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UA tuition now payable through Internet
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Monday August 20, 2001 |
Arizona Daily Wildcat
New Student Link WebPay eliminates long waits at bursar's office
New technology from UA's Center for Computing and Information Technology has made paying tuition as easy as pushing a button.
Since Aug. 6, University of Arizona students have been able to settle their outstanding balances by using WebPay, an Internet payment program through UA's Student Link.
The service, which is available between 7 a.m. and 8 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekends, allows students to pay tuition using a Visa or MasterCard without having to set foot in the bursar's office.
So far, the new system has been met with good results.
"It has been used a ton," CCIT systems analyst Brett Bendicksen said. "The first day we released (WebPay) was the last day of pay before late fees. I'm guessing students went online to check their account balances and used it."
Bendicksen said the system would have been up earlier, but "a contracting issue" with Bank of America slowed its release.
WebPay will use the bank's Internet payment resources to confirm account numbers and balances, Bendicksen said.
Mark Barton, the UA Bursar's Office accounting manager, said WebPay will make payment easier for students as well as the bursar's office.
"Mainly, it was a service students wanted," he said. "We've got the ability to do it. The demands of the students are incredible. It used to be that you registered, it took all day, and if you were through before 5 p.m., you were happy. Lines are not something students want to deal with and shouldn't have to deal with."
Karen Warren, CCIT's principal system support analyst, said UA officials have taken extra steps to ensure security on WebPay.
The Student Link and Bank of America Web sites are both encrypted to prevent tampering.
"It's critical - it's an ultimate that (security) never gets breached even once," she said. "We're trusting in the security of Bank of America and Student Link to ensure that it never happens."
Bendicksen said the new system is an improvement compared to UA's RSVP phone payment system because margin for error and transaction time have each been cut severely.
"It's much easier to use than RSVP," he said. "You can see the balance and know what you owe. On RSVP, if you mistype a number, you're in trouble. (WebPay) gives you a lot more feedback and it's all real-time. You can log off and go right back and it will have already credited your account."
Barton agreed.
"This is totally automated - it appears instantaneously," he said. "A lot of schools do not take credit-card payments at all."
Bendicksen said he was most impressed with the number of students using the system despite the little fanfare that accompanied WebPay.
"People have just sort of stumbled onto it," Bendicksen said. "It's gone basically unadvertised so far."
To pay tuition bills online, visit WebPay at:
http://sl3.ccit.arizona.edu/student_link/webpay.asp
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