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Early Announcement
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Please read the announcement in its entirety as it describes relevant new changes which will be introduced throughout the Fall 2009 semester.
Additional questions may be directed to the
Office of the Bursar
Geneva Harris
Associate Controller/Bursar
bursar@iit.edu
2nd Floor Main Building
Thank you very much!
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Change in policy effective November 5, 2009.
Illinois Institute of Technology and TouchNet/PayPath
On behalf of the Offices of the Bursar and Financial Aid, Illinois Institute of Technology is pleased to announce an enhancement to the student billing system with the implementation of TouchNet/PayPath suite of financial services, an electronic billing and payment solution for higher education.
As such, IIT's contract with TouchNet Tuition Payment Service will provide greater security for students' credit card information; credit card information will no longer be retained by the university, and credit card payments will no longer be accepted over the phone or in person, which will reduce our customer's exposure to identity theft.
The TouchNet Data Center is certified compliant with the requirements for bankcard processing and satisfies credit card security requirements.
Effective November 5, 2009, credit card payments toward student charges — including tuition, fees (health, lab, and others), room and board, parking, miscellaneous fines, etc., that is, all charges assessed through the Bursar's Office — will no longer be accepted directly by Illinois Institute of Technology.
Starting with the November 2009 statement, IIT will no longer directly accept credit card payments for tuition and fees. The increasing costs of processing credit cards has made it necessary to find a way to manage these expenses and still provide as many payment options as possible.
Therefore, TouchNet/PayPath, a third party payment service, will accept credit card payments on the university's behalf. As part of this new service, the standard 2.75% surcharge applied by credit card companies will be assessed to the total payment as the service fee.
(Please note that service fees are not considered to be part of a student's educational expenses, that is, service fees are not permitted to be added to a student's budget for consideration of additional financial aid.)
- TouchNet/PayPath will accept American Express, Master Card and Discover BUT does not accept Visa
- IMPORTANT: Payment by electronic check will still be available at NO ADDITIONAL CHARGE and you may continue to send checks and money orders, directly to the Office of the Bursar.
Additional benefits and services provided by TouchNet include:
- Student's ability to authorize other users (such as parents/guardians) to view and make payments toward their account
- E-mail notice of delivery of new statements for viewing by the student and other authorized users
- Ability to view 12 months of previous statements
- Ability to view payment history and other postings to the student account
- Automatic and immediate posting of payments to the student account
- Online web access available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
TouchNet/PayPath will also improve our service to students and their parents/guardians for online payment services including an accurate, current and secure statement through the myIIT account.
- We will be phasing in the TouchNet/PayPath system beginning with the 2009-2010 fall tuition billing, and expect complete implementation of the online billing and payment system to be in place for Spring 2010 billing cycle.
- TouchNet/PayPath is the preferred electronic finance system of more than 600 institutions of higher education around the country. We look forward to becoming a TouchNet/PayPath partner and hope you, too, will enjoy the user-friendly convenience and security of online billing and payment.
Finally, this service will allow the Office of the Bursar to provide:
- improved real-time statements of your financial accounts at IIT through the myIIT portal
- increased levels of customer service to our students and their families
- streamlined student billing process
Brian Laffey, Assistant Vice President for Finance and Controller (blaffey@iit.edu)
Jerry Doyle, Vice Provost for Undergraduate Enrollment and Financial Aid (doyle@iit.edu)
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FAQs:
Q: For Fall 2009, can I still use my Visa card to make payments to the Office of the Bursar for my tuition charges?
A: Yes. As long as your account balance is paid in full prior to November 5, 2009. Fall tuition payments made after this date will be made via TouchNet PayPath and will be assessed the 2.75% convenience fee.
Q: After November 5, 2009, how can I make payments to the Office of the Bursar without incurring the additional 2.75% charge?
A: Online electronic check payments will remain available at no additional charge. In addition, personal checks, money orders and cash payments will be accepted in person at the cashier's office.
* Please note that service fees are not considered to as part of a student's educational expenses, that is, service fees are not permitted to be added to a student's budget for consideration of additional financial aid.
Q: Will I be able to use Visa for misc. payments made to the university such as parking services, book store purchases, etc.?
A: The university will continue to accept visa payments for service not related to your student account. Please note that students electing to have their parking permit charged to their student account will not be able to use Visa cards to pay this fee.
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Last updated 9 September 2009
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