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Credit card companies assess merchants a fee — a percentage of the total transaction — whenever a card is used for payment. Some UW System schools pass the fee along to the card user, while others just don’t accept credit cards.
UW-L has opted not to add the fee to students’ bills — but that’s likely to change.
“We have been willing to forgo (assessing the fee) because we wanted to make it possible for our students and families to pay tuition with credit cards,” said UW-L Chancellor Joe Gow.
“But we can’t continue to do that ... it is costing us money we need to make sure we continue providing an excellent experience.”
The university will pass the fees along to credit card users in the future, said Bob Hetzel, UW-L vice chancellor for administration and finance.
The fees probably won’t appear until fall 2009, Hetzel said.
UW-L does not plan to quit offering debit and credit card payment options, Hetzel said.
“We want to provide the highest level of customer service possible and some will prefer debit and credit card,” he said.
In 2007 and 2008, UW-L’s credit card fee percentages were 0.96 percent and 0.93 percent, respectively. The rate, negotiated by the State of Wisconsin Department of Administration for all state agencies, is low because of the high volume of transactions, Hetzel said.
When UW-L begins to assess students a fee for credit and debit card use, it will be at least 1 percent to cover UW-L’s cost, Hetzel said, although the final decision on the amount will be made later this year.
Money from other departments or programs hasn’t been used to pay the credit card fees, said Sharon Radtke, assistant vice chancellor for budget and finance at UW-L. Instead, she said, with the increase in online payments, the budget and finance department has been able to go from five permanent positions, with benefits, in the cashier’s office to one, she said.
Cathie Easter, who works in the financial office at UW-Madison, said that school no longer accepts credit or debit cards because of the fees.
“It’s an expensive fee to pass on to students,” she said.
Instead, the UW system’s flagship school refers students who want the convenience of paying online to an electronic check payment option, Easter said.
“If they really have a need for extending their payment periods, we would rather refer them to federal loans than having it on a credit card,” she said. “Federal loans are less costly than credit card interest.”
UW-L also prefers electronic check payments, Radtke said. UW-L’s Web site lists the e-check option first, then debit card, with credit cards as the last option, she said.
“We encourage our students and their families to investigate all different options for paying tuition, and naturally we like them to use the lowest cost alternative,” Gow said.
KJ Lang can be reached at (608) 791-8226 or klang@lacrossetribune.com.
Western, Viterbo don’t pass along credit card fees to users
Western Technical College and Viterbo University both accept credit and debit cards, and neither charges users a fee.
“There is a cost associated with it, but it is also a convenience to students,” said Todd Ericson, Viterbo vice president for finance and administration.
Accepting this form of payment helps in collecting outstanding balances and gives students time to investigate financing alternatives, Ericson said.
“We want to make it as easy as possible for students to make payments,” said Amy Schmidt, business service manager at Western.
Credit card fees end up costing Western about $5,000 a month, whether through tuition payments or students using credit or debit cards to pay at the cafeteria or bookstore, Schmidt said.
By the numbers
Source: Sharon Radtke, UW-L assistant vice chancellor for budget and finance
