Third Party Billing Policies

If an outside provider is contributing or paying for your Saint Louis University tuition bill, see what steps you should take to assure that your payment is processed accurately and on time. 

529 Plans

A 529 plan is an education savings plan managed by a state or educational institution designed to help families set aside funds for future college costs.

If you have a 529 plan, contact the plan provider to find out exactly what it will cover and how it is paid.  If your provider allows you to draw funds directly from your plan, you do not need to notify our office.  Simply request the funds be mailed directly to the Office of Student Financial Services. If they mail the funds directly to you in your name, you may then use those funds to make a payment directly to our office.

If your 529 plan provider requires the school to send them a bill directly, tell them that you will be attending Saint Louis University.  The 529 plan provider must then send notification to our office in order for the school to bill your 529 plan provider.  The plan provider should send the student’s name and plan information to:

529 plans billed by the school will be invoiced after SLU’s registration add/drop date.  You should estimate what your 529 plan will be paying, and make arrangements to pay the remainder prior to the published due date.  Failure to pay your portion of the semester charges will result in a registration/transcript hold.

Third-Party Sponsors

Saint Louis University works with the U.S. government and state agencies, embassies, other universities and approved employers as third-party sponsors. Third-party sponsors will be billed for all or part of a student’s financial account charges after the 100 percent drop period has ended. Usually, that's two weeks into the semester and within 30 days of the start of class. 

Third-party billing is not tuition reimbursement. Tuition reimbursement is an arrangement between a student and an employer or other organization for student reimbursement of tuition and fees. If your employer requires grades prior to paying for a class, they cannot be set up as a third-party sponsor.

To process third-party aid, the sponsor must submit an authorization letter or voucher on official letterhead to our office.  All letters are subject to review and must include the following information:

• Student’s name
• Date of birth and address (if SLU Banner number is not available)
• SLU Banner number
• Dollar or percentage limit and type of charges to be billed to the sponsor
• Length of time authorization/voucher is valid
• Contact person
• Sponsor’s billing address

The third-party authorization letter or voucher may be submitted via email to stdaccts@slu.edu or via fax to 314-977-3437. It can also be mailed to:

Payment from a third-party sponsor may affect your financial aid eligibility.  Students will not receive a refund for a credit balance on their account until payment is received from the sponsor. Any expenses not covered by the sponsor are the responsibility of the student and are to be paid in full by the stated due date on the student monthly statement. If payment is not received from the third party, a student will be held liable for all charges and any interest that may have accrued on their account.

Do not use your sponsor’s address as your billing address in SLU’s system. Invoices sent to sponsors are separate from the monthly student statement.

A payment memo showing the sponsor's name and pending aid appears on a student’s bill under "Pre-Authorized Credits."  Billing statements and account activity may be viewed at billpay.slu.edu. 

Saint Louis University may in its discretion amend or change the third-party billing terms/process at any time and from time to time. You will be bound by any such amendments or changes, and should review these terms periodically for any such amendments or changes.