University debuts TigerPay billing system

Bizzarri cited security as a chief advantage of the online system.

“Security was one of the main reasons [for the switch],” Bizzarri said. “Everything is on [Sallie Mae’s] secured server instead of having everything stored locally.”

While the University will continue to maintain copies of the bills along with students’ banking information, it has “shifted the compliance to a vendor [that] is expert,” she said.

Bizzarri said the decision to switch to online billing was made “about a year ago, [when] we investigated various product alternatives.” The system resembles ones used by MIT, Cornell, Harvard, Dartmouth and Penn, she noted.

In addition to improving security, the new system will help the bursar’s office focus more on sustainability, Bizzarri said in a statement.

“The new delivery method is a more environmentally friendly delivery method and could reduce as much as 200,000 sheets of paper annually,” she said.

Though having families pay online may save trees, it won’t necessarily save the University money, Bizzarri noted.

“We think it is close to a break-even, not considering banking fees,” she said, explaining that the University must pay Sallie Mae for the platform.

“With the cost of all the IT resources and the time and effort of doing it in-house, it would have cost a lot” if OIT ran the system, Bizzarri added.

She said, however, that she hopes the system will become economically advantageous as more students sign up.

“If more people … pay electronically ... if that goes up, we go into a saving,” Bizzarri noted.

Student Accounts first notified students about TigerPay in an e-mail on Nov. 3, and it has since followed up with two additional e-mails.

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Some students welcomed the change.

“Obviously, I’m for online billing in general,” Joshua Zeitlin ’11 said.

“I think it’s more accessible and gives the user more choice in the matter,” he added. “You can see in real time what is going on with your finances.”

The University will not, however, force families who prefer checks, stamps and envelopes to change their ways.

“We have a contingency plan of sending all those people the paper bills with a reminder to sign up for electronic billing,” Bizzarri said.

This flexibility may come as a relief to students such as Devon Damiano ’09.

“My parents handle it, and my dad says he likes paying [the bills] the way he does it now,” she said. “He doesn’t like bills switching to [an online format] … When my sorority switched over to electronic billing, he was not happy with it.”

For those who decided to enroll, payment logistics will not change. “We haven’t changed any of our billing requirements or due dates,” Bizzarri noted.