Title: Student Failure to Pay

FINAL

Module Coordination Request

Tracking Number: 4

Point of Origin: Monte Kramer, System Vice-President for Administration

Date referred to Accounts Receivable Module: November 30th, 2011

Date referred to MOCC: February 16th, 2012

Date of final approval from MOCC: June 21, 2012

Date of approval from Monte Kramer: July 6, 2012

Effective date of implementation: Spring 2012

Recommendation from Trudy Zalud, MOCC Coordinator:

Approve these modified guidelines which are aimed at aligning operational procedures with revised BOR policies.

Background information:

Historically, students were expected to promptly act on bills issued for each term; they were required to submit payment in full – or make suitable arrangements to pay – by the third day of class. Those who neglected to manage this financial obligation by the nineteenth day of class were administratively withdrawn immediately following this critical point in the term. MCR 4 (approved in August 2004 and modified in March 2005) reflected this established format.

In the fall of 2011, Dr. Monte Kramer and BAC (Business Affairs Council) crafted a proposal to amend BOR policies 5:5 (Tuition and Fees, General Procedures) and 5:7 (Refunds). The crux of the proposal entailed a significant change in expectation related to bill payment. In December of 2011, the Board of Regents considered this proposal (see links to agenda items) and conferred unanimous approval.

Approval effected dramatic adjustments in business practice. Starting with the Spring 2012 term, students are now expected to pay – or make arrangements to pay – the bill in full by the first business day following the final day to drop/add classes (that is, Census Day). Those who overlookthis responsibility will be administratively withdrawn prior to the census extract freeze date (two weeks following Census Day). These procedural modifications necessitate revisions to MCR 4.

Trudy Zalud, MOCC Chairman, reviewed this MCR and inserted relevant comments and questions. The edited document was referred to Pam Thomas, AR (Accounts Receivable) Representative to MOCC. Pam collaborated with members of the AR Module; this group resolved all questions and extended recommendations for adapting procedural guidelines. Additionally, Denise Grayson and Julie Pier (Financial Aid Representatives) conferred with that module and offered input. Trudy Zalud reworked MCR 4; all MOCC and module feedback was incorporated into the revised document.

Approved Procedures for Managing Cancellations and Withdrawals (effective Spring 12 and forward):

Basic Definitions:

Cancellation: the process employed for students who register for courses, but neither pay the bill nor attenda single class.

Administrative Withdrawal: the process utilized for students who neglect to pay – or make satisfactory arrangements to pay – the bill in full by the first business day after Census Day.

Procedural Flow to Bill Payment:

Initial billing: student bills are generated through a centralized process; this information is made available to students through SDePay (accessible via WebAdvisor). Each financial statement must provide specific detail relevant to the payment due date for each semester billed.

Student Responses:

Acceptable:

Payment in full by the first business day following Census Day

Satisfactory arrangements to pay: this entails prompt student follow-up with appropriate university staff; agreement regarding arrangements to pay must be reached by the first business day following Census Day.

Unacceptable:

No bill payment nor class attendance

Neglect of bill payment coupled with class attendance

Staff Involvement: Satisfactory Arrangements to Pay

In rare situations, extenuating circumstances may merit special arrangements to pay (see bullet #2 under Acceptable Student Responses). Approval is contingent upon staff judgment, and the appropriate deferment code must be entered in Colleague on the PERC (Person Restrictions) screenprior to the census extract freeze date. Additionally, an explanatory comment should accompany each entered code.

Code options:

CDEF = Non-Student Control Deferment Tracking; this deferment is fitting for the scenario in which non-standard enrollment dates and aid disbursement eligibility give rise to delayed loan disbursement dates (example: the accelerated nursing program offered by SDSU). Alternately stated, the student knows that he/she has been awarded financial aid, but the monies have not yet been disbursed.

Note: The begin date should be consistent with code entry, and the end date should indicate the point at which resolution is expected and any account balance will be paid in full.

CDFA = Financial Aid Professional Judgment Tracking; this deferment reflects a judgment call made by a Financial Aid staff member. Its use ties to situations in which the student is working through the process of obtaining financial aid; in other words, no financial aid has been awarded, but the student – with the knowledge and assistance of the Financial Aid Department - is working through the progression of steps. Pertinent examples include FAFSA applications in progress, federal verification, federal loans waiting on promissory note signatures, alternative loans under consideration, approved non-institutional scholarships not yet received, and other aid which requires non-campus approval (such as BIA and JTPA).

Note: The begin date should be consistent with code entry, and the end date should indicate the point at which resolution is expected and any account balance will be paid in full (i.e., when pending aid will be approved).

CPA = Business Office Professional Judgment Tracking; this deferment is used at the professional discretion of a staff member associated with the Business Office. Typically, it is used in connection with payment made by a third party - employer, Vocational Rehabilitation, Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC), etc.

CPAY = Payment Plan Tracking; this deferment is exclusively used for the BOR-approved electronic payment plan associated with NelNet. Following completion of the sign-up process in SDePAY, the CPAY deferment code is automatically entered in the work flow.

Note: The begin date is consistent with the first day of the semester, and the end date is consistent with the last day of the semester. The comment provides the date and time stamp that denotes the point at which the contract was completed.

Staff Involvement: Failure to Pay/Deficient Arrangements to Pay

In these instances, the key to appropriate follow-up hinges on whether or not the student attended class.

No attendance: the student’s registration for the term is cancelled.

Attendance: the student is administratively withdrawn.

Note: Refer to Colleague Procedures for step-by-step instructions (see link below).

Addendum: Excerpt from MOCC minutes, October 20th, 2011 meeting:

Proposed changes to BOR Policies 5:5 and 5:7

Pam: This concept has been on the table for a couple of years…BAC has now opted to move ahead. As you can see from the proposed policy modifications, we will be changing our business practices related to billing and payment….until this point, students were expected to pay their bills by the third day of the semester. Starting with spring 12, the due date will be moved to the first business day after census. To play that out, next semester, census day falls on a Friday (January 23rd); consequently, payment will be due on Monday, January 26th. Under the old structure, payment would have been due on January 15. With a Spring2012 implementation date, we will be moving quickly. We discussed the situation in detail on our AR call this morning. To help relate to the changes, we reviewed a calendar for fall 2012 that had been altered as if the changes had already taken place….that is attached to the email that was sent out this morning. Red goes away, and yellow reflects the proposed modifications.

The procedural changes do not impact the payment of financial aid. However, we will need to tweak Attendance Confirmation. We did not address the deregistration process, but moving the payment due date back over a week will certainly impact it. As always, we will need to clean everything up by the census freeze. And the “19th day” rule will go away. “No shows” will probably need tobe managed differently; or at very least, each school’s processes should be reviewed. Historically, failure to pay the bill (or make alternate arrangements to pay) created a situation in which AR was expected to act….that is, deregister the student. And of course, dereg is tricky; nonpayment is not intended to be the sole criterion that drives this process. At this point, the AR module is making the point that there is a real need to transition away from the current non-payment practices; AR should not be the key player. But we still need to address the non-payment situation. The challenge is this: how can we manage who is sitting in our chairs? AR isn’t the appropriate party to determine who is and isn’t an active student…but we do have a vested interest. So does Financial Aid – those folks want to give the amount of aid that is fitting to the situation. We will need to give careful consideration to the optimal way of handling no-shows.

Barb: Have the dates for Spring 12 Attendance Confirmation been set?

Pam: The AR Module recommended that we open this process of December 5th and close on January 23rd.

Barb: This resource is a good vehicle for communicating with our students.

And it can help with identifying no-shows.

Pam: Clearly, no-show status is bigger than bill payment; alternately stated, it should not be driven by payment/failure to pay. Other variables must factor into the equation.

Barb: When will BILL be run?

Pam: November 23rd.

Trudy: What about refunds?

Pam: In conjunction with these changes, we will implement another: no refund will be issued until the student completes the attendance confirmation process. That will be a firm system-wide requirement.

Trudy: So what happens next?

Pam: BAC will finalize the proposal in November, and the BOR will review it in December.

Trudy: That is a tight timeline.

Pam: Definitely!

Julie: Are the dates for Attendance Confirmation firm?

Pam: At this point, they are recommendations. However, we will open both Attendance Confirmation and FACTS payments plan as soon as we are positioned to issue bills.

Julie: I feel that Attendance Confirmation can be a good tool for determining no-shows.

Pam: At BHSU, we have started a conversation with Academic Affairs. Currently, all professors are required to post mid-term grades as well as the last date of attendance. This has been very helpful at the END of the semester, so maybe there should now be an attendance requirement needed by census. This equates to a comprehensive look at who is sitting in our chairs – which would not only identify the no-shows, but also greatly help to clean up our rosters overall. One thing is obvious: with the first look from AR at nonpayment not taking place until the day after census,identification of no-shows requires involvement from everybody…. for sure, we need to dialogue quickly.

Joann: Will students be subject to administrative withdrawal if they do not make payment the day after census?

Pam: We will follow BOR policy.

Joann: So if a student indicates that he/she is here via Attendance Confirmation, but then fails to pay….?

Pam: The only way that they can avoid administrative withdrawal is through payment or making arrangement to pay. We have a duty to uphold.

Joann: And the deadline for this is now earlier?

Pam: No, the payment due date is the day after census – all cleanup for all reasons will need to be complete by the established extract freeze date.

Joann: Good to know…I missed that when I reviewed the policy proposal.

Pam: I have a question for the membership…at each campus, who orchestrates the de-reg process?

Aaron: At SDSU, the Registrar’s Office is the central party; Financial Aid, Accounts Receivable, and Residential Life also weigh in.

Julie: At USD, it’s mostly Financial Aid and Accounts Receivable. The process is initiated by AR; a list of students is created and forwarded to FA. My staff and I go over the list and figure out who is here and who is not.

Pam: Does the Registrar’s Office get involved?

Julie: We have a hybrid position – this person has a dual function in both records and financial aid (although she officially reports to me).

Joann: At NSU, the no-shows are determined by AR, Admissions, Financial Aid, etc….then the administrative withdrawals are processed by the Registrar’s Office.

Denise: At DSU, this is a joint venture between the Registrar’s Office and Accounts Receivable; Financial Aid and Res Life are also consulted.

Barb: At SDSMT, the Registrar’s Office and AR collaborate; they rely heavily on Attendance Confirmation.

Pam: This is good information – thank you. I will keep the group posted of developments as they happen.