GW students already use the Internet for coursework, personal banking, communication and entertainment. Soon, they can add “paying tuition” to that list.
A new system called Student Account eBill will allow students and their parents to check account balances, make payments, view payment history, store payment data and set up electronic refunds, all online. The system will replace GW’s Online Tuition Check Payment system, which currently offers only some online payment services.
“The reasons for implementing the new system focus on customer service and eliminating the paper bills,” explained David Lawlor, GW senior associate vice president for finance.
Student Account eBill is a comprehensive system that brings all student billing functions into a single platform. With the system’s launch this week, the university will no longer issue paper bills or paper account statements. Instead, students—or their designated authorized users of the system, such as parents or other family members—will receive e-mail alerts when semester bills are available. The system will also send out automatic reminder e-mails as payment deadlines approach, and additional reminders if payments are late. The new system also shows real-time transactions and activity since the previous billing statement.
Currently, about 52 percent of payments are made online, and about 43 percent are mailed into the university’s post office box, Mr. Lawlor said. The remaining payments are wired or paid in person at the university cashier’s office. While the existing Online Tuition Check Payment System requires users to reenter their routing number and account number each time they pay, the new system will allow users to store their payment information for future transactions. Users who prefer to not to pay electronically are not required to, Mr. Lawlor explained—the e-bill can be printed and the payment coupon cut off and mailed in or dropped off with payment.
Students who overpay on their accounts will no longer need to print and submit a refund request form to the Student Accounts Office and then wait for a paper refund check to be mailed to them. Student Account eBill includes an e-refund function that enables overpaid funds to be refunded electronically.
“Lost refund checks will be drastically cut and students can receive their refunds faster,” Mr. Lawlor said. “The university will also save on postage and mailing.”
In the coming weeks, students will receive e-mails explaining how the new system works, including directions for signing up additional authorized users to a student’s account.
Until the end of June, students may use either the existing Online Tuition Check Payment system or the new system to pay bills. Starting in July, Student Account eBill will become the only system available for all bill payment services.