Tuition and Fees

The following topics are covered below:

*TUITION
*TUITION INCREASES
*ENROLLMENT FEE
*CREDIT CARD, PAYPAL, AND WIRE TRANSFER PAYMENTS
*FINANCIAL AID
*ENROLLMENT AGREEMENT
*TUITION IS PRO RATED ON A MONTHLY BASIS
*LEAVES OF ABSENCE
*WITHDRAWAL
*LATE FEES
*RESPONSIBILITY OF STUDENT TO STAY CURRENT IN THEIR TUITION PAYMENTS
*POLICY ON CANCELLATION OF ENROLLMENT AND REFUND OF INITIAL TUITION PAYMENT
*STUDENT TUITION RECOVERY FUND
*IF NECESSARY, YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO CONTACT THE STATE OVERSIGHT AGENCY
*TUITION CHARGES FOR STUDENTS AT WISR NOT SEEKING A DEGREE
*REQUIRED DISCLAIMERS REGARDING WISR’S UNACREDITED DEGREES AND REGARDING WISR’S FINANCIAL INTEGRITY

TUITION.

Tuition is $6,900/year [$7,500/year as of July 1, 2012]. Students may make monthly payments of $575/month [$625/month as of July 1, 2012]. Students who choose to make semi-annual payments will receive a semi-annual discount of $200, so that the semi-annual payment will be $3,250 [$3,550 as of July 1, 2012]. Students who make an annual payment will receive a $600 discount for the year, so that the annual payment will be $6,300 [$6,900 as of July 1, 2012].

Total Program Cost Cannot be Determined in Advance: Since the completion date for all academic programs, at WISR and elsewhere, cannot be precisely determined in advance, the total cost of a degree program at WISR cannot be projected in advance. The length of time to complete a program is influenced by each student’s life circumstances and the intensity with which they choose to pursue their studies. The Frequently Asked Questions section of our catalogue (page 118, in particular) discusses the approximate lengths of time that many students have taken to complete each program in previous years. If for an extended period of time (6 months or longer) a student anticipates that she or he will not be able to actively pursue her or his studies at WISR, the student is advised to consider withdrawing for that period and then re-enrolling.

TUITION INCREASES.

WISR’s Board of Trustees has decided that modest tuition increases of about $25/month probably will be necessary every year or two. WISR’s faculty and Board devote considerable energy and thought to keeping WISR’s tuition as affordable as possible, while still maintaining an extraordinary high level of quality of education. The vast majority of each student’s tuition goes toward instructional costs, with minimal amounts being spent on administrative and institutional overhead costs. Whenever a tuition increase is necessary, the Board will announce about May 1 of each year the tuition rate for the coming fiscal year (July-June).

ENROLLMENT FEE.

Upon enrollment, or re-enrollment in the case of students who have taken a break from their studies at WISR, a non-refundable $600 enrollment fee is due.

CREDIT CARD, PAYPAL, AND WIRE TRANSFER PAYMENTS.

Students may choose to pay their tuition by using their Visa, Master, and Discover Card credit cards. Those wishing to make a credit card payment should contact WISR’s President, either over the phone or on site at WISR. Students may also pay tuition to WISR through paypal by entering WISR’s e-mail address for the merchant account: mail@wisr.edu Also, students in other countries often make payments to WISR by direct wire transfers to WISR’s bank.

FINANCIAL AID.

Unfortunately, WISR students do not have access to scholarships, nor to Federal grant and loan programs. Because WISR is very small by design, and is not accredited, our students are not eligible for Federal and bank-funded student loans. Furthermore, lending institutions are not required by law to defer student loan repayments that WISR students may have acquired elsewhere prior to enrolling at WISR. In some cases, WISR students have successfully negotiated this with lenders, but because WISR students are not eligible for student loan monies, the lenders are not obliged to defer the student’s payments.

Fortunately, our tuition is much more affordable than the tuition at most other institutions, and students may make monthly payments throughout their enrollment at WISR. WISR’s partial tuition deferment program has exhausted all the funds from the generous grants previously received from the Richard and Rhoda Goldman Fund, and beyond those grants, WISR contributed over $60,000 of its own funds. That program has been suspended for the time being–those few students who are already participating in this program may continue in the program so long as they remain continuously enrolled at WISR. If WISR is able to generate additional funds for its Revolving Loan Fund, in a few years, we may again provide the opportunity to defer $200/month tuition—to two or three new students each year. We will also continue our efforts to solicit donations for a future, hoped-for scholarship fund.

However, if a student obtains a loan to pay for an educational program, or if they are grandparented into WISR’s, currently suspended, partial tuition deferment program, the student should know that he or she will have the responsibility to repay the full amount of the loan plus interest, less the amount of any refund.

Possibility of $625 Tuition Credit for Work Performed at WISR . . .

For those students for whom the July 1, 2012 tuition increase of $600/year may be a financial hardship, WISR will give them the option of doing work at WISR for a $20/hour credit toward reducing their tuition up to a maximum of one month free tuition ($625) at the end of the fiscal year (that is, through June 30, 2013, for the coming fiscal year). WISR faculty and staff will develop a short list of several needed tasks for students to choose from. The emphasis will be on enlisting student assistance to faculty and staff in completing important, labor-intensive tasks that might not easily be completed otherwise. Students will not be able to define their own work tasks, and in particular, it is highly unlikely that students will be able to get tuition credit for providing teaching assistance, publicity, technical help or community outreach. Although such tasks are very important to WISR, we currently need more assistance with such administrative tasks as—updating student files and records, organizing WISR’s library, planning and coordinating the upcoming annual conference and graduation ceremony in August, among other tasks. We have not yet identified tasks that can be done by those students living outside the Bay Area, but we will make every effort to identify a needed work activity that could be done by students living far from WISR’s office/seminar space. After completing a task, students will briefly fill out a form to document their actions, the results and time spent, and will be eligible to earn a tuition credit of up to $625/fiscal year.

ENROLLMENT AGREEMENT.

A student registers at WISR by signing an ENROLLMENT AGREEMENT (Tuition Contract) and paying the necessary tuition and fees, and discussing initial study plans with a faculty adviser. The ENROLLMENT AGREEMENT outlines the obligations and commitments of WISR and of the student. When first enrolling, a student must pay at least the first month’s tuition, or $575 in addition to the $600 enrollment fee.

The tuition rate on the student’s initial WISR ENROLLMENT AGREEMENT stays in force, unless the student wishes to change his or her payment plan (e.g., from monthly to semi-annual, or from annual to semi-annual), or until the Board announces in writing a tuition increase (see above), and the student enters into a new agreement based on that change. Students also receive information about the State’s Student Tuition Recovery Fund.

TUITION IS PRO RATED ON A MONTHLY BASIS.

Students enrolling after July are responsible only for a pro rata portion of that fiscal year’s tuition, calculated in monthly increments, and students withdrawing or graduating before June are responsible for tuition only for the number of months during which they are enrolled.

LEAVES OF ABSENCE.

Students may take a Leave of Absence for a minimum of six (6) months, at any time, with notice by the end of the month prior to the Leave. Students may not take a leave for a just a couple of months; it is expected that most students will take vacations, get ill, and have special family and job demands and crises that may make it difficult or even impossible for them to attend to their WISR studies for several months out of the year. WISR operates on a 12 month calendar so that students can be heavily involved in their studies for as little as 8 or so months out of the year, or for all 12 months of the year. However, if a student believes that he or she will not be able to get much done in the coming 6 months, for any reason, personal, financial, job, health or other reasons, then it is best to take a break for 6 months or longer, until the student has the time, energy and/or funds to be engaged in her or his studies more than a little bit. During a leave a student may attend seminars (but not for credit or to meet WISR requirements) to stay somewhat connected to WISR, but may not meet with her or his faculty adviser or receive credit for work performed during the leave period. Work performed during a leave is considered the same as prior experience, and is not eligible for credit as such. When the student is ready to re-enroll–at any time after the six month minimum period–he or she may re-enroll by paying the $600 re-enrollment fee (naturally, the student is not charged tuition during the period of their Leave). However, if the student owes back tuition, they will not be allowed to re-enroll unless they first negotiate with a Board representative an acceptable and realistic re-payment plan on top of the regular tuition that they will be paying once re-enrolled.

WITHDRAWAL.

A student may withdraw at any time, as of the end of the month in which she or he gives notice of an intention to withdraw. The student will receive a pro-rata refund of any tuition already paid toward months in which he or she will not be enrolled. If a student withdraws from enrollment during a period for which tuition has been paid, s/he will receive a refund of any unused portions of tuition for that period, computed in monthly increments. That is, their tuition refund will be computed by calculating all monies for which they have paid tuition for an enrollment period, then charging them the monthly rate $575 [$625 for any months beyond July 1, 2012] for the months enrolled, and refunding them the balance of the tuition monies paid for that enrollment period. That is, the student will not be responsible to pay tuition for months for which they have contracted in the Enrollment Agreement, when they have chosen to withdraw before the end of that period and will not then be enrolled for some of those contracted months.WISR will also refund money collected for a student’s tuition from a third party on the student’s behalf. Refunds will be paid within 30 days of cancellation or withdrawal.

A student who withdraws and wishes to later re-enroll is subject to the policies on Leaves of Absence (see above).

LATE FEES.

Students making monthly payments have until the end of the month to make their payment for that month without the payment being late. The first month in a fiscal year that a student is late in making their tuition payment, they will be assessed a late fee of $25/month. However, in any additional month(s) in that fiscal year in which a student is late or behind in their tuition payment(s), they will be charged a $50/month late fee.

RESPONSIBILITY OF STUDENT TO STAY CURRENT IN THEIR TUITION PAYMENTS.

Because WISR makes every effort to keep its tuition affordable by charging a little as possible, and since students are allowed to improve their cash flow by making monthly payments, it is absolutely crucial that students make timely payments of their tuition (by the last day of the month in which the tuition is due). Students who fall two or more months behind in their tuition payments are subject to disenrollment for a minimum of 6 (six) months, and will not get credit for work done during that period, and will be charged the $600 re-enrollment fee upon return to enrollment at WISR, assuming they also have taken care of their owed tuition and late fees, either by paying in full, or by paying a portion and successfully negotiating with the Board financial representative a payment plan that they will adhere to.

POLICY ON CANCELLATION OF ENROLLMENT AND REFUND OF INITIAL TUITION PAYMENT.

The student has a right to cancel this enrollment agreement and obtain a refund. Such cancellation should be in writing to the President at WISR, 3220 Sacramento Street, Berkeley, CA 94702. A Full Refund may be obtained by withdrawing within 10 days of the beginning of an enrollment agreement, or before the student’s first meeting with a WISR faculty person to plan and begin their studies for their educational program, whichever is later. If a student withdraws after instruction begins, but before the end of the first month of enrollment or re-enrollment (that is, after the cancellation period described above), they are entitled to a full refund of all charges, less $250. If the student withdraws later than this but by the end of the first month, they will be refunded all except $1,175–$575 is the “usual” monthly tuition [$625 will be the monthly tuition as of July 1, 2012] plus the $600 enrollment or re-enrollment fee—the additional $600 enrollment/re-enrollment fee covers the additional cost of faculty time in meeting with students when they begin, or “re-begin” their studies.

STUDENT TUITION RECOVERY FUND.

After several years of not being required to collect STRF assessments for the State, State Approved schools and institutions of higher learning have again been required to collect these assessments since 2010. These monies are collected as a sort of insurance premium‖ that students pay, if for unforeseeable circumstances, the school closes, or students are otherwise taken advantage of, then students are entitled to a tuition refund. More information can also
be obtained by contacting the Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education, 2535 Capitol Oaks Drive, Suite 400, Sacramento, CA 95833, (916) 431-6959, or toll free: (888) 370-7589. www.bppe.ca.gov [e-mail: bppve@dca.ca.gov ] Mail address: BPPE, PO Box 980818, West Sacramento, CA 95798-0818.

Assessments to be paid by WISR students: When students enroll, re-enroll, or continue their enrollment into July and beyond into a subsequent fiscal year, they will be charged $2.50 for every $1,000 tuition charged in their enrollment agreement (rounded off to the nearest $1,000). This assessment, and this protection, does not apply to students living outside California, nor to students whose tuition is paid by a third party, such as the State Department of Vocational Rehabilitation. Since WISR’s tuition is slightly less than $7,000/year [$7,500/year as of July 1, 2012] most students will typically be assessed $17.50 [$20.00 as of July 1, 2012] for every 12 months of study at WISR.

Additional Details: The State of California created the Student Tuition Recovery Fund (STRF) to relieve or mitigate economic losses suffered by California residents who were students attending schools approved by, or registered to offer Short-term Career training with the Bureau for Private Postsecondary and Vocational Education (Bureau). You may be eligible for STRF if you are a California resident, prepaid tuition, paid the STRF fee, and suffered an economic loss as a result of any of the following:
• The school closed before the course of instruction was complete.
• The school’s failure to pay refunds or charges on behalf of a student to a third party for license fees or any other purpose, or to provide equipment or materials for which a charge was collected within 180 days before the closure of the school.
• The school’s failure to pay or reimburse loan proceeds under a federally guaranteed student loan program as required by law or to pay or reimburse proceeds received by the school prior to closure in excess of tuition and other costs.
• The school’s breach or anticipatory breach of the agreement for the course of instruction.
• There was a decline in the quality of instruction within 30 days before the school closed, or if the decline began earlier than 30 days prior to closure, a time period of decline to be determined by the Bureau.
• The school committed fraud during the recruitment or enrollment or program participation of the student.
It is important that you keep copies of the enrollment agreement, financial aid papers, receipts or any other information or documents of the monies you paid to the school. Questions regarding STRF may be directed to the Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education, 2535 Capitol Oaks Drive, Suite 400, Sacramento, CA 95833, (916) 431-6959, or toll free: (888) 370-7589. www.bppe.ca.gov [e-mail: bppve@dca.ca.gov ] Mail address: BPPE, PO Box 980818, West Sacramento, CA 95798-0818.
Students who receive monies from the State Department of Vocational Rehabilitation or other third party payers (i.e., “an employer, government program or other payer that pays a student’s total charges directly to the institution when no separate agreement for the repayment of that payment exists between the third-party and the student”) are not eligible for the STRF and also do not have to make payments for this fee. This is also the case for students who are not California residents.
Submit requests for STRF Claim Forms to: Student Tuition Recovery Fund, Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education, 2535 Capitol Oaks Drive, Suite 400, Sacramento, CA 95833, (916) 431-6959, or toll free: (888) 370-7589. www.bppe.ca.gov bppve@dca.ca.gov Mail address: BPPE, PO Box 980818, West Sacramento, CA 95798-0818.

IF NECESSARY, YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO CONTACT THE STATE OVERSIGHT AGENCY.

Any questions a student may have regarding WISR’s Catalogue, Enrollment Agreement, or other online information about WISR that have not been satisfactorily answered by WISR may be directed to the Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education: 2535 Capitol Oaks Drive, Suite 400, Sacramento, CA 95833, (916) 431-6959, or toll free: (888) 370-7589. www.bppe.ca.gov bppve@dca.ca.gov Also, a student or any member of the public may file a complaint about this institution with the Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education by calling (888) 370-7589 toll-free or by completing a complaint form which can be obtained on the bureau’s internet web site www.bppe.ca.gov
Indeed, WISR takes the position that consumer protection and student rights are important to a healthy postsecondary education system in California. WISR has an impeccable history of perfect compliance with state law since we were first approved in 1977, and there have been no complaints against us in that entire time. Furthermore, in order to promote consumer protection, high quality education, and institutional integrity and credibility among institutions of private postsecondary education, WISR has taken a leadership role with about a dozen other institutions to form the Association for Private Postsecondary Education in California (APPEC).

TUITION CHARGES FOR STUDENTS AT WISR NOT SEEKING A DEGREE.

Please consult our web page (or online catalogue section) on “Non-Degree Learning” to find about tuition charges for students seeking to receive credit for only one or two independent study courses, for a single workshop, or for non-credit instruction.

REQUIRED DISCLAIMERS REGARDING WISR’S UNACREDITED DEGREES AND REGARDING WISR’S FINANCIAL INTEGRITY.

Quite appropriately, the State of California requires that WISR, and all unaccredited, State Approved schools, colleges and universities, disclose to prospective students possible limitations students may subsequently encounter in using their State Approved, but unaccredited degrees. We have discussed the uses and limitations of WISR degrees at great length in these other sections of our website and online catalogue, in particular, please consult the section, “Learning About WISR.”
We repeat some of the highlights of the points mentioned elsewhere in this section on “Tuition and Fees” because it is important for prospective students to be aware of the most important limitations they may encounter in using a WISR degree.

1. TRANSFER OF CREDIT TO, AND USE OF DEGREES IN, ACCREDITED INSTITUTIONS:
Generally speaking, it is wise not to expect to transfer credit at the graduate level (MA or PhD) between two institutions, because most graduate programs want students to all of their graduate degree program work at that institution. Transferring credit at the BA level is not so difficult between accredited institutions, but since WISR is State approved and unaccredited, those considering WISR’s BA program should NOT plan to transfer ANY of their undergraduate credit to an accredited institution, nor use their BA degree itself (for admissions to a graduate program in an accredited institution). Specifically:
The transferability of credits you earn at WISR is at the complete discretion of an institution to which you may seek to transfer. Acceptance of the BA or MA you earn at WISR is also at the complete discretion of the institution to which you may seek to transfer. If the credits or degree that you earn at this institution are not accepted at the institution to which you seek to transfer, you may be required to repeat some or all of your coursework at that institution. For this reason you should make certain that your attendance at this institution will meet your educational goals. This may include contacting an institution to which you may seek to transfer after attending WISR to determine if your credits or degree will transfer.

2. USES AND LIMITATIONS OF WISR’S UNACCREDITED DEGREES TO OBTAIN EMPLOYMENT AND LICENSURE:
Only one of WISR’s degree programs is specifically designed to lead to employment in a specific career—the MA in Psychology that meets the State’s academic requirements for the Marriage and Family Therapy (MFT) license, and more recently the LPCC license, as well, is designed to help students move toward eventual licensing and careers and employment as licensed MFTs (and for some as LPCCs as well). The significant and typical successes of our MFT program alumni in accomplishing these particular employment and licensing goals is described in our “School Performance Fact Sheet for the MFT Program” which is on our website and available as a hard copy, upon request.

Although the success of WISR alumni in professional advancement and employment is very impressive and well documented, the success of any one student in using their degree from WISR to obtain a particular job definitely CANNOT BE GUARANTEED OR EVEN EXPECTED. Although WISR has been State Approved since 1977, it is not regionally or nationally accredited, and indeed, very tiny institutions such as WISR are seldom, if ever, even evaluated by the regional accrediting agency, and the relevant national agencies do not evaluate institutions offering PhD programs. IT IS IMPORTANT TO EMPHASIZE THAT WISR’S DEGREES ARE UNACCREDITED, AND THEREFORE, WISR STUDENTS AND ALUMNI MAY SOMETIMES BE ELIMINATED FROM CONSIDERATION FOR SOME JOBS, AS WELL AS FOR LICENSURE AND CERTIFICATION IN MOST FIELDS IN OTHER STATES.

The actual experience of WISR students is that they are mostly satisfactorily employed in jobs and careers that they have desired, oftentimes with much greater success than they even hoped for prior to enrolling at WISR. Nevertheless, there are fairly common instances where students and alumni have found that they are eliminated from consideration for some jobs and promotions in public agencies (Federal, State, County, City) when for reasons of legality or bureaucratic convenience, the public agency stipulates that an accredited degree is required for a particular position. Seldom, if ever, have our alumni or students encountered difficulties, because of WISR’s unaccredited status, in obtaining jobs in non-profit and community-based agencies. Similarly, WISR students and alumni have in many cases been successful in obtaining foundation grants, being hired as consultants, and writing books and articles for publication. Although WISR alumni have sometimes been hired for faculty-time faculty positions in large, accredited institutions (e.g., San Francisco State, University of California, Morris Brown University), and many have obtained part-time positions in such institutions, it is well documented that many college and university hiring committees will not consider applicants holding unaccredited degrees.

3. WISR’S FINANCIAL INTEGRITY: WISR has never had a pending petition in bankruptcy, is not operating as a debtor in possession, has never filed a petition for bankruptcy, and has never had a petition in bankruptcy filed against it that resulted in reorganization under Chapter 11 of the US Bankruptcy Code.