Hall Fees

1. Fee Types
2. Payment Schedule
3. Payment Means
4. Deferred Payment of Hall Fees
5. Non-payment of Hall Fees
6. Cancellation & Withdrawal from Hall Residence
7. Refund Methods

Hall Charges

1. Fee Types

1) Hall Lodging Fee

i. The Hall lodging fee is payable in two instalments, covering the residential period of the 1st and 2nd semester respectively. Note that residents are NOT entitled to any adjustment for late check-in or early departure during the first or last TWO weeks of the residential year.

ii. For current students, they are required to settle the 1st instalment before the commencement of Hall residence to substantiate their acceptance of the Hall residential offer.

iii. For first year students, given the tight admission schedule, they shall settle the 1st instalment in September.

iv. The e-debit note of the 2nd instalment shall be distributed in December before the commencement of the 2nd semester.

v. Hall lodging fees in residential year 2011/12:

2) Hall Caution Money ($500)

i. It is chargeable to all applicants upon the acceptance of the Hall residential offer.

ii. It shall be forfeited if (a) the provisional resident fails to settle the 1st instalment of Hall fee before Hall residence, or (b) if the provisional resident cancels his Hall residence application before check-in.

iii. It is refundable on official withdrawal from or termination of Hall residence, subject to no claim on Hall residence or other Hall related charges being outstanding. Any residual amount of the Hall Caution Money after any deduction shall be refunded by the Finance Office in due course.

3) Hall Function Fee ($100 per semester)

i. It is payable in two instalments (covering the residential period of the 1st and 2nd semester respectively) for various Hall education programmes and is non-refundable irrespective of whether the resident attends any of these programmes (including the High-table Dinner) or not.

ii. It is not refundable if the resident has resided over 2 weeks of a semester. It can be exempted if the resident checks in within the last 2 weeks of a semester.

2. Payment Schedule

1) To confirm their acceptance of the residential offer, applicants shall be required to pay the Hall Caution Money on or before the specified payment due date in the notification email. Upon their settlement of the Hall Caution Money, the status of the applicants will only be changed into Provisional Hall Residents. Those who fail to settle this amount would have their residential offers forfeited.

2) The Hall Lodging Fee shall be payable in two instalments. The Provisional Hall Residents shall receive the debit-note of the 1st instalment of the Hall lodging fee, and are required to settle the amount on or before the specified payment deadline. Upon settlement of the 1st instalment of the Hall fee the status of Provisional Residents will be changed to Hall Residents. Those who fail to settle the 1st instalment will have their Hall Caution Money and their residential places forfeited.

3) If a Hall Resident is out of Hong Kong, he should authorize a family member to collect the hard-copy debit note and settle the amount by the means described below. Note that only Hall Residents who have settled the Hall Caution Money and Hall Lodging Fee will be informed of the check-in dates and other details about Hall residence.

3. Payment Means

1) E-banking (Bill Payment Service on Internet)

Follow these steps to open an e-banking account and effect an e-payment:

i. Open a Bank-in-One account in Hang Seng Bank Limited 3 working days beforehand to use the Bill Payment Service for settlement of the Hall fees. (Note that Bank-in-One account is free of charge to students and without the requirement of a minimum deposit in the account)

ii. Upon receiving the e-debit note from the Student Account System of the Finance Office, go to website http://www.hangseng.com/e-banking to register and effect the payment accordingly.

iii. Keep a record of the reference number after the transaction.

iv. To allow time for transfer of payment to PolyU, remember to settle the e-payment at least 2 working days before the due date of your e-debit note.

2) PPS

Follow these steps to effect a PPS payment:

i. Register a PPS account at a PPS registration terminal installed on the podium floor of the Shaw Amenities Building or any other terminals;

ii. Upon receiving the debit note, register the bill first by quoting the debit note number specified on the debit note according to the instructions at 18013 (Cantonese) or 18011 (English);

iii. Settle the bill by dialing 18033 (Cantonese) or 18031 (English). The merchant code of the University is “77”;

iv. Keep a record of the reference number after the transaction;

v. To allow time for transfer of payment to PolyU, residents are reminded to settle the e-payment at least 2 working days before the due date of the e-debit note;

3) ATM

Follow these steps to effect the payment by ATM:

i. Approach an ATM terminal of HSBC, Hang Seng Bank or JETCO with Bill Payment service;

ii. Enter your personal password to activate and follow the normal ATM process;

iii. Select “Bill Payment” shown on the screen;

iv. Select payment for “Universities”

v. Choose “PolyU” from the list, enter the Debit Note number and follow the steps shown on the screen;

vi. Keep the ATM receipt for record and verification of the payment number when necessary.

4) Cash

Obtain a physical Debit Note from the Hall Reception Counter and then pay cash (do not use a cheque) at any branch office of Hang Seng Bank.

4. Deferred Payment of Hall Fees

1) Students interested in Hall residence are reminded that the Local Student Finance Scheme (LSFS) does NOT cover Hall residential fees and therefore they should secure sufficient financial support for Hall fees before their commencement of Hall residence.

2) With the understanding that in some cases, it may take a while for SFAA to check student‘s financial background before awarding grant and loan, students with genuine need and documentary proof are eligible to submit an application for Deferred Payment on Hall fees to the Hall Management Section (HMS).

3) Application Procedures

i. collect an Application Form at the G/F Reception Counter of HMS;

ii. submit the completed Application Form to the Reception Counter 7 days prior to the Last Date of Payment (LDP) of the Hall Fees concerned, with supporting documents for verification;

iii. if the supporting documents justify the application, HMS will determine a reasonable deferred payment period on a case-by-case basis and notify the applicant concerned by phone or email. As a rule of thumb, the total deferred payment period shall not exceed a maximum of 3 months.

4) Late Application

Students, submitting the Application Form less than 7 days prior to or after the Last Date of Payment of the Hall Fees concerned, will be deemed as a late application and will be subject to an administration charge of $100.

5) Non-payment after the deferred payment date granted

i. students who fail to settle the Hall fees by the deferred payment date granted, will be subject to disciplinary actions as stipulated in Non-payment of Hall Fees;

ii. students who fail to settle the Hall fees of the 1st semester after the deferred payment date granted, will be required to withdraw their Hall residence before the commencement of the 2nd semester, and in no circumstances will their deferment of payment for Hall fees of the 2nd semester be granted or their future Hall application be entertained.

5. Non-payment of Hall Fees

As a standing practice, HMS will send a reminder email to all students before the Last Date of Payment (LDP) of the Hall fees concerned. Students who fail to settle the Hall Fees by this LDP will be subject to the following disciplinary actions.

6. Cancellation & Withdrawal from Hall Residence

Please refer to Clause 4 in Regulations Governing Hall Residence about partial residence, cancellation and withdrawal from Hall Residence.

7. Refund Methods

1) Local students are required to input their bank account number in “Student Account Information” at the URL of http://www.polyu.edu.hk/fo/internet/student/ to expedite the refund process.

2) Exchange students are offered 2 refund methods for selection before their check-out, as listed below. Note that if no preference to a particular method is indicated to the HMS by the student concerned, the “Post-Cheque Method” will be adopted for him/her automatically.

i. “Post-Cheque Method”:

All refund will be posted by cheque to the corresponding address recorded in Academic Secretariat student database. The cheque will be in Hong Kong dollars and students will receive it around 4 weeks after the check-out date.

ii. “Collect-Cheque Method”:

All refund amount will be calculated based on expected check-out date and assume there will be no claim on inventory items in the room. Students can receive a cash cheque in Hong Kong dollar on their check-out date. For students who want to select this refund method, they must agree with the following requirements:

a) students must notify the Hall Management Section (HMS) they hope to select "Collect-Cheque Method" by returning the completed "Checkout/Withdrawal Form" Hall Management Section, at least 3 weeks in advance of their expected check-out date;

b) if they need to defer their expected check-out date, they need to notify HMS as soon as possible and the extra lodging fee should be paid by cash at HMS counter;

c) if they need to put forward their expected check-out date, the lodging fee for the period put forwarded will NOT be refunded;

d) if there are outstanding claims when check-out, students need to pay by cash at HMS counter;

e) HMS reserves the right to keep the cash cheque and convert to “Post-Cheque Method” in any circumstances.

Last updated: 1 April, 2011