period, credits created by financial aid cannot be processed until after the Drop/Add period has ended and the financial aid has been paid to the account, typically mid-September for the Fall semester and mid-February for the Spring semester. Refer to the academic calendar for the date each semester. Refund requests can be submitted after the add/drop date to be processed. 
For students without a drop/add period, credits created by financial aid cannot be processed until first day of classes and the financial aid has been paid to the account
If the student is a Title IV financial aid recipient and if Title IV funds exceed allowable charges (tuition, required fees, room, board) before non federal aid or direct payments are applied, these funds will be automatically returned to the student/parent within 14 days of payment to the student account unless the student/parent has authorized the school to hold these funds toward payment of other allowable institutional charges. For all other credit balances for a students' account, please complete the electronic Student Account Refund Form to request such a refund.
 
Submit Student Account Refund Request Form

Note: You must be signed into Google docs with your Bard college email before clicking on the link. Please sign into Google using your Bard email as your user name and then enter your corresponding password. 

Refund Request Form

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Returned Payments

Returned payments will be charged back to the student's account and a returned payment fee of $35 will be applied. 

• If the College receives multiple returned personal or electronic checks from an individual or company, it reserves the right to no longer accept personal or electronic checks, and will require payment by credit card, debit card, cash, bank cashier's check, money order, or wire transfer.
• If a payment used to provide financial clearance is returned, registration and room reservation will be canceled and the account will be assessed a $100 late enrollment fee in addition to the returned payment fee.
• If our office receives a post-dated check without written notification and the check is deposited earlier than the date on the check, a returned payment fee would be applicable if the check is returned to our bank.

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Wire and Electronic Transfer Fees

Wire or Electronic Transfers may require a processing time of three to five days or longer, and accrue bank processing fees of at least $35.00, depending on the banks involved.

When arranging a wire or electronic transfer, please remember to add this processing cost to the amount being transferred. If a wiring or electronic transfer fee retained by a bank creates a balance due on the student's account, it remains as an unpaid balance due; it is not absorbed by the College. Please contact the Office of Student Financial Services for wiring information.

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1098-T Tax Information

In January Bard College generates the IRS Form 1098-T and sends via USPS using a third party, Heartland ECSI, to students whose accounts were billed for tuition and applicable fees.

as well as applicable payments received during the calendar tax year. Bard will no longer be reporting charges billed. The IRS tax laws state that all tax documents must be mailed or electronically available by January 31st. If you would like to receive your 1098-T electronically, you can do so by filling out the Electronic Consent Application located on Heartland ECSI's website. By signing up for an electronic version, no paper 1098-T statement will be mailed to you.

When your statement is ready, an email will be sent to you with instructions on how to access your 1098-T statement online. In order to protect your privacy, the email will contain no information specific to you or your financial information. Disclaimer: If consent to receive the statement electronically is not received, a paper copy will be provided. This consent is for every subsequent year you are eligible to receive a tax statement. You can change your consent at any time by signing into your ECSI eConsent or by contacting ECSI. To view an electronic statement, the recipient will need to sign into their ECSI eConsent. All tax statements will be accessible on line for a minimum of 5 years. 

Please be advised that if payments are received during the time the College is closed for holiday break, it may not be processed until January. 

Related expenses do not include:

• Charges and fees for room, board, insurance, medical expenses, transportation, and similar personal, living, or family expenses. 
• Amounts paid for any course or other education involving sports, games, or hobbies, unless the course or other education is part of the student’s degree program or is taken to acquire or improve job skills.
• Scholarships and grants exclude payments from family members and loan proceeds

Per IRS regulations Bard is not required to send a 1098-T form to students if:

• Courses for which no academic credit is offered, even if the student is otherwise enrolled in a degree program;
• Nonresident alien students, unless requested by the student;
• Students whose qualified tuition and related expenses are entirely waived or paid entirely with scholarships; and
• Students for whom you do not maintain a separate financial account and whose qualified tuition and related expenses are covered by a formal billing arrangement between an institution and the student’s employer or a governmental entity, such as the Department of Veterans Affairs or the Department of Defense. If a 1098-T was generated, you can obtain a copy online. For more information, including instructions on how to access an online copy click here.

If a 1098-T was not generated, a written request to [email protected] must be received on or before March 1 of the 1098-T tax year that was processed in January that the form was mailed.  Example: 2024 1098-T tax year, mailed January 2025; email required by March 1, 2025.

Additional information regarding 1098-Ts can be found at www.bard.edu/sfs/faqs under the 1098-T Tax Information drop down.

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International Students

A Declaration of Finances must be received from all foreign nationals before a Certificate of Eligibility (Form I-20) will be issued. The form and the certificate are needed to obtain a visa.

Resources for International Students

• Students who wish to be considered for financial aid should return the Foreign Student's Financial Aid Application to the College.
• Internal Revenue Service regulations require all holders of F or J visas to file tax returns for their scholarship awards.
• For further information, contact the Office of Admission.
• Click below for more information on International Student Admission.