By fall 2009, paper fee bills will be a thing of the past for UConn undergraduates. The Office of the Bursar has announced that it is converting the campus to a paperless, electronic billing system.
The office expects that fall semester fee bills will be available online as of June 23, according to Glen O'Keefe, the university's bursar.
Students will be able to access their e-bills via the PeopleSoft system's "Student Center" page.
According to O'Keefe, the university decided to adopt the paperless billing system for environmental and financial reasons.
O'Keefe called electronic billing a "greener process" because it helps the university conserve a significant amount of paper each semester. It also allows the bursar's office to save money on bank fees and paper supplies, which will keep tuition and fee costs low.
UConn is one of many universities choosing to switch to online billing, a trend that began several years ago, according to O'Keefe.
"We deliberately went slow with e-billing," he said.
The Office of the Bursar spent several years judging if students and parents seemed ready for the change. In light of recent global environmental and financial concerns, as well as requests from the UConn community, the office decided this fall was an ideal time to implement the new system.
"Now, [people] are actually asking for it," O'Keefe said.
Students will be able to appoint authorized users - like their parents or guardians - to access and pay their fee bill online sometime later this month, O'Keefe said.
Both students and authorized users will receive e-mail notification as soon as their bill has been posted to the site.
E-bills can be paid either online through PeopleSoft or by mail. The Office of the Bursar has removed the $5 fee for e-checks that had previously been in place. However, students will still find a 2.5 percent convenience charge for credit card payments.
Students can also mail in checks if they prefer, O'Keefe said.
For undergraduates already enrolled in UConn's payment plan, which allows students to pay their fees in four monthly installments at the beginning of each semester, there will be little change with the new method.
Users authorized to access the payment plan will automatically be able to view the student's fee bill.
The bursar's office expects the new electronic service to be convenient for undergraduates. Students seem to be greeting the change with support, tempered with mild doses of skepticism.
"It's the way the world's going," said Daniel Yepes, a 4th-semester history major. Yepes was concerned about the potential affect on people without regular computer or Internet access.
"The amount of people that don't have [the internet] actually is surprising," he said. "It's a bit inconvenient to them."
"I think it's a good move," said Chris Mattera, a 4th-semester political science major. "I think it might be more efficient. It might just make life with the bursar easier."
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