Tuition

Tuition and Fees

Parkland College is a public institution supported by both district and state tax funds. Because of this, district resident students can further their education without incurring large financial obligations.

Tuition for residents of District 505 is a two-tiered system.

Tier One in-district tuition rate

Most credit courses are charged at the Tier One rate.  District 505 residents will pay $161.75 per credit hour. The following fees per credit hour are charged in addition to tuition:

• $3.50 activity fee
• $1.75 registration fee
• $5.00 facility fee
• $14.00 technology fee

District residents will pay a total of $186.00 per credit hour in tuition and fees for Tier One courses.

Tier Two in-district tuition rate

Tier Two rates are reserved for specialty courses in high-cost career programs. These include classes from the following areas with the indicated course prefixes:

• AGCO Service Technician (AGC)
• Automotive Collision Repair (ACR)
• Aviation (AVI and ALV, except AVI 111, AVI 112, and AVI 113)
• Ford Motor ASSET (AFM)
• Case New Holland Technician (CNH)
• Dental Hygiene (DHG)
• Practical Nursing (LPN)
• Nursing (NUR)
• Occupational Therapy Assistant (OTA)
• Respiratory Care (RTT)
• Surgical Technology (SUR)
• Veterinary Technology (VTT)
• Radiologic Technology (XRA)

These courses are charged at the Tier Two rate of $243.75 per credit hour. The following fees per credit hour are charged in addition to tuition:

• $3.50 activity fee
• $1.75 registration fee
• $5 facility fee
• $14 technology fee

District residents will pay a total of $268.00 per credit hour in tuition and fees at the Tier Two rate.

Tuition and fees listed in this catalog are subject to change by the Parkland College Board of Trustees.

In addition, course fees are charged for most courses to help defray costs of supplies, equipment, maintenance, and unusual expenses associated with the course. The additional course fee is indicated for each course at parkland.edu/findaclass.

All classes taken in preparation for the GED test are free. Contact the Adult Education department for more information.

Tuition and Fees for Resident and Nonresident Students

Tuition rates depend on whether the student is a resident of District 505.  For nonresidents, the rate also depends on whether the class is on-campus or online.

On-Campus Classes

Online Classes

Tuition under the Career Agreement

Illinois students who are not residents of District 505 and are admitted into a Parkland career program may be eligible to pay in-district tuition and fees under the Career Agreement among participating Illinois community colleges.

For information about the rules and procedures on how to apply for Career Agreement tuition benefits, see Illinois Community College Career Agreement .

Tuition for Senior Citizens

Residents of District 505 who are 65 years of age or older may enroll in classes (excluding workshops and noncredit classes) by paying a semester registration fee of $5 in addition to any course fee required.

Details of the program may be obtained from the Office of Admissions and Records.

Course Repeat Fee

Illinois community colleges receive state apportionment support for each student who is certified as being in attendance at midterm in a course. State apportionment support is also received when a student is repeating a course for the first time under conditions described below.

When a student exceeds the limit of Illinois Community College Board-approved repeat enrollments in a course, the student will be assessed a course repeat fee equal to the state apportionment for the course.

If a course is identified as non-repeatable and a student wishes to repeat the course after having earned a grade of A, B, or C in the course, the student will be assessed a course repeat fee in addition to the tuition and course fees. If the student received a grade of D, F, or W and wishes to repeat the course, the student is not assessed a course repeat fee for the first repeat, but will be assessed the course repeat fee for the second or any subsequent repeat of the course.

If a course is identified as repeatable, it will have an Illinois Community College Board-approved repeat-enrollment limit. If the student exceeds the repeat-enrollment limit for the course, the student will be charged a course repeat fee in addition to the tuition and course fees.

Exceptions to course repeat fee rules may be recommended by the appropriate division dean.

Residency in Parkland College District 505

A resident of District 505 is one who has established a permanent dwelling place (domicile) in the district and shows evidence of continuing intent to remain in the district. Individuals must prove they reside in District 505 for other than educational purposes. See the District 505 map here. Evidence of the applicant’s residency should be submitted to the Office of Admissions and Records.

A student who takes exception to non-residency ruling should pay the applicable fee and then file a Request for Change of Residence Classification claiming a refund of the portion in excess of the resident rate.

Appeals must be made within 30 calendar days (15 days for summer terms) from the date instruction begins for the term for which the rate is assessed. Requests for current semester consideration filed after the 30 calendar day period will not be accepted.

All appeals must be accompanied by documentation to support the request. A refund will be provided only if a change of residence classification is granted.

Information on residence classification is available from the Office of Admissions and Records (U214; admissions@parkland.edu).

Nonresident students

Illinois students who are not residents of District 505 pay an additional charge to cover the difference between the regular tuition and state support and what it costs the college to provide instruction.

For information on costs for non-resident students, visit parkland.edu/tuitionandfees.

Financial Responsibility for Tuition and Fees

When students register for classes, they agree to assume financial responsibility for all related tuition and fee charges billed to their student accounts.

Students should not assume that classes are automatically dropped for non-payment or non-attendance. If they decide not to attend classes, they must officially drop the classes within the stated refund period to ensure cancellation of tuition and fees. Classes not dropped will be graded and students are responsible for all associated tuition and fees.

Payments for tuition and fees (or arrangements to pay their account balances with Financial Aid, Nelnet Deferred Payment Plan, and/or outside agencies) must be made by the published deadlines. Students are responsible for making these financial arrangements and staying informed of their account balances.

Students receiving, or anticipating receipt of, tuition assistance from agencies outside of Parkland must have written authorizations from the agency on file at the Cashier Office prior to registration or must have the written authorization in hand when they come to register. Students should renew authorizations for tuition assistance through the agency at the end of each authorized period. They will be required to pay their tuition and fees when authorizations for tuition assistance expire.

Students owing money to Parkland College for any amount will not be allowed to register for classes without the prior approval of the Vice President for Administrative Services/Chief Financial Officer, or designee. A student who owes money to the college should contact the cashier (U250; 217/351-2233) for more information.

Service fees

A service fee is applied when a debit/credit card is used to pay tuition, fees, and other charges. In addition, a service charge is assessed for all checks returned by the bank for non-sufficient funds.

Refund Policy

• There will be a full refund of tuition and fees for any course canceled by the college.
• No refund will be granted when a student is dismissed or suspended from the college for disciplinary reasons.

A student who believes an exception should be made to the refund policy due to a billing error should complete a Request for Billing Adjustment form available from the cashier (U250).

Credit Courses

The following refund policies apply to fall and spring full-semester and part-semester courses and summer courses.

• A 100 percent refund of tuition and fees will be made if an official drop without record occurs during the first week of the class session regardless of when the first class meeting is scheduled. (See parkland.edu/collegecalendar for specific dates.)
• No refund of tuition and fees will be made for official withdrawal from credit courses after the first week of the class session.

Noncredit Courses

• There will be a full refund for any noncredit workshops/courses canceled by the college.
• A 100 percent refund of tuition will be made if an official drop is made before the first day of the workshop/course.
• No refund will be made if the drop is made after the workshop/course has started.