Students will no longer have to wait in lines at the Office of the Bursar and Loan Administration or be restricted to its office hours when Ball State University implements a new electronic billing and payment system this year.
The university sent an e-mail to students Wednesday informing them of the new system. The e-mail included a link to the Web site so students can arrange their personal accounts.
Pamela Kirtley, manager of cash and investments, said the new system would be a positive addition for students.
"I think they are much more in the electronic age, and this is a great benefit to them," she said. "It's easier payment. You can do it anytime +â-óGé¼" 24/7. You can do it electronically at your convenience."
The electronic billing and payment system will primarily allow students to pay tuition and university fees that currently appear on their paper bills. It will also allow prospective students to pay application fees.
Students will receive e-mails informing them that their statements are available for viewing and payment. To pay fees, students will be able to provide their bank account numbers and the routing numbers of their banks, and an e-check will be created. Credit cards, however, will not be accepted for tuition and university fees, Kirtley said.
"We've always had that philosophy not to accept credit cards for fees +â-óGé¼" it costs money to do that," she said. "It's more expensive if we accept credit cards +â-óGé¼" we'd have to pay those (discount) fees."
Credit cards will be accepted, however, for student application fees, Kirtley said. Though undergraduate application fee payment will not be implemented right now, graduate and extended education fee payment will be available, she said.
Students would not have to pay any extra fees to use the system, Kirtley said.Bill McCune, associate vice president, Controller and Business Services, said the university would most likely add new services to the system every year.
McCune said Ball State was contracting with the company InfiNET and has high expectations for the system, which is used by a number of Big Ten universities, a number of MAC schools and schools in other parts of the country. Several schools that are using it include Indiana University, the University of Minnesota and the University of Illinois.The new system should provide students with security, he said.
"When we accept electronic payments, we want to be sure the payments are secure so people don't have to worry about their information getting into the wrong hands," McCune said.
Overall, the ability to pay fees electronically will provide convenience for students and the university as they move forward in today's electronic age.
Students will continue to receive paper bills until the end of Spring 2006 when the program will go completely electronic, and students will only receive e-mail bills, he said.
"We expect ultimately to eliminate printing and mailing a paper bill," McCune said.
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