Payments
The Child Development Center (‘Center’ or ‘CDC’) charges an annual tuition. Families may opt to pay the entire year in one lump sum or through monthly installments. For the convenience of parents, annual tuition payments can be made in twelve equal monthly payments, even though we are open more days in some months than in others (we close for a portion of semester breaks, all university and federal holidays, and for staff development).
You are paying for an enrollment slot and not for attendance, therefore the Center does not refund paid child care services fees for holidays, staff development, illness, vacation, discontinuation of child care services or the delay, closing, cancellation of days or reduction of operating hours due to inclement weather, public health concerns or staffing availability. The CDC will not prorate a month’s fee for discontinuation of child care services.
Payment Method
Acceptable payment methods include money order, check, payroll deduction and credit card via Touchnet. Cash will not be accepted. For assistance, please email earlycarebilling@appstate.edu.
Money Order / Check
This payment method is appropriate for any type payment to the CDC, such as registration, tuition, event, late payment, lost key, late pick-up, etc. Money orders and checks should be made payable to Appalachian State University and should include the helpful payment details in memo, such as:
- Reason for payment (Feb. 2021 tuition, late pick-up on 6/13/2022, etc.)
- Child/Children’s Name
- Guardian’s Name (if paid by someone else or a money order)
To submit a money order or check, please place it in the CDC lockbox located to the left of the door as you enter the Center.
Payroll Deduction (PD)
Payroll deduction allows monthly child care fees to be deducted directly from a paycheck and is available only to permanent University employees. This payment method is only appropriate for monthly tuition payments. Payments are applied to the following month’s child care fee invoice (ie. June’s paycheck deduction is applied to July’s fees) and will continue monthly until the University is notified to stop payments. It is the employee’s responsibility to notify Human Resources of changes in amount or discontinuation. Human Resources must receive enrollment and cancellation forms by the 12th of the month to be effective on that month’s paycheck.
PD Enrollment & Adjustment Instructions
- Process if establish during the CDC’s enrollment process:
- Payroll Deduction Enrollment Form is emailed to all families in the yearly enrollment packet
- Center submits forms received during enrollment process to Human Resources
- Process for mid-year enrollment (ex. not set up during enrollment process or new child) and PD adjustment (ex. child moves up to classroom with lower tuition rate)
- Parent completes Payroll Deduction Enrollment Form
- Parent emails completed form to Cindy McGuire in Human Resources and copies earlycarebilling@appstate.edu
PD Cancellation Instructions
- Parent completes Payroll Deduction Cancellation Form
- Parent emails completed form to Cindy McGuire in Human Resources and copies earlycarebilling@appstate.edu
Credit Card
Credit card payments are available via Touchnet and can be used for the majority of payment types to the CDC, such as tuition, event, late payments, lost key, late pick-up, and delinquent balance. The Center accepts HSA/FSA, Visa, Discover, and Mastercard. We do not accept payment over the phone.
Tuition Rates
Tuition rates are based on the child’s classroom, University affiliation and adjusted gross income (AGI). Families without an eligible University affiliation (ie. enrollment, benefit eligible employment) will be charged the unaffiliated rate. All University affiliated families, except ones receiving DSS subsidy, can apply for a lower tuition rate from the sliding fee scale. To qualify for a sliding fee rate, your AGI from your most recent tax return must be at or less than $60,000. Affiliated families will be charged at the “Above $60,001” rate until required documentation is provided. Current tuition rates are listed in the tables below.
Infant & Toddler Classrooms
| Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) | Annual Tuition WITH lunch | Monthly Installment WITH lunch | Annual Tuition WITHOUT lunch | Monthly Installment WITHOUT lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| At/under $60,000 | $10,200 | $850 | $9,780 | $815 |
| At/above $60,001 | $10,872 | $906 | $10,444 | $870 |
| Unaffiliated Rate | $11,556 | $963 | $11,136 | $928 |
*Honeysuckle and Hummingbird classrooms include lunch. Willow classrooms do not include lunch.
Preschool Classrooms
| Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) | Annual Tuition WITH lunch | Monthly Installment WITH lunch | Annual Tuition WITHOUT lunch | Monthly Installment WITHOUT lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| At/under $60,000 | $9,276 | $773 | $8,856 | $738 |
| At/above $60,001 | $10,200 | $850 | $9,780 | $815 |
| Unaffiliated Rate | $10,877 | $906 | $10,440 | $870 |
*Honeysuckle and Hummingbird classrooms include lunch. Willow classrooms do not include lunch.
Sliding Fee Scale Application Process
Families who indicated interest in applying for a lower tuition rate on the Tuition & Agreement Acknowledgment Form will be contacted via email by the Center with instructions. Caregivers are responsible for providing the required documentation. A copy of ONLY the first page of your most recent tax return (1040) to document an adjusted gross income under $60,000 must be submitted using FileShare. FileShare is a web-based secure file sharing application that facilitates easy file sharing between users and promotes secure data sharing habits. An App State email address is preferred to log into FileShare. Notify the Center if you do not have or do not want to use your App State email address and a document request link from FileShare will be provided.
After your AGI is reviewed the Center will follow up via email to communicate if you are approved for a reduced rate. Families must apply annually. Approval is only for the current contract period. Lower rates will not be retroactively applied to invoices. Approved families will have tuition adjusted accordingly in the following month’s invoice. For instance, families submitting tax information in May will have their June tuition adjusted. Caretakers who want to apply after the enrollment process due to a dramatic change in financial situation should contact the Center by emailing earlycarebilling@appstate.edu to initiate the application process.
Department of Social Services Payments
You may have fees subsidized through the Department of Social Services (‘DSS’). Payment of the monthly parent fee, established by DSS, is due on or before the 1st day of each month for services provided that same month. The subsidy amount provided by DSS plus the monthly parent fee must equal the established monthly child care service fee, as listed in the Tuition & Agreement Acknowledgement Form. You remain responsible for the difference. Families receiving DHHS Child Care Subsidy will be billed at the AGI $60,001+ rate.
Late Payments
The operation of the Center is dependent upon tuition received from families; thus, timely payments are essential. It is the family’s responsibility to have a discussion with the Director BEFORE payments become delinquent in order to avoid any break in service. The key to avoiding breaks in service or termination is maintaining clear communication with the Director. Referral to resources that provide assistance with child care costs or establishment of a repayment plan may be possible options that prevent service termination if proactive communication is received.
In cases of late or non-payment of fees, a late fee of $25.00 will be added on the 11th of each month and a reminder will be sent to the family who has neither paid nor made other arrangements. If fees are not paid within five business days after that reminder is sent, the Director will contact by telephone or in person and inform the family that services will be discontinued until payment is received or satisfactory arrangements are made. Consistent or repeated late payment of fees will be grounds for discontinuation of services (i.e., removal of the child from the program). Consistent or repeated late payment is defined as more than two times.
According to University Policy a fee of $25.00 will be charged for checks that are returned due to insufficient funds.
Late Pick-up Fee
Families are expected to pick up their children no later than closing time (see Hours of Operations) and are required to notify the Center by phone if they are not able to pick up their child before closing. A late pick-up fee of $10.00 per child will be charged if an App State Staff member is required to be in the building after closing for the first late offense. A second late pick up will result in a $20.00 fee per child, and third late pick up will result in a $30.00 fee per child. Invoices for late pick-up will be sent to families and payment should be remitted within a calendar week. If a family is late three times within a contract cycle, the Center may terminate child care services.
For children who are still at the Center 30 minutes after closing time, the Center will call the Department of Social Services if we cannot locate or communicate with the child’s family or emergency contacts. To avoid this, please make sure you have placed an emergency contact or more than one phone number for yourself on your child’s contact form and stay in contact with the Center should you find yourself running late.
Withdrawal
A minimum of a thirty (30) day written notice of discontinuation of child care is required from the parent or legal guardian prior to removing a child from enrollment in the Center. You will remain responsible for paying the child care services fee for the full thirty days after you provide notice regardless of the spot being filled with a new child. This is non-negotiable.
Grounds for Ending or Not Extending Contract
The University reserves the right to cancel this contract or not extend a contract for future terms for any reason deemed sufficient by the Director and/or Administration. The list of service termination reasons can be found in your Parent Handbook. The Office of Student Affairs will issue a written notice of cancellation or non-extension of a contract to an additional term.
Collections
The Center will report any past due account, regardless of your affiliation with the University, to the Office of Student Accounts for collection. Failure to make payment to the University will result in placing an account with collection agencies. In the event that collections are not successful the University may take all other legal actions necessary to receive payment, up to and including filing litigation.