By Katelyn Needham/ editor-in-chief
The change in moving up registration dates for summer and fall classes will also come with many changes in the tuition payment options and system.
TCC will transition the online tuition payment platform from PayPal to TouchNet with payment plans available starting April 24. A district official said this will allow TCC to have more direct control over payment plans and students to have more user-friendly payment options.
“We’ve always had payment plans, but now we have better options,” business services district director Kathy Crusto-Way said. “Now we have real-time transactions, and that is one of the biggest benefits.”
TouchNet allows students to control their payments through the new Student Account Center. Changes were made following a student survey about the payment system.
“Before, there was a delay,” Crusto-Way said. “So when students looked at their accounts, they couldn’t see their payments. It was a cumbersome system, and this one is more flexible.”
The account center will still be accessed through WebAdvisor. Students can still pay up front or choose the payment plan option.
“The account center will now allow students to authorize a parent or someone else to have access to their account so they can pay on their behalf,” Crusto-Way said. “We also now take credit cards and ACH. These payment options are kept in the protected portal, and we will even have mobile capabilities for student’s cellphones.”
With the change in payment plans, one plan will be available for the upcoming summer semester, four different types for fall and three for the spring.
“We used to have different down payment amounts, and when we conducted the survey, students said they wanted that amount to change,” South business services manager Tiffany Rodriguez said. “We decided to choose the middle ground, so now they only have to pay a flat 20 percent down.”
The payments will be made in installments, and students have the option to sign up for automatic draft. The new system will also send students electronic statements to either their personal or school email.
“With the previous provider, payments would be drafted on the fifth of each month,” business services manager Mitchell Pintur said. “One of the things that we learned from our student survey is that our students prefer that those installments happen later in the month. By implementing TouchNet, we have moved those payments to the 15th of every month instead.”
The new payment plans are interest-free with a one-time enrollment fee of $25.
The insufficient funds fee has also changed to $25.
“From a business services point of view, we want to encourage students to pay off their tuition as soon as possible,” Pintur said. “The plans allow them to pay their tuition in spread-out payments so they can stay in school and further their education.”
