Frequently Asked Questions for Student Accounts

To request a Special Circumstance Appeal, you must contact the Student Accounts Office (cashier@hbu.edu) or Online  Student Accounts Office (OnlineStudentAccounts@hbu.edu) from your HCU email. Reviews are given on a case-by-case basis. Please provide detailed reason(s) or explanation(s) and any documented support for your request (for example: note from a physician to corroborate appeal for medical reasons).

What is an authorized user? 

• Authorized users have access to TouchNet (our payment portal) and can review student account and payment related information on their own.

How can I add an authorized user?

• How to add authorized users:

1. Login to my.hbu.edu
2. Select the “HuskyNet” icon
3. Select the “Student” tab
4. Select “Account Summary (TouchNet)”
5. Click “Continue”
6. Select “Authorized Users” in the Profile Setup menu
7. Select the “Add Authorized User” tab
8. Enter the individual’s email and select what you want them to have access to
9. Click “Continue”
10. Agree to the terms and click “Continue”

I am an authorized user, why can I not receive information regarding my student’s account when contacting the Student Accounts Office? 

• TouchNet Authorized users and FERPA authorized individuals with the university are not the same. A student can grant someone access to the payment portal and not to their student records, and other variations of the two.
• See “FERPA Authorization” below for more information.

Can my financial aid cover my book charges? 

• Yes, your financial aid can be applied toward your book charge(s).
• However, this is determined by how you answer your “excess financial aid” questions in HuskyNet.
• See “Excess Financial Aid” below for more information.

There is a book charge on my account that I did not authorize, what can I do?

• Book charges are facilitated by the University Bookstore.
• You will need to contact the Bookstore (hbubookstore@hbu.edu) to appeal any book charges on your account.
• See University Store page for more information.

All tuition and fees are listed on the following pages:

• See Graduate Tuitions and Fees
• See Undergraduate Tuitions and Fees
• See Online Tuition and Fees

How do I set-up direct deposit with the university? 

• Fill out the Direct Deposit Set-up Form and submit to our office from your HCU email to the Student Accounts Office (cashier@hbu.edu) or Online  Student Accounts Office (OnlineStudentAccounts@hbu.edu).
• Note that processing can take up to five business days.

How do I know if I have direct deposit set-up and what bank account is listed? 

• Contact our office to verify that the information we have on file is correct. See Contact Student Accounts page.

What do the questions mean?

• I authorize HCU to apply my remaining federal financial aid to all other charges (such as parking sticker, bookstore charges, fines, etc.) appearing on my student account for this academic year. Answering yes to this question, gives the university permission to use your financial aid to pay for non-institutional charges like your parking sticker fee, book charges, and more.
• I authorize HCU to hold my excess financial aid to be applied to any future charges that may accrue during this academic year.
  • Answering yes to this question, gives the university permission to hold your financial aid on your student account to pay for any charges that are added to your account in the future. Therefore, you will not receive your financial aid student refund until the end of the academic year.

• I authorize HCU to apply my excess financial aid to any prior academic year charges up to $200.00 appearing on my student account.
  • Answering yes to this question, gives the university permission to use your financial aid to pay for $200 worth of past due balances on your account.

Can I change my answers?

• Yes, you can change your answers to these questions at any time throughout the academic year via HuskyNet.
• How to access questions:

1. Login to my.hbu.edu
2. Select the “HuskyNet” icon
3. Select the “Financial Aid” tab
4. Select “Award”
5. Select “Award for Aid Year”
6. Select the “Resources/Additional Information” tab
7. Read questions and select your answer for each one
8. Click “Submit Information”

See Student Accounts Holds & Fees page for more information on fees issued by the Student Accounts Office.

What is FERPA authorization?

• FERPA stands for the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, which is a federal law that protects the privacy of student records.

What does FERPA authorization restrict?

• Email communications and requests: Once a student begins classes at HCU, we can only communicate via the university email.
• Parent/relative communications and requests: Anyone that is not the student, cannot receive any information about student records without authorization from the student. Unless the student is a minor.

How do I add someone to or confirm who is on my FERPA? 

• How to update and review FERPA:

1. Login to my.hbu.edu
2. Select the “HuskyNet” icon
3. Select the “Personal Information” tab
4. Select “FERPA Authorization Form”
5. Select the information that you want to disclose to the individual(s) you want to add
6. Enter the name(s) and relationship(s) of the individual(s) you want to add
7. Sign your Name and H Number
8. Click “Submit Information”

Why do I have a fine on my account?

• Students can receive fines from various departments, which often result in financial holds being placed on their student account.
• Examples may include, but are not limited to the following: conduct, dorm fines, parking fines, and more.

How do I resolve holds related to fines on my account? 

• Pay the fine and contact the Student Accounts Office (cashier@hbu.edu) from your HCU email to remove the hold.

How do I appeal a fine?

• Depending on the type of fine you received, you will need to discuss the appeal process with the department that the fine originated from.

See Guide to Financial Settlement page for more information on what financial settlement is and how to become financially settled.
See Important Dates page for more information on the financial settlement deadlines each semester.

See Student Accounts Holds & Fees page for more information on holds issued by the Student Accounts Office and how to resolve them.

I made a payment but do not see it reflected on my student account, what can I do? 

• Depending on the format of the payment, please email the Student Accounts Office (cashier@hbu.edu) or Online  Student Accounts Office (OnlineStudentAccounts@hbu.edu) from your HCU email with the following information:
  • If you paid by ACH, send us the confirmation number, transaction amount, payment date, and any other information that you have to expedite our search for your payment.
  • If you paid by check, send us the check number, check amount, check date, and any other information that you have to expedite our search for your payment.
  • If you paid by wire transfer, send us the confirmation number, transaction amount, transfer date, and any other information that you have to expedite our search for your payment.

What is a parking waiver? 

• Parking waivers are for students that will never have or park a vehicle on-campus, therefore do not need to pay for and receive a parking sticker for the year.

When are parking waivers due? 

• The deadline to submit a parking waiver is the census date.
• See Important Dates page for census date information.

How do I submit a parking waiver?

• How to submit a parking waiver:

1. Login to my.hbu.edu
2. Select the “HuskyNet” icon
3. Select the “Student” tab
4. Select “HBU Parking Registration for Decals”
5. Select the term
6. Select “Parking Registration (Decals)
7. Select “Parking Waiver” from the drop down menu
8. Follow instructions and Submit

How do I cancel a parking waiver?

• If you mistakenly submit a parking waiver and it was approved, you will need to visit the HCU Police Department at the Bradshaw Fitness Center to complete a parking waiver release form and register your vehicle.

Can I pay in cash? 

• Yes, our office accepts cash. However, your cash payment will need to be exact because we do not have change.
• Additionally, we do not accept payments in coins greater than $1.

Can I pay with a credit or debit card? 

• Yes, students and authorized users can pay online via TouchNet 24/7.
  • See Payment Portal page for more information. 

Can I pay with a check? 

• Yes, make checks out to Houston Baptist University and ALWAYS include the student name and H number in the memo line.
• Student check payments can be submitted by:
  • Turning in the check in-person at our office in Brown 146.
    • Mailing the check to the Student Accounts P.O. Box:

Houston Christian University
P.O. Box 4897
Department 502

Houston, Texas 77210

• Scholarship checks need to be mailed to the Financial Aid P.O. Box:

Houston Christian University
P.O. Box 4897
Department 529

Houston, Texas 77210

Can I pay via a wire transfer? 

• Request wire transfer instructions by contacting the Student Accounts Office (cashier@hbu.edu) or Online  Student Accounts Office (OnlineStudentAccounts@hbu.edu).
• Coming soon: Wire transfer payments facilitated through TouchNet.

See Payment Portal page for more information for more information on how to set-up a payment plan, to use the Payment Plan Calculator, and more.

Is there a minimum balance needed to enroll in a payment plan? 

• Yes, you need to have a minimum balance of $250.

How do I make modifications to my payment plan? 

• Submit a written request to the Student Accounts Office (cashier@hbu.edu) or Online  Student Accounts Office (OnlineStudentAccounts@hbu.edu) from your HCU email.
• Note that modifications are handled on a case-by-case basis and often result in a hold being placed on your account. Staring Summer 2023 a $10 modification fee or $25 late fee will be applied.

How do I cancel my payment plan? 

• If your account is paid off, contact the Student Accounts Office (cashier@hbu.edu) or Online  Student Accounts Office (OnlineStudentAccounts@hbu.edu) from your HCU email and we can recalculate your payment plan to zero it out.
• If you still have a balance on your account, you cannot cancel your payment plan.

How do I get a refund on a payment that I made? 

• If you make extra payments and you still have a balance on your account, these payments are not eligible for refund.
• If you have a negative balance on your account, you are eligible for a refund. There are two ways for you to receive a refund:
  1. Credit card/ACH refunds are refunds for payments made via TouchNet. These refunds are approved and processed by a Student Accounts Manager and take three to five business days to post back to the card/account used for payment once processed.
  2. Student refunds are refunds that go to the student via mailed check or direct deposit within one week of being processed by a Student Accounts Manager.

  See “Direct Deposit Set-up” above for more information.

  • To request a refund, contact the Student Accounts Office (cashier@hbu.edu) or Online  Student Accounts Office (OnlineStudentAccounts@hbu.edu) from your HCU email.

How do I know if I will receive my student refund via mailed check or direct deposit? 

• The default student refund method is a mailed check. You will need to complete the steps to set-up direct deposit with the university to receive a student refund as direct deposit.
• You can always contact us to verify what we have on file. See Contact Student Accounts page.

When will I get my federal aid student refund? 

• The Student Accounts Offices will post and process all financial aid student refunds within two weeks of the financial aid disbursement date(s). See Important Dates page for more information regarding financial aid disbursement and anticipated student refund dates.
• Federal aid student refunds are posted based on how you answer your “excess of financial aid” questions via Huskynet. See “Excess Financial Aid” above.
• If you have a negative balance on your account, you are eligible for a refund. This will be processed as a student refund which will go to the student or parent (if Parent PLUS Loan) via mailed check or direct deposit within one week of being processed by a Student Accounts Manager.

When will my financial aid be disbursed? 

• See Important Dates page or Financial Aid’s page for more information regarding financial aid disbursement dates.

How can I access my 1098T tax document?

• If you are looking for years 2021-2022 you can view your tax document via HuskyNet

Here are the steps:

1. Login to my.hbu.edu
2. Select the “HuskyNet” icon
3. Select the “Student” tab
4. Select “Student Records”
5. Select “Tax Notification”
6. Enter the year you are looking for
7. Select “Tax Notification”
8. View and print document
• If you are looking for 2020 or older, you can view your tax document at tra.maximus.com.

If I no longer have access to HuskyNet, how do I get access to a prior year tax document?

You can either:

• Come into the office with photo ID ready, so that we can print the document for you.
• Request the document via email and be prepared to provide some form of verification.

I have a third-party company paying for some or all of my semester balance, how does that work?

• You and/or the third-party company will need to submit a letter of credit, a letter of intent to pay, or a voucher at least two weeks prior to the financial settlement deadline for each semester. See Important Dates page for more information.