Credit Cards Online Information

Sending your kid off to college: priceless.

Paying tuition bills with a credit card: That'll cost you.

A growing number of California State University campuses are switching to a third-party service that adds an extra fee onto tuition bills paid over the Internet with credit cards, which have become an increasingly popular payment option for students and families coping with rising tuition costs.

The extra fee varies from campus to campus, although the norm is generally 2.9 percent of the transaction amount. Students at Sacramento State and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, though, will pay 3.15 percent.

The extra charges can add anywhere from $78 to $125 per year onto tuition bills for the average full-time student. Annual tuition varies from $2,704 to $3,974 at CSU's 23 campuses.

There's no extra fee to pay with cash, money order or check on campus.

And while campus officials are sympathetic to parents and students who are struggling with higher tuition, many say they turned to the extra fee because cash-poor campuses could no longer shoulder the burden of credit card transaction fees.

Up until April, Sacramento State didn't pass any of those transaction fees onto students and was paying more than $600,000 a year out of its own pocket, said campus spokeswoman Ann Reed. As state budget cuts mounted, however, officials realized they had to stem the flow.

In June, Sacramento State rolled out CASHNet SmartPay, an online service offered by Alameda-based Informed Decisions Corp. that allows students to pay tuition bills with a credit card either over the Internet or with a touch-tone telephone. The service adds 3.15 percent on all credit card transactions.

The fee covers costs associated with the service, including software and training, technical support, administrative services and more, Informed Decisions Chief Operating Officer Nancy Banker wrote in an e-mail.

At least 15 CSU campuses -- including Sacramento and those in Hayward, San Jose and San Francisco -- also offer CASHNet SmartPay. CSU Northridge will implement a similar credit-card fee in fall 2005, according to information from the CSU Chancellor's Office.

Jack Azevedo, student financial services officer at Cal State Hayward, said the campus started offering the CASHNet option in 2003. Students who use the online option will pay a 2.9 percent convenience fee.

# posted by Medical Information : 3:55 AM