Change Proposal: Bill Presentation

The Bursar's Office issues approximately 44,000 bills each semester to students. In 1998-99, bills for undergraduate students were sent on 10 different occasions. To produce a consolidated bill including all charges for each student, the Bursar's Office must collect billing information from a number of different offices across the campus, including Housing, Health Services, Athletics, Information Technology and Financial Aid.

It is also important to note that billing for Continuing Education is a separate process, and does not run through the University Bursar's Office. Continuing Education students make payments for all related fees at the Continuing Education Business Office; however, University-matriculated students who enroll in both regular University courses and Continuing Education courses pay the same institution in two locations and, in a few cases, may receive two separate bills.

The new technology will enable the Bursar's Office to review and change how and when a student's bill is produced and presented. Redundant charges can be eliminated from the printed version of the bill, thus reducing the number of two-page bills and their associated mailing costs. The Bursar's Office will have the ability to select populations for billing, based on a range of values and fields in many combinations. This capability can allow the office to generate bills on a schedule more meaningful to particular audiences. The bills for graduating seniors, for example, could be produced and mailed before graduation.

The new system will also be able to generate letters notifying students of important messages regarding their account status. The University will also be able to consolidate its student account information so that transactions related to Continuing Education will be included on a unified record. These improvements in the presentation and responsiveness of billing will represent an improvement in the Bursar's customer-service capabilities. Students' satisfaction with billing accuracy should increase.

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