The Chancellor's Office Tax Offset Program (COTOP) is a method of collecting past due fees for the Peralta District owed by former students. The Peralta District Finance Department reviews the accounts' receivables and may submit those debts that are permitted to be collected through COTOP.
Student accounts that have past due fees may be submitted to COTOP. This can include enrollment & associated fees incurred at any of the four Peralta Colleges – Laney College, Merritt College, Berkeley City College, and College of Alameda.
The Office of Finance & Administration may send out a letter to the last known address of a student, instructing them that their debt may be sent to COTOP. The student then has 30 days to pay their fees in full or to make payment arrangements.
Please be aware that this debt will NOT be submitted to any major credit agencies.
Please follow the instructions in the letter you have received. You can pay your fees either online through your Peralta Campus Solutions account or in person at a cashier’s office on any of the four Peralta Colleges. If your fees are not paid in full in the 30 days after the letters are sent out, your information will be submitted to COTOP.
You may submit objections and any relevant documentation to this action personally or in writing to your college’s Bursar’s Office within 30 days from the date of this letter. Upon receipt of your objections, a college representative will review your case. If the representative finds that the debt is in error, the COTOP request will be withdrawn or the amount corrected. If no objections are submitted or if the objections are considered to be insufficient, we will proceed with this action.
You can access your Peralta account and check the amount you owe in your Campus Solutions by using your login information.
Please visit the Student Fees or Fee Calculations pages for information on how fees are calculated, and what you are responsible for paying when enrolling in courses at the Peralta Colleges.
Please be aware of the Academic Calendar as it pertains directly to the fees you are responsible for paying.
