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Inside UNBChange in Fee Payment Options
Effective August 1, 2008
As a cost-saving measure, the University of New Brunswick has discontinued the use of credit cards for tuition and residence fee payments. This measure will save the university about $500,000 a year in transaction fees and is one way UNB is reducing costs while minimizing the impact on the quality of its academic programs.
Credit cards will continue to be accepted for many other campus services and payments, including application fees, confirmation fees, residence deposits, parking fees and fines, campus recreation, bookstore purchases, transcripts and donations, College of Extended Learning Open Access and non-credit course fees, and Aitken University Centre events.
FAQ
Many students and parents have asked why the university made this decision. Here are some of the most frequently asked questions and responses.
Why is UNB discontinuing the use of credit card payments for tuition and residence fees?
This is purely a cost-savings issue. Funding is very limited, and we need to carefully examine all of our expenditures. This decision was made by UNB's Board of Governors as part of the budget process. In making the decision, UNB looked at trends at universities across Canada, the high cost of user fees, funding limitations and budget restraints.
Why does it cost so much to use credit cards?
Every time a credit card is used for a payment, a fee charged to the vendor who performs the transaction. The fee varies by credit card company but averages at approximately two per cent of the total transaction. For example, if a student paid his or her tuition and residence fees, which total approximately $13,000 per year, using his or her credit card, the cost to the university would be $260. In 2007, the total of all of the fees charged to UNB was over $500,000.
Are other universities doing this too?
Universities across Canada are divided on this issue: some accept credit cards for major fees, others do not. The trend developing is that many universities are discontinuing the use of credit cards due to the high costs. Recently, University of British Columbia and University of Alberta discontinued credit card use for major fees. University of Toronto and McGill, McMaster, Queen's and Mount Allison University also do not accept credit cards for major fees.
Doesn't this take an easy payment option away from students and parents?
Yes, it does remove one option, but we accept many other methods of payment that have much lower costs associated with them. These options include paying in person using cash or debit; using online or telephone banking through your financial institution; paying by cheque, money order, bank draft or credit card cheque; transferring funds by wire; paying international students tuition or fees using Custom House online; paying via federal or provincial student loans; and having payments deducted from graduate assistantships.
Why don't you just charge extra for the use of credit cards?
Credit card companies do not allow vendors to do this.
Why can I use my credit card at stores but not at UNB?
Stores are profitable enterprises; they build credit card transaction fees into the price of their products, and they perform thousands of transactions every day. UNB is a non-profit organization, so we must aim to keep our overall costs low. Also, fee payments are typically made over several days during the year, rather than every day as occurs in retail.
What if paying by credit card is a student's only option?
We understand that not paying by credit card will be an adjustment for some students, but we are working to make paying tuition and residence fees as easy possible. For example, UNB provides a convenient 24/7 online banking option through all the major financial institutions in Canada.
Individuals who still wish to use credit to pay tuition and residence fees can do so by obtaining a cash advance from their credit card company and using that cash to pay through one of the accepted methods (i.e. depositing it into a chequing account and paying by debit, obtaining a money order, etc.). Please note that interest on cash advances is often charged from the day the advance is obtained.
Did students have a say in this decision?
We did not survey our student body on this matter; however, student representatives are members of the various budget committees, and they participated in discussions on the importance of presenting a balanced budget. Students have also told us that they are concerned with the overall cost of tuition fees: in an effort to avoid further increases in this area, UNB has had to cut operating costs elsewhere.
One of the benefits of paying by credit card was avoiding the line ups at the counter. Will students get a longer time frame to make payments because of this change?
Unfortunately, fee payment deadlines will not be extended. Students who do not want to wait in line can take advantage of our other payment options.
It can take up to three days to process online payments. Will students have to wait three days until they can get their student ID cards validated?
Because online banking transactions may take two to three business days to be processed, it is recommended that students check their online bank statements to see if their tuition/fee payments have been debited from their accounts before they attempt to validate their IDs. Once an online payment has gone through, and the transaction has been posted to the student's online bank account statement, the student can proceed to the Registrar's Office to validate his or her student ID card.
Are there ATMs/ABMs available in the Financial Services building?
Students paying in person don't need to withdraw cash from a bank machine, since they can pay using debit. Students are advised to check with their bank to ensure that the withdrawal limit on their account is high enough to allow for these debit transactions. Most financial institutions are able to temporarily increase daily withdrawal limits, if needed.
