Service Charges, Holds and Penalties
It is important to pay fees and charges posted to your ACORN account by the payment due date. Missing the payment deadline or having an outstanding balance may result in service charges, academic penalties, and financial holds being placed on your account.
Service Charge
Any outstanding balance on your ACORN account is subject to a monthly service charge of 1.5% compounded monthly (19.56% annually). This charge will continue each month until your balance is fully paid or until your account is sent to an external collection agency.
To avoid or reduce service charges, fee payments should be made as soon as possible, allowing 5-10 business days for processing and recording in your ACORN account before the next service charge billing date.
Service charges are applied on the balance as of the billing date and are not negotiable or reassessed if your balance changes later. Exceptions are only considered in cases where there is evidence of error by the University of Toronto.
Students are expected to monitor their account on ACORN until the account balance is fully paid. Failure to monitor your student account or email correspondence does not exempt the student from meeting financial obligations. Students who have left the University can continue to access their financial account balance and history on ACORN.
When Service Charges Begin
- Fall Term: October 15 (or the next business day)
- Winter Term: December 15 (or the next business day)
- February 15 (or the next business day) for students with a valid tuition deferral for OSAP, Provincial/Territorial and U.S. Loans
- February 15 (or the next business day) for students with a valid tuition deferral for OSAP, Provincial/Territorial and U.S. Loans
- Summer Session: June 15 (or the next business day)
- All fees and charges on your ACORN invoice require payment. It is your responsibility to ensure that payments are made on time and recorded in your ACORN account by the payment deadline. For more information about how to check your ACORN invoice, see the “Check my Invoice” tab under the Finances section of the ACORN How-to page.
- Transfers from major Canadian banks usually take 3-5 business days. However, transfers from Canadian credit unions or banks from outside Canada may take longer.
- Transfers from the University of Toronto’s authorized international payment processors, Convera and Flywire, usually take 2-3 business days.
- Credit card payments made on ACORN typically take 2-3 business days to process.
Financial Holds
Financial holds may be placed on a student account for unpaid fees from a previous session. Financial holds may be placed by several areas like your divisional registrar’s office, Library or Health Services.
Financial holds will prevent transcript requests. All financial holds must be cleared to successfully request a transcript.
Unpaid fees will automatically result in a financial hold on the following dates:
May 1: for unpaid previous Fall-Winter session fees
September 1: for unpaid Summer session fees and unpaid fees charged in the previous Winter term for Winter start programs
January 1: for unpaid fees charged in the previous Summer session for Summer start programs
Financial holds are normally removed from the student account within one business day from the date on which full payment has been recorded in the student’s ACORN account or in the information system of the department or registration office that recorded the financial hold.
Inquiries regarding tuition and fee financial holds can be directed to the Service Portal.
The Library records their financial holds in ACORN. Outstanding library fees can be viewed through your library account. Please sign in to your library account to view your account status and pay your fines online, or contact the library with your account details.
After your payment has been received by the Library, the financial hold will be automatically removed in ACORN the next business day. Plan accordingly if you are paying your library fines to request a transcript.
Health Service records their financial holds on ACORN. Contact the appropriate health service office to confirm outstanding fees and make your payment as follows:
- St. George: info.hwc@utoronto.ca
- UTM: 905-828-5255 or email health.utm@utoronto.ca
- UTSC: 416-287-7065, or in person at IA5061 (Sam Ibrahim Building, 5th Floor).
After your payment has been received by the health service office, they will remove the financial hold. Plan accordingly if you are paying your outstanding fees to request a transcript.
Contact your Registrar’s or academic services office to clear this administrative hold.
External Collection Agency
Outstanding accounts will be transferred to the University of Toronto’s external collections agency per the following schedule:
|
Outstanding ACORN* Fees from the following periods will be transferred to external collections: |
First & Final Notification for Non-Registered Students |
Deadline for Full Payment to be recorded in ACORN to Avoid Transfer to Collections |
Outstanding ACORN* Fees will be Transferred to External Collections Agency by: |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Summer 2022, Fall 2022, & Winter 2023 |
January 2024 |
April 30, 2024 |
June 2024 |
|
Summer 2023, Fall 2023, & Winter 2024 |
February 2025 |
April 30, 2025 |
May 2025 |
*Outstanding library, health services and registrar’s office fees that do not appear on ACORN are NOT sent to external collection.
Reminders to pay your outstanding balance will be emailed to you while you are a registered student. If you are no longer registered, a final paper invoice will be mailed in February to the current address on ACORN. This final invoice serves as a reminder of any outstanding fees that are scheduled to be transferred to external collections and include instructions on how to resolve the outstanding balance. If full payment of the outstanding fees has not been recorded in ACORN by April 30, the outstanding fees will be transferred to the University’s external collections agency in May without further notification to the student.
When the outstanding fees are transferred to the external collection’s agency, monthly service charge billing will stop, and the Student Account Status in ACORN will be changed to “At Collect’n (no s/c)”.
- The outstanding fees will continue to be displayed on your ACORN invoice and detailed transaction reports.
- Any payments made to the University by bank transfer or directly to the external collection’s agency will be displayed on your ACORN payment report.
- In May, the external collections agency will initiate contact with you via an introductory email, followed by a formal letter sent by mail outlining their processes and services. You may also receive follow-up phone calls as part of their outreach.
Students can choose to make fee payments to:
The University
These payments are reported to the external collection’s agency within a week of receipt.
The External Collections Agency
These payments will be transferred to the University and recorded on the ACORN invoice as ‘Payment from Collections Agency’ 2-3 weeks from payment date. The agency can provide a ‘release letter’ to confirm full payment. A ‘release letter’ is required if you are attempting to re-enrol at the University of Toronto or wish to request a transcript before your payment has been received.
When full payment has been recorded on ACORN, the Student Accounts Financial Hold will be automatically released on the following business day. Any other financial holds, such as Library and Health Services, must also be cleared to request a transcript on ACORN.
If the student has been away from studying at the University for 12 months or more and plans to resume studies, there are payment & application deadlines you will need to meet. Contact your Divisional Registrar’s office for more information.
Academic Sanctions for Outstanding University Obligations
The University reserves the right to impose academic sanctions on students who have outstanding financial obligations in accordance with the Policy on Academic Sanctions for Students who have Outstanding University Obligations:
- Withhold the release the official diploma to students, alumni and former students.
- Refuse requests to provide written or oral certifications of degree on behalf of students, alumni and former student.
- Refuse registration to a continuing or returning student.
If you have paid your outstanding fees and would like to arrange to receive your diploma, or discuss any of the above restrictions, contact your divisional registrar.