East Carolinian

Issue date: 7/1/09 Section: News

Media Credit: Ashley Yarber

ECU will execute its new electronic billing system to manage student fees and tuition this fall.

The new "eBilling" system will make it easier for students to accept financial aid awards, view packages and discover any pending transactions.

Students will receive an e-mail through their ECU student account that will notify them when a bill has been issued or an outstanding balance is present. If a student has given another user, such as his or her parents, permission to view their billing information, then both the student and the authorized user can handle the student's billing options.

Since all student accounts can be viewed, printed and paid online, it is crucial that students routinely check their ECU e-mail accounts.

According to Dee Bowling, the director of Student Financial Services, it is imperative that students check their ECU e-mail accounts because that is where they will receive billing information.

"We encourage students to check their e-mail for notifications. This will allow students to view their charges and bills online themselves," Bowling said.

In addition to students and authorized users having around-the-clock access to their accounts online, a monthly e-mail will be sent containing outstanding fees, if any are present. However, that statement only includes fees that were generated before the date the bill was issued.

The new eBilling system is estimated to save almost $50,000 compared to the previous paper billing system, according to a press release issued by the ECU News Services.

Under the university's former billing system, paper bills were sent through the mail to over 27,000 students.

Bowling explained how the new electronic billing system eliminates the printing of the paper bill.

"The old billing system was very labor intensive. The new system eliminates the folding and mailing stage. Now students can run the process through banner that generates their bill and can open their bill through Touchnet," Bowling said.

The university has been using Touchnet for over a year. Touchnet has allowed students to access and receive billing information through their ECU e-mail accounts in the past.

The new eBilling system was used during the 2009 summer sessions.

"The intent of using the eBill during the summer sessions was to use both the paper bill and the eBill so the process would be smooth in the fall," Bowling said.

There are currently no problems with the new eBilling system according to Bowling. Bowling stated that the process that was used to save student schedules in the past will remain the same.

If students have any questions or concerns about the new electronic billing system, students can access these links by visiting the ECU homepage and clicking on the link "Cashier's office to introduce e-billing."



This writer can be contacted at news@theeastcarolinian.com.

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