Students have to pay a little extra to be on a payment plan. It's not unusual and not very expensive, but administrators can't say exactly where the money goes since all funds are pooled into one university-wide pot.
Ohio University students can pay their tuition using a payment plan — but it’ll cost them.
It’s not unusual and not very expensive, but administrators can’t say exactly where the money goes since these funds are pooled into one, university-wide pot.
OU’s payment plan allows students to pay their tuition for the semester in four monthly installments, but the plan comes with a $40 per semester enrollment fee that’s included in the first payment, said Sherry Downs, university bursar.
OU is not getting the full tuition payment all at once and the university needs an extra $40 with the first payment plan installation, Downs said.
She did not say what cost the university incurs by receiving the tuition payment in installments instead of in a lump sum.
If a student is enrolled in the payment plan each semester for four years, he or she would pay an additional $320.
The money goes into the university’s general fund and is “allocated based on the university’s priorities,” Downs said.
The general fund is used to pay for faculty salaries, construction and other university expenses.
For the 2013-14 academic year, 5,832 students enrolled in the payment plan for the Fall Semester. During Spring Semester, 4,916 students signed up for the plan, and during Summer Semester, 2,172 students signed up. About 250 to 300 graduate students enroll in the payment plan free of charge every semester.
Last year, the fee brought in a total $464,509, according to records from the bursar’s office. This semester, 5,934 students are enrolled in the payment plan.
The payment plan gives students an alternative to paying their tuition in one lump sum, but it does create problems for the university, which is why the fee is in place, Downs said.
“Of course that comes with a cost to the university in that we don’t have those funds up front to invest or, you know, fund projects or whatever that money is to be used for,” she said.
OU isn’t the only university that has an enrollment fee for its payment plan.
Kent State University has a $35 fee for its plan. Miami University has two options for students, $35 per semester for four payments and $40 per semester for three payments.
When deciding on how much the fee would be, Downs said OU officials looked at other universities “to see what the market rate was.”
Caitlyn McDaniel, vice president of Student Senate, was aware of the payment plan, but did not realize there was a fee for students to enroll in the plan. She thinks the plan is unfair to students.
“When you’re charging them for the plan, it’s like penalizing them for something out of their control,” she said.
For students, especially those who are working a minimum wage job to help pay their tuition, $40 does make a difference, McDaniel said.
McDaniel said senate has no plans to address the fee, but is open to discussing it if a student raises an issue.
Several students were unaware of the fee, and expressed dissatisfaction with it.
“I don’t think it’s right,” said Angela Steen, a senior studying interior architecture, who uses the payment plan and was unaware of the fee. “You shouldn’t have to pay a fee just to pay your tuition.”
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