FAQs about the 1098-T

My Cardinal Connect Student Finance Secure Payment Center allows students to view students bills and make payments.  View real-time account information including current balance, recent activity, and estimated financial aid.  Enroll in a payment plan.  Sign up to receive text message reminder.  Don’t forget to authorize your parent’s access, if they need to view/pay your bill.

Tuition, fees, room, and board can be paid at any cashier’s office or through the My Cardinal Connect Secure Payment Center.

Online: Check or credit card (MasterCard and Visa) accepted 24/7.  

By mail: Make check or money order payable to TVCC, write the student’s Cardinal ID number on the check or money order, and mail to:

Trinity Valley Community College

Attn:  Business Office

100 Cardinal Drive

Athens, TX 75751

Financial Aid: 

If you have financial aid and your balance is not paid in full or you have not entered into an installment contract, your schedule will be cancelled without exception.  It is important to check your balance if you make ANY CHANGES to your schedule.  You will not receive a statement in the mail for your classes. 

External Scholarships:

External Donor scholarships  must be mailed to the Athens Campus at the address listed below.  Once we receive the scholarship funds they will be posted to the student account.  To avoid posting delays, please make sure to have your student Cardinal ID on the check.  Scholarships WILL NOT BE POSTED until the funds have been received by the Athens Campus.  

If you have unposted scholarship awards and your balance is not paid in full, you will need to enroll in an installment contract to avoid being dropped from classes.  

It is important to check your balance if you make ANY CHANGES to your schedule.  You will not receive a statement in the mail for your classes. 

Trinity Valley Community College

Attn:  Business Office

100 Cardinal Drive

Athens, TX 75751

Effective Spring 2020:  The Installment Plan will cover tuition and fees, housing charges, meal plans, books and all other charges for the semester. Adding classes or charges will increase installment amounts due.

Through the MyCardinalConnect account, access the Secure Payment Center via the Student Finance menu.  Click this link for:  Instructions to Arrange Payment through My Cardinal Connect.

You may pay in full or initiate a payment plan.  

You are NOT automatically enrolled in a payment plan. 

All payment plans have a $25 non-refundable enrollment fee per semester.

There is a 10% initial down payment required at signup.

Payments are set to be drafted on the 5th of the month.

Payment plan enrollment must be completed prior to the payment deadlines for each semester to prevent possible registration cancellation. 

Please keep in mind that TVCC bills tuition by semester and you must return to the MyCardinalConnect Secure Payment Center to enroll in a new plan each semester.

If you have financial aid and your balance is not paid in full or you have not entered into an installment contract, your schedule will be cancelled without exception. It is important to check your balance if you make ANY CHANGES to your schedule. You will not receive a statement in the mail for your classes.

All previous semester balances must be paid in full prior to enrollment in the plan.

If you have questions about your financial aid awards, please contact the financial aid office at finaidinfo@tvcc.edu or 903-675-6233.

If you have financial aid and your balance is not paid in full or you have not entered into an installment contract, your schedule will be cancelled without exception.  It is important to check your balance if you make ANY CHANGES to your schedule.  You will not receive a statement in the mail for your classes. 

Financial Aid Refund Direct Deposit Set Up Instructions

Make a tuition payment is the place to pay the current semester tuition.

Payment plan is to set up a payment plan and payments for the current semester.

Pay a non-tuition balance is for paying any other balance.

Instructions to sign up for Electronic Refunds

All financial aid funds are disbursed as they become available. Refunds are generated from student accounts for reasons including an account credit from financial aid, sponsorships, or personal payment. After all charges are applied to the student's accounts, those with a remaining credit balance will be refunded.  The refund transaction will be generated from any remaining credit balance on your student account. Weekly financial aid refund disbursements for direct deposits and paper checks are on Thursday's. ALL financial aid refunds issued via paper check will be mailed to the student's address on file weekly on Thursday's, with the exception of college holidays, scheduled system maintenance or system processes. If you are signed up to receive your refund via Direct Deposit you should allow 5 BUSINESS DAYS for it to reflect in your bank account. If a student needs to update their address please contact the Registrar's office.

Any charges incurred after a refund is mailed will be charged to the student’s account and is the student’s responsibility to pay. It is important to check your student account to verify charges and refund transactions.

Because payments are made to student accounts from many different parties, it is impossible to track which payments should be returned to which parties. We rely on the student to make the correct decision on reimbursing the appropriate parties once a refund has been issued from a student account.

Beginning Fall 2019, students need to make a direct deposit refund account designation through Student Finance in My Cardinal Connect. All new and returning students must update their account designation in the system once registered for classes. Students must have registration activity for Fall 2019 or later before the system will allow you to access the Secure Payment Portal.  >If a student is enrolled in courses and receive an error, please try clearing the browser history and try again. If this does not work, please try a different browser (such as FireFox or Internet Explorer, but NOT Safari). EVERY student needs to enter account information to receive a direct deposit refund account, regardless of any previous account designation prior to Fall 2019. Once account info is entered in the system, the student should not have to designate again unless you wish to change accounts in the future.

Financial Aid Refund Direct Deposit Set Up Instructions

NOTE: If you receive financial aid and withdraw or drop from all of your coursework, you will be required to repay a portion of your grant or loan. Please check with the Office of Financial Aid before withdrawing.

For the purpose of the refund policy, a class day is defined as a day during which college classes are conducted. Class days are computed beginning the first day of classes for the semester, not according to the number of times a particular class has met. It is the student’s responsibility to drop courses.

Students enrolled in semester credit hour courses who officially withdraw or drop their semester credit hour load at Trinity Valley Community College shall have tuition and mandatory fees refunded according to the following schedule. (Refer to Academic Calendar for semester length)

Fall or Spring Semester (16 week)

• Prior to the first class day: 100%
• Day 1-15: 70%
• Day 16-20: 25%
• Thereafter: None

Fall or Spring Semester (8-week)

• Prior to the first class day: 100%
• Day 1-8: 70%
• Day 9-10: 25%
• Thereafter: None

Summer Semester (12-week)

• Prior to the first class day: 100%
• Day 1-12: 70%
• Day 13-15: 25%
• Thereafter: None

Summer Semester (6-week)

• Prior to the first class day: 100%
• Day 1-5: 70%
• Day 6-7: 25%
• Thereafter: None

Refunds for courses with unique scheduling will be processed according to the table below:

Refunds will be applied to outstanding debts owed to Trinity Valley Community College. Then, any remaining amount will be deposited into the account from which payment was made through TVCC's secure payment portal or mailed to the student’s address on file approximately four weeks after the end of the applicable refund period.  

If a student needs to update their address please contact the Registrar's office.

Any charges incurred after a refund is mailed will be charged to the student’s account and is the student’s responsibility to pay.It is important to check your student account to verify charges and refund transactions.

Refunds are generated from student accounts for reasons including an account credit from financial aid, sponsorships, or personal payment. Because payments are made to student accounts from many different parties, it is impossible to track which payments should be returned to which parties.  We rely on the student to make the correct decision on reimbursing the appropriate parties once a refund has been issued from a student account.

I understand that my student account balance is my responsibility.  By enrolling in courses at Trinity Valley Community College (TVCC), I am making a financial commitment to pay charges associated with this enrollment, in exchange for the education and other benefits provided by TVCC.  I further understand that tuition, fees, room, board, and any other charges to my account (including but not limited to bookstore charges, parking permits, and citations) reflects a balance I owe for educational benefit.

I agree that I have a legal binding obligation to pay Trinity Valley Community College all tuition, room and board (if applicable), and other applicable fees by the due date established by the College. I understand that these expenses may exceed the amount of any financial aid awarded to me and that I am obligated to pay these expenses to the College. I agree that non-payment may result in my course registration being dropped.  In the event I am able to register for future term(s) because my current semester charges are not past due, I understand that these current-term charges must be paid prior to the start date of any future term(s) to prevent disenrollment from those future terms(s).  Students withdrawing after the stated refund dates have passed remain liable for full tuition and fee charges. I understand that failure to attend classes does not constitute an official drop or withdrawal. If I decide not to attend any of my classes at TVCC, I must drop or withdraw by the appropriate deadline date(s) to receive a tuition refund. If I fail to drop by these deadlines, I understand that I will be charged.

I understand that the billing information will be communicated to me through MyCardinalConnect and TVCC e-mail account. I understand that my payment obligation is binding on me regardless of whether I access my electronic billing information. I also understand that the payment obligation is binding on me regardless of whether my account is being paid by me or another person.  TVCC accepts payment via student financial aid and third-party sponsorship, but the responsibility for payment remains with the student. It is your responsibility to keep track of your account balance and any funding sources. If financial aid is not granted or if third-party sponsors do not pay within a reasonable period, the student is required to pay the full amount due

I agree that any unpaid balance may be reported to a billing servicer and then to a collection agency retained by Trinity Valley Community College.

I agree that if I have an unpaid balance and have been reported to a collections agency retained by Trinity Valley Community College, I will pay any collection and/or attorney fees associated with the collections effort, including, but not limited, to collection fees that are assessed as a percentage of the debt owed to Trinity Valley Community College.

I authorize Trinity Valley Community College and the collections agencies retained by Trinity Valley Community College to contact me on the phone number that I have provided Trinity Valley Community College.

I confirm that the address that I have provided Trinity Valley Community College is accurate and if my address changes, I am responsible to update Trinity Valley Community College with my new address.

I understand that my acceptance of the Agreement of Financial Responsibility applies to all financial transactions that may result from my enrollment at the College during the semester and academic year.

When notification is received by the College that a paper check or electronic check has been returned unpaid, a certified letter is sent to the student stating as such. The student has 15 days from the date of the notice to redeem the check plus pay the required $25 service fee. If not redeemed after this period, the returned check will be submitted to the County Attorney's office and/or a collection agency for collection.

Students who wish to appeal the amount of their refund must do so in writing. The student should send the appeal to the director of accounting services/controller no later than two months from the beginning of the fall or spring and no later than three weeks from the beginning of all other semesters.

The appeal needs to include the student’s name, TVIN or social security number, date of birth, daytime phone number, and a detailed explanation for why the refund should be different from what the policy states.

Once the refund request has been received, a committee will meet to determine the outcome of the appeal. The refund appeal committee is comprised of the vice president of administrative services, vice president of instruction, associate vice president of enrollment management, director of accounting services/controller, and any other faculty or staff member that has information about the appeal.

Once a decision is made, the student will be notified.

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