TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The University of Alabama Office of Student Receivables has announced a new system for billing students for tuition, dorm rooms, meal plans and other expenses. Students will access their bills online under the new paperless system that will begin for the fall 2005 semester.

The system has been designed to better accommodate UA students who are accustomed to conducting financial activity on the Web, explained Carlene Jones, director of receivables and collections at UA.

“Today’s students are Web savvy. They have used computers and the Internet all their lives, and it’s a natural way of doing business for them,” Jones said. A recent survey of UA freshmen confirms students’ comfort with online transactions. Some 75 percent of more than 1,300 students surveyed indicated that they had made purchases on the Internet during the past year, and 88 percent indicated that they felt confident using UA’s Web services, including the online registration system.

UA is not new to providing the ability for students and parents to take care of their financial business via the Web. This option has been available for four years, and the growth in usage has been tremendous, Jones said. Fewer than 2,000 students used the service for fall 2001, the first semester that it was available, but by spring 2005, more than 60 percent of the students who received mailed registration bills chose to use the Web to make payment, signup for the deferment plan and confirm their spring schedules.

“During this period, we have learned that our customers, given the opportunity to use the self-serve approach, prefer this method,” Jones said. “Now, with the addition of myBama (UA’s new web portal), students will be able to conduct business with UA 24 hours a day; so we are moving to all Web billing effective with fall 2005.”

In the new paperless system, students will view and monitor their University financial account and billing activity exclusively online. Students will also be able to authorize their parents or other individuals to view financial activities on their account, make payments and confirm schedules.

Payments may be made online by credit card (Visa, Mastercard or Discover) or electronic check. Payments may also be made in person during regular business hours, and credit card payments may be made by telephone. UA will continue to offer the deferment plan. Students or their parents can also sign up for the Bama Plan (a 10-month prepayment plan) through July 5, 2005.

Students will access their student accounts online to see fall 2005 activity beginning July 25, 2005, and for spring 2006 financial activity beginning Nov. 21, 2005.

No paper bills will be mailed in the new UA payment system. Students will be notified via e-mail when to access their bills on the UA Web site (www.mybama.ua.edu) and of the payment deadline for each billing period.

The deadline for payment and schedule confirmation for the fall 2005 semester is Aug. 12, 2005; the deadline for the spring 2006 semester for payment and schedule confirmation is Dec. 9, 2005.

Throughout the term, miscellaneous expenses such as parking fines and student health center charges will be applied to the student account. The student, or their parents as authorized users, will be responsible for accessing their account at myBama to view any additional charges during the semester and to see the due date to prevent late payment charges from applying.

Information on the new system is being provided to incoming freshmen at orientation sessions throughout the summer. Continuing students will be notified of the changes by e-mail and by letter.

For more information, contact the UA Office of Student Receivables at 205/348-5350, receivables@fa.ua.edu, Box 870102, Tuscaloosa, AL 35487-0120.