Tuition Assistance Policy & Application

CLICK ON THE LINK BELOW FOR A FAST APPLICATION:

on-line application to Financial Aid for School Tuition (FAST)

CORNERSTONE CHRISTIAN ACADEMY TUITION POLICY

2012-2013

INTRODUCTION:  We believe that your tuition payments are an investment in your child’s education, spiritual and moral growth. In most cases, this investment is made at no small sacrifice to your family. Attendance at Cornerstone Christian Academy (CCA) implies our commitment to provide a quality Christian education as well as a personal financial commitment on your part. The policies that are explained below are designed to make tuition payments as convenient as possible, while helping to ensure that CCA can predict its cash flow with reasonable accuracy.

FEES: The fees outlined below are per student, non-refundable and must be paid on or before the date indicated.  Refer to fee schedule on page three (3) for current fees.
•    Application Fee- a one-time fee to be submitted by new students with their application.
•    Registration Fee- a yearly fee due by March 16, 2012.
•    Book Fee- a yearly fee due by May 18, 2012.
•    Student Activity Fee- a yearly fee which covers field trips due by August 1, 2012. The fee does not cover the cost of our winter outdoor program (i.e. skiing, skating, etc.)

TUITION PAYMENT: All families are expected to make tuition payments according to one of the following payment plans. Payment plans are extended to families with student accounts in good standing  (See Tuition Delinquency below). Each family’s preferred manner of payment and billing information must be submitted each year on the registration card at the time of re-enrollment. Regardless of payment option, all tuition charges must be paid in full by May 1.

Options for payment shall include:

Full Payment: tuition is paid in full on or before August 1
Semester Payment: tuition is paid in two equal installments due on or before August 1 and January 1.
Quarterly Payment: tuition is paid in 4 payments due on August 1, November 1, February 1, and May 1.
Monthly Payment: tuition is paid monthly over an 11-month period. The 11-Month Plan is eleven equal payments beginning on July 1 and ending May 1.

Late Registrations: Families registering after August 1 but before September 15 shall be expected to fulfill their tuition obligation according to the tuition policy stated above. Tuition for students after September 15 shall be prorated over the number of school days they will be in attendance according to an established formula. Registration and Book and Program Fees are not prorated for late registering
students.  Registration, Book and Student Activity Fees as well as two month’s tuition must be paid in Full before the student begins class.

LATE PAYMENTS: Please note that if your payment is not received by the 1st OF THE MONTH IN WHICH THE PAYMENT IS DUE, your account will be charged a late fee of $25. Finance charges will be assessed to any account past due 60 days.

For All Payment Plans: If payment is not received on or before the respective due date(s), the family will be charged a late fee and will be contacted within five (5) days be the CCA Financial Administrator concerning the missed payment date and alternative tuition payment options will be offered. If funds are not received according to a new agreement then late fees/finance charges will continue to be accessed.
It shall be the responsibility of each school family to keep CCA informed, in writing, of their need to make any changes in their preferred tuition payment plan.

MULTI-CHILD DISCOUNTS:  Full tuition is charged to the first child of every family enrolled. Each additional child in a family enrolled in a full-day program is offered a discount as per the tuition rate schedule on page three (3) of this document. This does not apply to students enrolled in part time programs.

TUITION CREDIT FOR REFERRAL: We are offering a tuition credit of $500 for referring a family to Cornerstone who becomes enrolled. This tuition credit is qualified by the following.
•    One credit of $500 to any one referring family per school year.
•    The referred family must be enrolled at CCA for an entire school year.
•    The referring family must complete a Tuition Credit for Referral form and submit the form to the Business Office immediately following the referred family’s enrollment.
•    Once approved, the tuition credit is applied to your student account in March 2013.

NON-ADMISSION OF STUDENTS DUE TO TUITION DELINQUENCY: Families failing to pay tuition according to the agreement which they have made with CCA and/or who have not made suitable alternative arrangements with CCA jeopardize their account’s good standing (*see below) and their children’s enrollment in the school. CCA reserves the right to apply monthly fees and finance charges to delinquent accounts or unpaid account balances.

By August 20: Registration Fee, Book, and Student Activity Fees as well as the first tuition payment *as per your payment plan) are to be up-to-date. If not, students may not be admitted to class on the first day of school.

By Christmas Vacation: All account payments must be up-to-date. If not, students may not be admitted to class following vacation.

By May 1: All tuition charges to student accounts are to be paid in full. If not, students may not be permitted to attend class, and report cards and permanent records will not be released by the school administration.

KEEP YOUR ACCOUNT IN *GOOD STANDING: Making your payments on time will keep your account in good standing. It is the responsibility of parents or guardians to contact the Financial Administrator if they experience economic difficulties that will affect their ability to make payments. If your account becomes delinquent, your account may be frozen. Families with frozen accounts are not permitted to make use of before or after school programs, ski programs, etc.

TRANSFER STUDENTS: Tuition accounts for students transferring to another school must be paid in full up-to date before report cards and CCA permanent records will be released.

TUITION REFUNDS: Cornerstone employs teachers and staff based on a projected budget, which in turn is based on tuition income from new and returning students. Our students and families are an integral part of how Cornerstone operates financially. Our teachers and staff are committed to you and your students for the school year. We must have your commitment as well. Please read our tuition refund policy with this fact in mind. TUITION REFUNDS WILL ONLY BE GIVEN TO WITHDRAWN STUDENTS WHO NOTIFY THE SCHOOL OFFICE IN WRITING NO LATER THAN JULY 1ST. IF A FAMILY’S NOTICE TO WITHDRAW IS RECEIVED AFTER JULY 1ST,  THE FAMILY IS RESPONSIBLE FOR TUITION PAYMENTS FOR ONE HALF OF THE SCHOOL YEAR . IF A FAMILY’S NOTICE TO WITHDRAW IS RECEIVED AFTER DECEMBER 1ST, THE FAMILY IS RESPONSIBLE FOR TUITION PAYMENTS FOR THE ENTIRE YEAR. APPLICATION, REGISTRATION, AND BOOK AND STUDENT ACTIVITY FEES ARE NOT REFUNDABLE. QUALIFIED REFUNDS WILL BE MADE WITHIN 30 DAYS OF  A WRITTEN REQUEST.

CORNERSTONE TUITION ASSISTANCE POLICY
2012-2013

Each year Cornerstone receives donations to our tuition assistance fund to subsidize the tuition of qualified students whose families demonstrate documented financial need.  Tuition assistance is awarded according to the amount of gifts given to the school for this purpose.

TUITION ASSISTANCE QUALIFICATIONS: The student must be in good academic and behavioral standing at Cornerstone. The student account must be in good standing and up-to-date in order to qualify for tuition assistance. Tuition assistance does not cover Registration, Book, Student Activity Fees, or other program fees. Although every family is asked to volunteer their time at the school, families who receive tuition assistance will be asked to volunteer a minimum of 30 hours per year, in an approved area of service, document that volunteer time on a log that will be provided by the business office, and sign a tuition assistance agreement outlining the terms of the tuition assistance. (Families receiving tuition assistance for more than one child are encouraged to volunteer more than 30 hours.) Families are required to re-apply for tuition assistance each school year.

ABOUT FAST: FINANCIAL AID FOR SCHOOL TUITION:  Cornerstone has contracted with a third party financial need assessment service, FAST, to help determine a family’s need for tuition assistance.  All applicants must apply on-line through FAST for $36. Please refer to page 5 of this document for complete instructions. All families wishing to be considered for tuition assistance must apply or re-apply through this service. Sorry, no exceptions! FOR RETURNING STUDENTS: Application deadline for FAST is April 1, 2012 in order to receive preferential consideration. FOR NEW STUDENTS: FAST Applications may be made upon application for admission and will be reviewed for consideration on a rolling basis.

TUITION ASSISTANCE APPLICATION PROCEDURES:

Re-enrolling families who seek tuition assistance should:
•    Be sure their current student account is paid up-to-date.
•    Be sure your volunteer hours are up-to-date.
•    Submit a registration card and the Registration Fee for the coming school year.
•    Submit an on-line application to Financial Aid for School Tuition (FAST) with fee, for a confidential, third-party financial assessment. FAST application deadline for returning families is April 1, 2012.          .

New families who seek tuition assistance should:
•    Complete and submit the application for admission.
•    Submit an on-line application to FAST along with the fee, for a confidential, third-party financial assessment. FAST applications may be made upon acceptance for admission and will be reviewed for consideration on a rolling basis.

Candidates will be evaluated and tuition assistance will be awarded based on the following criteria.
•    The availability of tuition assistance funds.
•    The documented financial need of the family as recommended to the school by FAST.
•    The family’s payment history with Cornerstone (for current families).
•    The student’s academic and behavioral record and the availability of classroom space.
•    The family’s commitment to 30 hours per student of volunteer work in an approved area of service.

Source of Scholarship Funds:

Scholarship funds are limited to what we can raise through individual and annual fund raising activities. We encourage all families to support these fund raising efforts so that we may increase the size of our scholarship account. We also seek corporate and individual donations to help Cornerstone while receiving a tax deduction. Should you be interested please contact CCA at (603) 539-8636 or email us at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Cornerstone Christian Academy of Ossipee, NH admits students of any race, color, national or ethnic origin to all rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, sex, color, or ethnic origin in administration or education policies, tuition assistance/fees programs, or other school-administered programs.