A third party billing relationship is one in which the University of Alabama bills an external agency or company for all or part of a student’s tuition and fees.  These external agencies or companies require an invoice from the University in order to provide payment.  Both the student and the external agency have certain requirements that must be met prior to the University’s agreement to establish such a relationship.

Student Responsibilities

  • Contact the Third Party Coordinator at the beginning of each semester’s billing cycle (July 15th for Fall semesters, November 15th for Spring semesters, and April 15th for Summer semesters) to ensure the University has a valid contract and authorization on file.
  • Pay any charges not covered by the third party by the semester’s billing due dates.
  • Provide a FERPA release.

Third Party Agency Responsibilities

The University requires a valid contract or authorization on file for each third party billing relationship.  This authorization/contract should be on the organization’s letterhead and include an original signature of the official authorized to commit payment on behalf of the organization.  Authorizations must include the following:

  • No restrictions or contingencies, such as review of grades or transcripts prior to payment. Agreements containing this information will require up front payment by the student who must then seek reimbursement from the organization.
  • The charges to be paid and whether full or partial payment are approved.
  • The time period for which payment is authorized.
  • The student(s) to which the authorization applies.
  • The name, billing address, email address, and telephone number of the contact person at the organization that is responsible for payment.

Conditional Credit

  • Upon approval by the University of the third party agreement, a conditional credit will be applied to the student’s account for the term(s) specified in the agreement.
  • The third party organization will be billed within 30 days of the beginning of the academic term for which the student is enrolled.  Students who are not receiving full payment of all account charges must pay their portion by the normally scheduled bill due date in order to secure their schedule.  Students who have not paid their portion are subject to schedule cancellation.
  • Students under third party agreements whose organizations fail to pay the authorized charges within 60 days of the bill due date will be subject to immediate reversal of their conditional credit and will be responsible for payment of any balance due.  For more information about delinquent accounts, please visit https://studentaccounts.ua.edu/delinquent-accounts-or-returned-checks/.

Excluded from Third Party Billing

  • Employer reimbursement
  • Scholarships
  • Gates Scholars reimbursements
  • AmeriCorp
  • Trust funds
  • 529 plans
  • Scholarship awards

UA Departments Requesting Third Party Billing Relationships 

For UA departments requesting third party billing relationships, we require the information noted above under Third Party Agency Responsibilities.   We will attempt to bill and collect from the designated third party or the students covered under that agreement.  The requesting UA department must provide guarantee of payment should we fail to collect by other means.