Student Accounting omits paper billing statements
By Hilaire Fong
Jan. 13, 2003 9:00 p.m.
UCLA students have one less reason to venture beyond their
computer screens starting this winter quarter.
Student Accounting eliminated the monthly mailing of BAR Account
paper statements last December. Now students must check and make
payments to their BAR accounts using URSA Online unless they
individually request paper statements.
“Students can print out a billing statement to pay through
the mail if they do not want to pay by credit card,” Dorothy
Webster, director of student accounting and cashiering said.
“We upgraded the information of what students are able to
see online,” said Dorothy Webster. “There is more
detail on items they are being billed for.”
Before, students could only view the current month’s
statement online. Now students can look back at previous months for
details on their accounts, Webster said.
Students are billed for student fees and any other charges on
students’ BAR accounts, such as CLICC Lab costs for
printing.
“There is a growing acceptance of students of electronic
opportunities,” said Webster. “We are one of the few
universities that issue paper statements.”
“It is a cost saving mechanism for us,” Webster
added.
In November Student Accounting mailed out a letter to each
student, notifying them that their paper statements would be
converted to ebill, an electronic bill.
Included with each letter was a document for students to fill
out and return if they still wanted to receive paper
statements.
Those documents are also available in the Student Accounting
office at B303 Murphy Hall.
“I filled out the paper the second I got it,” said
first-year electrical engineering student Pavan Tripathi. “My
parents deal with all of the billing. If the bill is in the mail,
it will be easier for my dad to remember and pay for it.”
Tiffany Edwards, a first-year theater student, says she pays her
own bills so the change in the system is not an inconvenience for
her. She said she just has to remember to check and pay for her
account herself.
Every month Student Accounting will send out an email to remind
students to check and pay their BAR Account online by the payment
date, which is the 20th of each month.
In order for students to receive the email reminders, they need
to keep their email addresses updated on URSA, said Webster.
Second-year political science student Jaysn Kim says that it is
easier to deal with the bills electronically. “I always check
my email every day, but I check my mail box about twice a
week.”
Even with the elimination of paper bills, the deadline will not
be extended for overdue payments because the information about the
deadline is well publicized and has not changed, Webster said.
“We sent out emails about the deadline,” she said.
“We don’t keep it a secret.”
The deadline is set in order to give Student Accounting time to
process all payments and to coincide with other deadlines, Webster
said.
“Our main goal is convenience,” Webster said.
“We want to make it possible for students to not have to ever
leave home for any registration purpose.”
