Office of Student Aid : Parents of Students : Parent Newsletter

Penn State Office of Student Aid Parent Newsletter
Volume 5, Issue 3--July 2007

eLion Financial Accounts--Sorting Them Out

Penn State's eLion, a secure Web site, provides students with information about student aid, billing, grades, academic advising, and course registration. On this site, students can access their financial information, including the Student Aid Summary, Bursar Account, and Bills Tuition/Other menu options. As a parent, you may wish to set up a Friends of Penn State (FPS) account to gain access to your student's Bursar records (with his or her authorization). Also, you can review examples of other eLion menu options from the eLion Demo Web site by accessing them from the "Students" menu. To help your student best utilize these options on eLion, following is a description for each:

Student Aid Summary

The Student Aid Summary provides information on the anticipated student financial aid for a selected year. The financial aid may be actual or estimated depending on the time of year and whether or not the aid has been disbursed. In addition to aid sources and monetary values, your student can review his/her academic progress status, check if there are financial aid holds, and review essential cost estimates. Keep in mind that the costs reflected on the Student Aid Summary do not necessarily match the billable charges that show on the tuition bill. Typically, students access this resource to determine the expected aid for the upcoming year.

Bursar Account

The Bursar Account reflects actual charges and credits that have posted to your student's account. Your student (and you with your authorized FPS account) can review the Bursar Account to check tuition and fees, watch for aid to disburse, and determine if a refund is available. This menu option is similar to reviewing an online checking account statement.

Bills Tuition/Other

The Bills Tuition/Other option allows your student (and you with your authorized FPS account) to view and/or pay the current tuition bill or student account statement. The tuition bill reflects charges and credits for the current semester, including anticipated financial aid. Even if the net payable on the bill is zero, your student must confirm his or her registration via eLion. Student account billings are issued several times throughout the year and include tuition and any other charges that your student has incurred since his or her last bill, including fitness memberships, printing charges, and health center charges. Your student will receive e-mail notifications to advise when bills become available to view and/or pay on eLion.

In Closing

• The Student Aid Summary lists estimated or actual aid amounts (depending on whether the aid has disbursed or not), as well as billable and non-billable charges.
• The Bills Tuition/Other option reflects expected tuition, other billable charges, and student aid.
• The Bursar Account displays transactions that have already taken place or posted to your student's account.