Attachment 3
Action Plan for Contacting students to ensure payment of fees and charges by census date
Item/
Implementation
date
1/
On going
2/
Completed
Strategy
Comments
Area for Action
Check Box on mySI-net so that students
acknowledge receipt of advice that their
enrolment is provisional until all fees and
charges are paid.
Strong warnings in the Enrolment Guide
Details:
Students will need to acknowledge receipt of this advice as part of their
enrolment process.
SI-net support
Details:
This has been included in the new Enrolment Guide for 2005.
Details:
After enrolment the following processes generate emails to students:
Student Administration
IMPLEMENTED
SI-net support - These emails are part
of the current strategy to remind
students of any changes to fees and
charges.
Student emails
3/
On Going once a
student has
enrolled
a.
b.
Initial liability is created in mid January and students informed.
When a student adds a course the additional charge is not immediately
generated, as this would create very large processing load on the system.
If they then view their invoice (on the same day as the course add) a pop
up message (in red) will advise them:
"You have recently changed some details of your enrolment. Your mySI-net
Account Summary and Invoice will be adjusted within two business days."
IMPLEMENTED
IMPLEMENTED
This message is also displayed on the invoice if they view/print it.
c.
When/if the additional charge is generated during batch processing that
night, an email advising of the liability increase will be sent to the
student.
d.
If the student enrols in a course two days before the due date for
payment or later, a warning appears at the time of enrolment:
"Courses added after DD/MM/YYYY for Semester X, 200Y which create
additional liability (e.g. Tuition or SSC) must be paid for within two days. Late
payment penalties apply."
4/
Continuing in the
week of 7/2/05
Inform staff through training and website
information
e.
Due date for payment email reminder is sent one week prior to the due
date ie 18 Feb 2005.
f.
Email reminder sent to pay all fees and charges one week prior to census
date.
Details:
HESA training has included information on the importance of full payment of
fees and charges.
1
A. Gilmore
IMPLEMENTED
Item/
Implementation
date
5/
On going
Strategy
Comments
Area for Action
Update Web pages
6/
February 2005
Notices on my.UQ
Details:
myAdvisor is currently being updated and includes information on penalties for
late payment of fees and penalties
Details:
Reminders to be posted on ‘Important Information’ box on my.UQ homepage.
Details:
AG to prepare a very brief (2 pages) power point presentation for staff. Power
point to include procedural information eg. eCAF, tax file numbers and contacts
if any problems.
To be completed by nominated staff
and final approval by Maureen Bowen,
updated by OMC.
A. Gilmore to follow up with OMC.
Details:
An ‘amber’ flag could be developed. Once applied this locks the system so that
students cannot access their own information or make any further changes to their
enrolment. Other P/S unis have implemented something similar.
SI-net support – This is an issue that
requires clarification. Would locking a
student out of mySI-net be considered a
sanction in which case its application
would be inconsistent with Statute 6.
7/
Orientation week
21/2/05
Lectures
28/2/05
8/
Week beginning
28th February
9
Orientation week information sessions &
lecturs in the first week of semester
Message alerts on mySI-net when students
have not paid all fees and charges by a
certain date.
SMS students with warning notices
Monitoring:
A student’s activity log can then be accessed to see if they have logged on and so
are aware that they have been locked out.
Details:
The University is investigating the use of SMS to advise students of important
enrolment messages, particularly where cancellation of enrolment for nonpayment of fees and charges is pending.
The re-enrolment email to all students will include a request that they update their
personal details and include their mobile phone number.
Letters
10/
17 March 2005
This strategy will not be effective unless UQ can ensure that a significant
proportion of students have provided their mobile phone numbers. The current
strategy is to request students provide this detail in the personal details on mySInet.
Monitoring:
Costing is currently being undertaken on the use of bulk SMS and a time frame
for implementation will depend on the perceived viability for contacting large
number of students.
Details:
Letters could go to students who have outstanding fees and charges up 2 weeks
prior to census date. Depending upon the number of letters required, these could
be sent as registered mail thereby reducing the need for further follow-up
strategies.
2
A. Gilmore to prepare brief power
point.
Faculties for user at orientation events
and academic staff at first lecture.
SI-net/Student Administration
COLLECTING PHONE DETAILS
IMPLEMENTED
A.Gilmore - Investigation of SMS
costings etc ongoing.
Business Services
Item/
Implementation
date
Strategy
Comments
Area for Action
Offer letters for cross institutional
enrolments
Details:
Need to ensure that details of the implications for students who do not pay all
fees and charges by due date are communicated when they are approved to enrol
cross institutionally.
SI-net Support to update the template
letter sent out by Faculties to students
once their cross- institutional enrolment
has been approved.
14/
Mid January
Posters & Sandwich Boards placed around
the campus
A. Gilmore to consult with Kate
Heffernan, Karen Wheeler and Colleen
Clur on feasibility.
Late Feb/early
March
Engage with the UQ Union to disseminate
information.
Phone calls
Details:
Posters were a suggestion made by the Communications WP to broadcast the
message of changes to the students.
Sandwich boards were suggested at the HELP WP and considered to be helpful
with the redevelopment of the Student Centre due to a lack of electronic signage.
They could also be used around refectories.
Details:
Jason Curtis has confirmed that f information will be included in the Survival
Guide.
Details:
This strategy is to be used as a last resort due to the significant impact on staff
time. It should be used only where students have not recorded a mobile number
and therefore would not have received the relevant SMS messages.
11/
On going
12/
24th March 2005
Phone calls to students 1 week prior to census date. The intention is that by this
time, earlier mechanisms (such as emails, letters) to notify students with
outstanding fees and charges will greatly reduce the number of students to be
called.
In past years at this point in the year there can be up to approximately 5000
students who have outstanding fees and charges.
Monitoring:
This strategy was considered on the basis of past experience to be the most
effective at an individual level. In the past students who had elected to pay
HECS Upfront and had not done so were called and the result is close to 100%
resolution. This option is labour intensive but if other strategies dramatically
decrease the non-payment rate then it will be viable.
Effectiveness of this and all other strategies needs to be weighed against the cost
involved.
N:\Nelson Reforms\Planning\Steering Committee\Agendas\Meeting 07-04\ActionPlan-PaymentbyCensusdate.doc
3
UQ Union & A. Gilmore
Business Services