New eSIS QuikPAY option makes paying tuition easier

The UW-River Falls Accounts Receivable department has introduced a new online system that will make viewing, printing and paying tuition much easier and more convenient.

The new system, called eSIS QuikPAY, will allow students to view and print their tuition bills online, make electronic payments to their accounts, and sign up for direct deposit of their financial aid refunds, Brenda Rudberg, head of accounts receivable, said.

"It saves the student having to run over and get lost in North Hall," Alan Tuchtenhagen, associate vice chancellor for enrollment services, said. "It speeds it up and [the refund] goes right into their account."

QuikPAY also allows students to give third parties, such as their parents, access to their accounts to allow the parents to view and pay their student's tuition.; Students can create an alternate username and password to give third parties access to the account, Tuchtenhagen said.

"Parents are very interested in this," Tuchtenhagen said. "It allows them direct access to their student's account."

The Accounts Receivable department hopes to eliminate paper bills by January 2008 by allowing students to view and pay their bills online. Instead students will receive an e-mail notification in their UWRF e-mail account when their tuition bill is ready to view, Rudberg said.

"Its more efficient to do this," Tuchtenhagen said. "It's going to save a lot of mail and postage."

The QuikPAY Web site will display both current account activity and past tuition bills.

"I think it's a good idea," sophomore Sara Ahlfs said. "It will save me a trip to North Hall, which is nice when it's cold like this."

Currently, the QuikPAY Web site offers a variety of payment options. One option is to use a credit card, either Mastercard or Discover, to pay the bill. When paying with a credit card, a 2.75 percent convenience fee is added on to the total bill. The other option, which is free, is to pay online directly from a checking or savings account, Rudberg said.

"I think students are really going to like this and parents are going to like this," Tuchtenhagen said. "It's our effort to try and let students conduct more and more of their business online."

QuikPAY is already in place and can be accessed in eSIS by clicking on the "View & Pay Bill" link in the Finances section.