Payment Plans

SMU, in partnership with Nelnet Campus Commerce, offers payment plans for undergraduate and graduate students to help manage tuition costs. These plans allow you to pay your tuition charges in monthly, interest-free installments. Payment plans are available for the Fall, Spring, and Summer terms but not for the January, May, or August terms.

No. Payment plans only apply to student tuition account charges and cannot be used for Miscellaneous account charges.

Yes. Re-enrollment is required each term to continue with a payment plan. You cannot add an open balance from a previous term to a current payment plan.

If you enroll in a payment plan for your final term, your diploma will be held until the payment plan is fully paid. However, you may still participate in the graduation ceremony.

Yes. If you enroll close to or after the first installment is due, a down payment is required.

No. Payment plans are term specific and cannot be used to pay prior or future terms.

No. Only one payment plan per term, per student, is permitted.

June 1 for fall plans.

Nov. 1 for spring plans.

You pay your tuition in six installments: from July 5 to Dec. 5 for the fall term and from Jan. 5 to June 5 for the spring term.

Yes. There's a $50 non-refundable enrollment fee per term.

You pay your tuition in five installments: from Aug. 20 to Dec. 20 for the fall term and Jan. 20 to May 20 for the spring term.

Yes. There's a $65 non-refundable enrollment fee per term.

Sept. 30 for the fall term and Feb. 28 for the spring term.

You pay your tuition in three installments: May 20, June 20, and July 20.

Yes. There's a $75 non-refundable enrollment fee.

June 10.

April 1 for summer plans.

The summer payment plan may overlap with the fall and spring plans, so plan accordingly.

Log into your account, select the "Financials" tab from the left-hand menu, choose "SMUpay" from the drop-down menu, and then select "Payment Plan" from the SMUpay left-hand menu.

You must first add a parent as an authorized payer through by following these instructions. Once set up, parents can go to the , enter their username and password, and select "Payment Plan" from the QuikPay menu.

Log into your account, select the "Financials" tab from the left-hand menu, choose "SMUpay" from the drop-down menu, and click on the "Payment Plan" tab in the QuikPay menu. Then, click on the Agreement ID# for your payment plan, select "Adjust Balance," and choose either to increase or decrease your balance by the amount you enter. Type in the adjustment amount and click "Continue."

Log into the , click on the "Payment Plan" tab in the QuikPay menu, select the Agreement ID# for the payment plan, and click "Adjust Balance." Choose to increase or decrease the balance by the entered amount, type in the adjustment, and click "Continue."

Payments can be made via ACH (free of charge) from a U.S. checking or savings account or by credit/debit card (VISA, American Express, Discover, and MasterCard), which includes a 2.85% non-refundable service fee per transaction.

Yes. Automatic payments are required for enrollment in a payment plan. Manual payments should only be made if the payment plan does not cover all SMU Student Account charges.

ACH payments are processed on either the 5th or 20th of each month, depending on the selected payment plan. If the date falls on a weekend or holiday, payments are processed the next business day.

Yes. You can enroll in a payment plan before full enrollment by estimating student account charges and subtracting anticipated financial aid. Once charges and aid are finalized, the payment plan can be adjusted by the student, Plan Owner, SMU, or Nelnet Campus Commerce. To ensure full coverage and avoid a 1.5% monthly past-due fee on unpaid balances, use the undergraduate Cost Estimate Calculator to help determine your total payment plan amount.

If your monthly installment is returned for any reason, Nelnet will notify you and the plan owner via email and will reattempt to process the payment from the provided account. For the five-month and Summer plans, reattempts occur on or around the 5th of the month. For the six-month plans, reattempts occur on or around the 20th of the month.

If the reattempted payment is also returned, your payment plan will automatically terminate without further notice. Upon termination, all unpaid balances will be immediately due to SMU, and you may be ineligible for future Nelnet payment plans.

Nelnet will assess a $30 returned payment fee for each returned payment.

If your payment plan is terminated due to two returned payments, you will no longer be eligible for future payment plan options.

Only plan owners can change the payment method (the bank account or credit card used for scheduled installments). If you are a student but not the plan owner, you cannot update the payment method. If the student is the plan owner, only the student—not an authorized payer—can make updates to the payment method.

No. Your payment plan is set up with automatic payments.

Contact Nelnet Campus Commerce at 888-470-6014 from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday CST and 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturdays CST. You can also reach Student Financial Services by email at enrol_serv@smu.edu or by phone at 214-768-3417 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday, and from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Wednesdays.