Program Payments

Payment Methods

Once officially accepted on a trip, you will receive payment instructions via email. Each payment can be paid online or in person. Please note: deposit fees are non-refundable. If you have specific questions, please email, Constance Bledsoe at cco.ukasb@gmail.com.

Payment Policies

Please refer to the Program Policies for specific information about UK ASB’s payment policies.

Payment Plan

The UK ASB program has specific payment deadlines in order to distribute fees collected from students to vendors associated with each service trip (e.g. transportation, lodging, meals, activities, and materials, etc.). Thus, it is imperative that UK ASB volunteers pay their program fees by the payment deadlines set for their specific service trip, regardless of unforeseen circumstances. If a participant has not paid their total trip costs by the final payment deadline, that student will be in jeopardy of losing their spot on the trip without refund. The UK ASB program reserves the right to forfeit your spot on a service trip to a person on the waitlist for that trip if your payments are not received on time as indicated below:

Past Weekend Trips

Payment	Deposit Fee	Total
All 2022-2023 UK ASB Day Trips (Fall)	$25	One-Time Payment of $25

2023 Spring Break Domestic

Payment	Deposit Fee	Payment 1	Final Payment	Total
Due Date	1 Week After Acceptance	2/17	3/3
All 2023 UK ASB Domestic, Spring Break Trips	$50	$125	$125	$300

INFORMATION RELATED TO PROGRAM EXPENSES

 

 

*Non-recoverable expenses include anything that the University of Kentucky Alternative Service Breaks, Student Organizations and Activities, or an affiliated partner organization has paid on behalf of a participant which is unable to be recovered/refunded on behalf of the participant. In some cases, participants may be responsible for the full program fee. 

Note: If withdrawal is required for any reason, it is the responsibility of the participants to communicate in writing their intent to withdraw to University of Kentucky Alternative Service Breaks in order to be considered ‘withdrawn’ from this program by a particular date. Participants who withdraw from this program on/after the deposit for any reason will be held financially liable for the full cost of the program. This obligation is absolutely without exception, and applies no matter what good cause or circumstance arises.

Payment Policy

The UK Alternative Service Breaks (ASB) coordinates with not-for-profit organizations to organize alternative service breaks programs, inclusive of weekend and week long trips, as well as year-round educational and social programming that takes place pre- and post-trip. UK ASB is a Sponsored Student Organization (SSO), as such, we are able to offer service experiences at a reduced cost to UK students – meaning that students pay only for a portion of the projected cost of their trip. Once a student is accepted to the UK ASB program, placed on a specific service trip, and pays their deposit, that student is expected to pay for the cost of their experience in the form of program fees.

These program fees, paid to the ASB, are then dispersed by the ASB to community partners to pay for expenses including: transportation, lodging, meals, trip activities, and trip-related materials well in advance of the trip dates. In this way, the ASB acts as a third-party travel agent, coordinating logistics and distributing funds on behalf of UK ASB volunteers. In addition, program fees are used to cover the cost of year-round programming for all volunteers, leaders, and advisors at no cost to them. After disbursement by the ASB, program fees are non-recoverable and thus, volunteer trip payments are non-refundable except for in certain circumstances (see refund policy, below).

Due to the nature of the UK ASB planning process, it is imperative that UK ASB volunteers pay their program fees by the payment deadlines set for their specific service trip, regardless of unforeseen circumstances, as outlined in the ASB Payment Schedule. Furthermore, we encourage interested students to plan carefully and to be completely familiar with the withdrawal and refund policies, outlined below, before applying. The decision to participate in the ASB program involves an investment of money and requires that each volunteer follow through on their commitment made to UK ASB and its partners by accepting a volunteer slot on a trip.

Deposit Fees

• Deposit fees are paid by applicants after successful completion of the group interview process and are considered non-refundable.
• Deposit fees are considered non-refundable, even if a participant withdraws from the UK ASB program for any reason.
• No exceptions will be made for non-refundable deposit fees, even if a participant withdraws due to an emergency.
• For 2022-2023 ASB service immersions, the non-refundable deposit fees are:
  • $25/Student for Weekend, Domestic Trips
  • $50/Student for Weeklong, Domestic Trips
• If an applicant chooses to be placed on a waitlist for a particular service immersion, UK ASB will not accept a deposit until they are removed from the waitlist and given a spot on a trip.
• Applicants who pay a deposit fee, but who are asked to leave the UK ASB program at any time for not meeting program expectations (e.g. good academic standing), will not be refunded their deposit fee.
• Deposit fees are considered non-transferable, even if an applicant vacates their spot and another applicant fills that spot.

Program Fees

• After successful completion of a group interview session, a student will be considered “accepted” to the UK ASB program, will be placed on a specific service trip, and will be expected to pay for the cost of their experience in the form of program fees. All payments must be made by the respective deadlines set for their specific service trip (See ASB Payment Schedule).
• If a participant does not maintain on-time payments as per the ASB Payment Schedule, that student will be in jeopardy of losing their spot on the service trip without refund (unless a replacement is identified).
• If a participant has not paid their total trip costs by the final payment deadline, that student will be in jeopardy of losing their spot on the service trip without refund (unless a replacement is identified).
• The UK ASB program reserves the right to forfeit a participant’s spot on a service trip to a person on the wait list for that trip if their payments are not received on time as per the ASB Payment Schedule.
• If a participant chooses to withdraw from the UK ASB program at any time or for any reason, assuming there is no wait list, the participant is solely responsible for finding their replacement or for paying the full cost of their service trip (See Withdrawal Policy).
• If a participant is asked to leave the UK ASB program at any time for not meeting program expectations (e.g. good academic standing), assuming there is no wait list, the participant is solely responsible for finding their replacement or for paying the full cost of their service trip (See Withdrawal Policy).
• If a replacement can be found by the participant, the original participant will no longer be responsible to pay the full cost of their service trip, and will be refunded their amount paid, less any fundraising monies and their non- refundable deposit, without exception (See Withdrawal Policy)
• If a replacement cannot be found by the participant, the participant remains responsible to pay the full cost of their service trip including any remaining amount due, without exception (See Withdrawal Policy).
• Total service trip costs have been assessed by UK ASB based upon projected costs for each service trip and the previous years’ service trip expenses. All program fees paid by participants are considered “all-inclusive” of transportation, lodging, meals, activities, and materials, including at-shirt.

Withdrawal Policy

• Once a student has submitted the online application, successfully completed a group interview night, and paid the non-refundable deposit fee, they will have a volunteer spot reserved on a specific service trip.
• If a participant chooses to withdraw from the UK ASB program for any reason, the participant is solely responsible for notifying the UK ASB program of their intent to withdraw from the program.
• Withdrawals from the UK ASB program will only be accepted in writing by: 1) Submitting an ASB Withdrawal Form to the UK ASB in the Gatton Student Center A255, and 2) Sending written notification via e-mail to Site Leaders and ASB Director at cco.ukasb@gmail.com.
• If a participant chooses to withdraw from the UK ASB program at any time or for any reason, assuming there is no wait list, the participant is solely responsible for finding their replacement or for paying the full cost of their service trip.
• If a participant is asked to leave the UK ASB program at any time for not meeting program expectations (e.g. good academic standing), assuming there is no wait list, the participant is solely responsible for finding their replacement or for paying the full cost of their service trip.
• If a replacement can be found by the participant, the original participant will no longer be responsible to pay the full cost of their service trip, and will be refunded their amount paid, less any fundraising monies and their non- refundable deposit, without exception.**
• If a replacement cannot be found by the participant, the participant remains responsible to pay the full cost of their service trip including any remaining amount due, without exception.
• The deadline to withdraw for a weekend trip is two weeks before the trip departure date, the deadline to withdraw from a one week domestic service trip is one month before the trip departure date.

Refund Policy

• All deposit fees are considered non-refundable without exception, unless a student is not accepted to the UK ASB program for any reason. In that case, their deposit fee will be refunded.
• If a participant withdraws from or is asked to leave the UK ASB program for any reason, and a replacement can be found by the participant, the original participant will be refunded only when the replacement participant has paid for their service trip in full.
• If a participant withdraws from or is asked to leave the UK ASB program for any reason, and a replacement cannot be found by the participant, the participant will not be refunded and remains responsible to pay for the full cost of their service trip.

*If a replacement is found by the participant on or after airline tickets have been purchased in their name, the original participant will be responsible for applicable ticket change fees, or will remain responsible for paying the full cost of their airline tickets.

**There will be no guarantee that certain costs can be refunded, including (but not limited to) airfare costs and service site programming fees.

***Participants reserve the right to “donate” all or a portion of their excess fundraising to the UK ASB Scholarship Fund for the following academic year or to a fellow ASB trip participant who has remaining trip payments.

When submitting your online application, and to participate in the UK ASB program, you must agree that you have carefully read the Payment Policy and Withdrawal Policy, and to adhere to these policies as well as the payment deadlines set for your specific service trip. You must also agree that you understand that once you apply and are accepted to the UK ASB program, you become responsible to pay for the full cost of your service trip without exception, even if you withdraw from the program at any time or for any reason.