| “We
try to find ways to generate revenue, reduce costs and avoid
costs.” |
--
Rosi Keller,
UM associate vice president for administration
and finance
|
|
University
cuts costs
by eliminating paper billing
UM has taken
another step toward cutting costs by implementing a new online billing
system.
“Rather than send out paper monthly statements, we now notify
students by e-mail that their monthly statement is available online,”
said Rosi Keller, UM’s associate vice president for administration
and finance.
The online billing system — which went into effect in September
— is the latest in a series of cost-cutting measures designed
to enhance business practices at UM. A team of administrators and staff
has been working for the past two years on developing methods to save
UM money, Keller said.
“We try to find ways to generate revenue, reduce costs and avoid
costs,” she said.
The online billing program could save UM about $50,000 per year, once
it is fully implemented, Keller said. Paper statements now are a thing
of the past at UM. Students received their final bills via regular mail
in early December, but statements for next fall semester will be e-mailed
to students during the summer.
Students will receive UM bills in their CyberBear e-mail account. The
bill will contain a link to the CyberBear page showing them how much
they owe.
Keller said the online bill payment program goes hand in hand with another
new program that allows students to pay their bills online using checks
or credit cards.
“We went with a program that lets students go online, register
for their classes, get the total amount they owe and just press a button
to pay with a check or credit card,” Keller said.
Between January 2003, when the new payment program started, and September,
Keller said UM had collected more than $13 million in online payments.
Besides paying their tuition, students can pay other fees such as health
service bills, library dues and parking fines.
“You can still stand in line if you want to,” Keller said.
“But this is a wonderful convenience allowing students to pay
their bills 24 hours a day, seven days a week.”
She said parents also can pay bills for students from any location,
as long as they have online access.
Additional fees of $1 for check payments and $10 for credit card payments
are charged for using the service. Keller said the extra fees are used
to pay for the computer system that automates the payment process.
“We’ve gotten a lot of feedback that people are thrilled
to be able to do this online and not have to stand in line,” Keller
said.
Other new business practices implemented at the suggestion of the UM
committee include:
- Negotiating
a fixed fee for credit card transactions. Instead of paying so
much per transaction to credit card companies, UM now pays a flat
rate.
- Charging
interest on students’ past-due accounts.
- Hiring
an additional internal collector to work on past-due accounts.
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