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Payment Options

Killian One Stop

 

WCU accepts multiple payment methods. Full payment in the form of check, money order or cashier's check may be mailed to:

Western Carolina University
Student Accounts Office
132 Killian Annex
Cullowhee, NC 28723 

You may also bring cash and/or checks to the Student Accounts counter in the Killian Annex. Checks must be drawn on U.S. banks.

Payments may be made with credits cards or from online checking accounts from the student's myWCU account. Western Carolina University also offers an alternative to paying your college expenses in one lump sum with the payment plan option.

Additional Payment Options

  • Payments may be made with credit cards including VISA, Mastercard, American Express and Discover. Online checking account payments are also accepted. 
  • Western Carolina University charges a 2.95% nonrefundable convenience fee ($3.00 minimum) on Mastercard, VISA,  American Express and Discover card payments for general payments on students' accounts in Bill+Payment through MyWCU. 
  • For general payments on students' accounts in Bill+Payment through MyWCU visit MyWCU Login or Authorized User Login.
  • To add funds to your CatCash account at any time (with no minimum deposit required) use one of the add-value machines located in the Technology Commons in the basement of Hunter Library, or via the GET Mobile App. Online deposits to a CatCash account should be applied within one hour.
  • For certain application fees, tuition and housing deposits, and orientation payments see Specialty Payment Login.

Please note: The Specialty Payment Login is unavailable from 11:00 p.m. to 12:05 a.m. nightly due to system maintenance. 

**WCU DOES NOT CURRENTLY OFFER PAYMENT PLANS FOR SUMMER SESSIONS**

Western Carolina University offers an alternative to paying your college expenses in one lump sum.  Payment plans are offered through TouchNet Bill+Payment accessed through your myWCU account.  The payment plan allows you to pay your semester charges to Western Carolina University in 5,  4 or 3  monthly payments beginning July 9th for the Fall term and November 22nd for the Spring term. You may not set up a payment plan until the charges are billed. The payment plan enrollment fee is $40 per semester and is payable at the time of enrollment along with the first payment. Please note that payment plans are not available for the Summer semester.   

 

The payment plan will auto-calculate the amount of each payment based on the balance on the account.  If additional financial aid awards, credits, payments or charges are added to the account after the payment plan is set up, the payment amount will change in an amount that will allow the remaining payments to satisfy your balance by the end of your payment plan.  An email will be sent each time the payment plan payment amount changes.

 

Students and authorized users may set up payment plans.

Available Payment Plans:

WCU Fall 2024 5 Payment Plan

Enrollment:  7/9/2024 (after billing) to 7/23/2024

Payments for 20% plus enrollment fee of $40 upon enrollment

Subsequent payments  for 20% due August 2nd, September 2nd, October 2nd, and November 1st.

 

WCU Fall 2024 4 Payment Plan

Enrollment:  7/24/2024 to 8/14/2024

Payments for 25% plus enrollment fee of $40 upon enrollment

Subsequent payments  for 25% due September 2nd, October 2nd, and November 1st.

 

WCU Fall 2024 3 Payment Plan

Enrollment:  8/15/2024 to 9/2/2024

Payments for 33.33% plus enrollment fee of $40 upon enrollment

Subsequent payments  for 33.33% due October 2nd and November 1st.

 

Setting up a payment plan :

Go to myWCU
Log in with the WCU ID (the name before the @ sign in the catamount email address) and password.

  1. Click on “View/Pay Bill, Direct Deposit, Payment Plan ” under Student Records & Accounts  to be taken into Bill+Payment. 
  2. Click on "Enroll in Payment Plan".
  3. Select the term.
  4. Select the payment plan.
  5. Follow instructions and make payment.

You will see details about the plan, a real-time breakdown of charges and credits, and installment due dates.  Users will sign a payment plan agreement form by checking an "I agree" box.

 

Payment Plan FAQ’s

If a student misses the enrollment dates for a plan that they preferred, can they be enrolled into it past the deadline? 

No, students will not be enrolled into closed plans. 

 

Why don’t I see my payment plan on my account after I made a deposit?

This occurs in one of two scenarios. The first one is you made the payment plan deposit by clicking the regular make a payment button instead of the enroll button. The second one is you were timed out while making the plan. The payment plan setup process must be completed under 10 minutes. Not doing so will require you go back to make your plan and the first deposit. 

 

Must I wait until my installment is due to pay it? Or can I pay smaller amounts when I get my paycheck each week?

You can make payments of any size toward your next installment at any time via the pay next installment button.

 

If a student receives financial aid after they set up a plan what happens? 

The financial aid counts as a credit and will recalculate equally across the remaining payments on the account. If the credit is higher than the payoff amount (located under the payment plan tab in their student account), then the plan will automatically terminate and cancel the remaining payments. 

 

If a student misses a payment, will the plan recalculate remaining payments, or will they stay the same? 

If the student misses a payment, installments stay the same short of changes with the student’s account, like a credit or a charge, which would update/recalculate the installment amounts when the payment plan batch process runs.  However, a hold will be placed on the student account limiting transcripts and registration as a consequence of a missed payment. 

 

I set up a plan and viewed my installments. Now the installment amounts have changed. Why?

The plan is set up to pay your charges for several items, such as tuition and housing. Any time you have new charges for those items, your plan installment amounts will go up. Any time you have payments or other credits toward those items outside the payment plan, your installment amounts will go down.

 

My installment is due today, but I get a message that I can't pay it because it is already scheduled. What should I do?

You do not need to do anything. When you enrolled in the plan, you set up payments to be processed automatically. One of those payments is being processed today. Your school prevents you from making another payment on the same day to prevent overpayment or double payment.

 

 What happens when the enrollment fee and the first payment bounce? 

If the student paid via WebCheck aka ACH, and the payment is returned/bounced by the bank, the student is removed from the plan.  Also, they will be charged an NSF fee of $35 like any returned payment. 

 

 Why can't I enroll in a plan?

You may not have the minimum amount of eligible charges on your account. Or, you may have a hold on your account that is blocking enrollment into payment plans. Lastly, there may be no plan available for the semester or time frame in which you are enrolling.

Payments from 529 Plans or other educational savings accounts may be mailed to:

 

WCU Student Accounts Office
132 Killian Annex
Cullowhee, NC 28723

 

It is recommended that students or guardians contact their 529 Provider well in advance of the payment due date to ensure that payments are received by the deadline  WCU is currently unable to accept electronic transfers from 529 or similar accounts.

Information on Military & VA payments can be found on WCU’s Military Services Office website.

 

Students receiving the North Carolina Scholarship for Children of Wartime Veterans (a.k.a. Veterans’ Commission) must contact the Student Accounts Office to utilize the award the first time: studentaccounts@wcu.edu.

 

Students must go through their third-party sponsor to arrange for semester payments. These parties may include Vocational Rehabilitation, Training Educators And Creating Hope (TEACH), Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI), Saudi Arabian Cultural Mission (SACM), state Pre-Pay programs, Veterans’ Commission, and more.  The Student Accounts Office must receive an authorization or award letter for the student directly from the third-party/sponsor to receive a temporary credit for the incoming payment.

 

Students are responsible for all charges that are not covered by the third-party authorization. Third-party authorizations must be received, and other charges paid, by the payment due date. Failure to satisfy these requirements will result in the student's classes being dropped for non-payment.

 

Third-parties interested in sponsoring, or paying on behalf of, a single student may email the  Financial Aid Office or call 828.227.7290 for assistance.

 

Third-parties interested in setting up a contract to sponsor multiple students each semester may email the Student Accounts Office or call 828.227.7324 for assistance.

Graduate students with assistantships may have their semester’s charges deducted from their monthly wages. Students will need to sign a Power of Attorney and fill out the appropriate paperwork.

To arrange this, please email the email the Student Accounts Office or call 828.227.7324 for assistance.

Western Carolina University provides you a method of paying your tuition and fees in a foreign currency via Western Union Business Solutions, a specialist in global business payments. There are no transaction charges from WUBS for payments sent in a foreign currency, though you may be charged transaction fees by the banks. There is a $20 Incoming Payment Handling Fee for payments made in U. S. dollars. The exchange rate is valid for 72 hours after you have initiated the transaction and payment must be received by Western Union Business Solutions within that period. Neither WUBS nor Western shall be liable to you or the intended beneficiary for any additional costs, fees, or expenses resulting from the untimely delivery of the payment as set forth above. Western Carolina University does not accept overpayments on student accounts.  Please transfer only the amount due on your student account to avoid payment delays.

Visit myWCU to begin the payment process.

  1. Log in with the WCU ID (the name before the @ sign in the catamount email address) and password.
  2. Click on “View/Pay Bill, Direct Deposit, Payment Plan ” under Student Records & Accounts.
  3. Click on "Make Payment" and then "Make a Payment".  
  4. Select "Current account balance" to pay the balance on the account or enter the amount in the box to the right and click "Continue".
  5. Click the drop down box for "Select Payment Method", select "Bank Wire" and then "Continue".
  6. Enter the country from which you are paying and click "Continue".
  7. Populate the "Payer Information" and click "Continue".
  8. Click "Accept" to receive your Bank Wire Instructions to print and take to your bank.  THE WIRE MUST BE SENT FROM YOUR BANK WITHIN 3 BUSINESS DAYS.
  9. The payment will be posted to your student account when the funds are received from your bank.

All returned checks will be forwarded to the Student Accounts Office. Upon receiving a returned check, Student Accounts will post it to the correct account.  Student Accounts will also place a hold on the student’s account that will prevent any future registration and issuance of any transcripts from Western, until full payment of the returned check and fees is received.  The student will be notified by email that he/she must pay the face amount of the returned check plus a $35 or $5 service charge for each returned check within five days or by the first day of class, whichever comes first.  After five days or the first day of class, students whose accounts remain unpaid may have their classes dropped for nonpayment.  After at least three returned checks during the student’s career at Western, Student Accounts will place a hold on the student’s account for the remainder of the academic year which will block Webcheck payments in Bill+Payment.  Claims for delinquent accounts will be filed through the provisions of the Set Off Debt Collection Act and State Employee Collection Act.  

Western Carolina University has partnered with PayMyTuition for international tuition payments. With PayMyTuition, you can pay your tuition payments from any bank, in any country, in any currency at better than bank exchange rates. PayMyTuition is fast, simple, and cost effective.

 

Additional Information on PayMyTuition:

How to make a payment - step-by-step PDFs:

For customer support, please call 1.855.663.6839 (toll-free) or through one of their local country contact numbers. You can also reach PayMyTuition Support at support@paymytuition.com or through their support page.

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