The College accepts and processes payments from third parties. If your tuition, fees, and/or bookstore charges will be covered by third-party funds, proper notification and documentation must be sent to the appropriate contact prior to the tuition due dates.

To view important deadlines, visit our Pay Tuition & Fees page.

For information regarding refunds, review the Tuition & Refund Procedure on our website.

What is a Third-Party Payment?

A third-party payment occurs when a student's tuition, fees, and sometimes books, are covered by an outside entity instead of being paid directly by the student.

This allows students to receive financial assistance through companies or organizations that are not directly related to them.

Examples include employers, government agencies (city, county, state, or federal), military units, foreign governments, private foundations, and organizations.

Determine the Department for your Third-Party Funding

Feature Third-Party Payments Third-Party Contracts/Billing
Department Student Services Business Office
Where to Send payments@spscc.edu tpsbilling@spscc.edu
Types of Payments

Outside scholarships

WA529 GET and other 529 investment plans

Employers and Military TA

Non-profit and government agencies
Payment Process Applied directly to the student account, scholarships are disbursed through Financial Aid Transfer charges to agency account and invoiced after 40% refund period
Billing Process Organization does not need billing invoice, certification of funds may be needed Organization requires billing invoice to pay
Refundability Payments may be refundable to student or organization Payments are refundable to organization/agency only
College Staff Payments received and applied by cashier in Student Services Authorizations & billing processed by Business Office staff

Some forms of third-party payments may be used as a Financial Aid resource. Military education benefits are always excluded. For more information, you may contact your Financial Aid advisor via Compass. 

Active Duty Members must submit a tuition voucher request in their respective portal. For information on how to use your military benefits, visit our Veterans & Military Benefits page.

Release of Records for Third Parties

Under the guidelines of the 1974 Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), students have certain rights with respect to their education records.  

The use of third-party funding often involves sharing student information and requires a Release of Record to be on file to release student information to third parties. Students using third-party funds must complete a Third-Party Consent to Release of Records form prior to funds being processed to the student’s account. 

For more information on the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, please visit our FERPA page.

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Third-Party Consent for Release of Records

You may submit confirmation of scholarships and GET payments to Student Finance by emailing payment@spscc.edu. Please be sure to include the student’s name, amount, the date that it was sent to the College, and any other pertinent information. Call 360-596-5246 for more information.

Payments should be addressed to: 
South Puget Sound Community College 
Attn: Cashier 
2011 Mottman Rd. SW  
Olympia, WA 98512

Students who receive funding from their employer, non-profit organizations, government agencies, or other financial institutions are processed by our student third-party staff in the Business Office.

An authorization or voucher must be sent to Third Party Billing by emailing tpsbilling@spscc.edu.

Be sure to include the student’s name, ctcLink ID#, quarters, amount, and/or charges covered, billing address, and any other pertinent information. Call 360-596-5400 for more information.

Process Overview:

  1. Registration - Student registers
  2. Consent Form - Student completes the third-party consent form to share information with third-party staff to comply with FERPA regulations.
    1. FERPA information can be found on our FERPA page. Email tpsbilling@spscc.edu to request the form.
    2. Agency consent forms that are on agency letterhead and signed by the student may be accepted.
  3. Authorization from Third Party - Student or third-party agency emails tpsbilling@spscc.edu with a signed letter of credit for the third-party account to be set up.
    1. The authorization should be on company letterhead and include:
      1. Student name
      2. ctcLink ID
      3. Charges covered and/or the amount allowed to pay
      4. Term or date of service (should match the term funds are being used)
      5. Billing information
  4. College Review & Application - Once the Consent form and authorization have been verified, we will move the student’s charges to the third-party account.
    1. If more information is needed, a hold may be added to the student’s account, preventing the student from being dropped for non-payment.
    2. If the authorization does not cover the full balance, the student may need to pay the remaining amount.
  5. Billing the Third Party - After the 40% refund period, we will invoice the third-party agency based on the terms of the agreement.
    1. Billing methods - Specify encrypted email, password-protected PDF, fax, mail, or secured portal
  6. Payment Processing - The third party submits payment directly to the college and is applied to the third-party agency account.
  7. Follow-up & Reconciliation - If a third party does not pay on time, the student may become responsible for the unpaid balance.

If your agency is covering your books, the third-party staff will create a bookstore account that can be used at the B&N Virtual Bookstore to access your agency voucher funds for textbooks.

A bookstore voucher ID number is created with the student’s ctcLink ID, term, and available funds from the agency authorization and sent to the student’s SPSCC email. 

To Use a Voucher:

  1. Go to our Virtual Bookstore
  2. Click Voucher in the top-right corner
  3. Enter the ctcLink ID and Voucher ID
  4. Click Access Your Funds

A few things to note:

  • You will need your ctcLink ID and Voucher ID to log in. If you need your Voucher ID emailed again, click here.
  • If your order exceeds your funds, or if certain items aren't covered, you can use a credit card for the balance.
  • For questions about your funds, please contact tpspayments@spscc.edu.

For bookstore dates, please visit our Academic Calendar page.

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