Policy and Deadlines

In response to input we have received from many students and their families—requesting that financial expectations be predictable, consistent, and clearly communicated—La Sierra University has updated the financial clearance process and established standard deadlines for payment.

Every student whose balance is not completely covered by financial aid must make a payment of at least one-third of the balance due by the published deadline before each quarter.

There are three standard payment options available.

 Year Amount Due: Pay the full year’s charges—minus confirmed aid—by the published deadline for Fall and receive a 5% commitment scholarship. **

Quarter Amount Due: Pay each quarter’s charges—minus confirmed aid—by the published deadline for that quarter and receive a 2% commitment scholarship.

Monthly Payment: Pay in three monthly installments for each quarter, with the first payment due by that quarter’s published deadline. A $45 fee applies for each quarter that this option is chosen. 12-month payment plans are available and must be requested through the SFS Office.

**The commitment scholarship is not available in the summer or on discounted or off-campus programs, except for the Criminal Justice off-campus program.

To help students select the best payment option, an electronic copy of their invoice for the quarter will be sent to their university email account when they register or change their registration. The invoice will show the balance due for the current quarter, including any prior balance, and less any confirmed aid. It will show the minimum amount due for financial clearance, which is the first monthly installment amount.

Students are encouraged to register early and to make their financial obligations known to their account payers in a timely manner.

Criminal Justice (CJ) students must be financially cleared before registration.  CJ students have a different payment schedule than what is outlined below. For financial clearance and additional information, CJ students should contact their Financial Aid Counselor prior to registration.

The Payment deadlines for each quarter are as follows:

Summer Financial Clearance is required before students can register for summer classes. Students should contact their Financial Aid Counselor to obtain clearance to register. There are numerous summer sessions starting almost every Monday between June and August, and financial clearance must be obtained no later than the Wednesday before the student's summer session begins.

We hope that this information will make the financial clearance process easier to follow and more predictable for families. If you should have any questions, the Student Financial Services office will be happy to provide additional clarification.