Effective Date: 06/16/03
Updated: 03/11/08
Cashier's Section serves as a central depository for receipts of University revenue. Revenue is divided into two major categories: receipts from departmental deposits and receipts for student tuition, fees and related charges. Departmental receipts are received, verified, validated on-line, batched, balanced and deposited daily. Student receipts are received, verified, entered on-line into the Student Accounts Receivable System (SAR), an automated system implemented June, 1985, balanced and deposited daily. An accounting of daily transactions, revenue codes and totals electronically feed to the Accounting Section to be entered into the Financial Records System (FRS). A bank deposit is then made with a designated depository (Wachovia Bank and Trust Company and/or Branch Banking and Trust Company) and State Treasurer's certification transmitted electronically (via SIPS).
The University Cashier's Office is located in the Old Cafeteria complex and is open for business between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday. The cashiers (excluding one) balance from 4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. daily. This section has five full-time cashiering positions.
All revenues and other receipts collected by a campus department, for a University account, shall be deposited with the University Cashier's Office no later than the next business day following the date of collection, if the amount collected is $250 or greater. Lesser amounts should be deposited no less than weekly. This policy complies with the daily deposit law (G.S. 147-77) which requires that all collected funds belonging to the State of North Carolina be deposited daily. There are two accepted procedures for depositing University funds at the University Cashier's Office.
The depositor will be responsible for any differences which might be detected by the Cashier's Office. (Cashier's Office will furnish the department copies of the noted errors and/or omissions.)
Tuition and fees, room and/or meal plan cost and any prior miscellaneous charges (i.e. fines, housing charges, health service charges, etc.) are due and payable before the beginning of any semester or term.
Preregistered students are mailed a Cashier's Billing Statement of their tuition, fees and any miscellaneous charges approximately five weeks prior to the start of a semester or term. Subsequent payments are received by mail and across the counter. Payments received by mail are processed the same day they are received (possible exception would be peak payment periods) and an Individual Class Schedule and Receipt for Payment mailed out to the student's permanent home address unless notified in writing to hold or mail to another address. Payments received across the counter are processed immediately and Individual Class Schedule and Receipt for Payment generated and given to the student.
The previous day's total receipts are deposited in the designated commercial bank(s) depository by 2:00 p.m. The required certifications are transmitted electronically daily, showing the distribution of the receipts to the State Treasurer's Office.
Using a deposit slip, the accounting clerk deposits the prior day's total receipts (exclusive of Mastercard/Visa receipts, which have been electronically transmitted and deposited ) into WBTC . Wachovia Bank & Trust Company and Branch Banking and Trust Company are East Carolina University's State Treasurer's Office's designated depositories.
A certification is then entered on-line daily (SIPS) to the State Treasurer's Office.
Full-time employees of the University will be permitted to cash checks and must be prepared to present a current University picture I.D. upon request. Anyone cashing two (2) or more bad check will be denied check cashing privileges for one year.
Before cashing personal checks, the cashier is responsible for verification of acceptable I.D. Cashed checks must be payable to cash. No two-party checks or counter checks will be honored. Checks with strike-overs or other alterations will not be accepted. No post-dated checks will be cashed. Due to a limited cash reserve and processing cost, checks are limited to a minimum amount of $10.00 and a maximum of $200.00 per employee per day. Checks returned due to insufficient funds will be subject to a $25.00 returned check charge and check cashing privileges may be revoked. Under no circumstance should a cashier cash their own personal check out of University funds assigned to them.
Unusual or doubtful cases are to be referred to the operations supervisor. The University Cashier must approve any checks that are an exception to the stated policy and/or procedures.
All financial aid checks, with the exception of Perkins, Nursing Loans and S.E.C. Emergency Loans, awarded through the University will be disbursed by the University Cashier's Office.
The Financial Aid Office authorizes the disbursement of aid by providing the University Cashier's Office checks payable solely to the student or jointly to the student and the University. Twenty-one days prior to the beginning of school, financial aid checks may be processed and credited toward the payment of tuition, fees, room and board. If aid proceeds are less than the indebtedness, the proceeds are applied to the student's account and he/she is asked to pay the balance. If aid proceeds exceed the indebtedness, a refund check is generated and made payable to the student. Once a student's account balance has been satisfied and/or a source of acceptable payment identified, an official Individual Class Schedule is generated and given to the student. Financial aid checks will not be disbursed without verifiable student identification.
No refunds will be disbursed to the student prior to the Registration Day. (See section entitled REFUNDS for refund policies and procedures.)
The University Cashier's Office serves as the central cash disbursement office for Treasurer's Vouchers, Form PD-5-74 1500, in the amount of $100.00 or less.
When a Treasurer's Voucher is presented for cash reimbursement, the cashier is responsible for: 1) verifying acceptable I.D.; 2) honoring no vouchers greater than $100.00; 3) must determine all appropriate budget information is obtained and receipts are attached 4) and must determine that the required signatures and authorizations have been obtained. The cashier will return the pink copy of the voucher along with the cash disbursement. The original and canary copies are retained for further processing and reimbursement through Accounts Payable.
Each cashier will attempt to balance daily to their computer-generated printouts (re: BA 009, BA 020 and totals/close sheet). Each cashier will formally record any daily out-of- balance occurrence regardless of the dollar amount.
If a cashier is unable to balance at the end of the business day or prior to the start of the next business day, the following measures must be implemented: 1) officially record and document any overage and/or shortage; 2) advise the operations supervisor of any discrepancies of $5.00 or more; 3) differences of $250.00 or greater must be reported to the operations supervisor and University Cashier; errors of $500.00 or greater must also be reported to the Accounting Manager as well; 4) differences of $1,000.00 or greater will also be reported to the Internal Auditor's Office. An audit may be requested at the discretion of the appropriate personnel. An itemized accounting of each cashier's overage and/or shortages for the fiscal year will be reported in writing to the University Cashier and Cash Operations Manager quarterly on October 1, January 1, April 1 and no later than June 30th of each year.
Cash and cash items should be properly protected and secured at all times.
An evacuation policy has been established that will ensure the safety of personnel
and individuals conducting business in the Cashier's Office in the event of
an emergency and/or natural disaster. The Cashier's Office has an internal office
manual for policies on security. The CashierĂs Office has surveillance equipment
that records activity daily within the office.
Each new employee is required to read this manual as well as the Security Manual and the Emergency Evacuation Procedures. No cashiering or accounting transactions will be permitted until on-the-job training sessions have been completed.
The operations supervisor is responsible for requiring each new employee to read the above articles promptly after being assigned to this office. The operations supervisor is then directly responsible for supervising and/or conducting on-the-job training sessions. Once these training sessions have been completed satisfactorily, the new employee will be allowed to perform transactions under the direct supervision of an experienced employee. Only when a new cashier or accounting clerk demonstrates the required skills and necessary proficiency will they be allowed to perform cashiering or accounting duties on their own. Current employees are also encouraged to review manual articles and updates.
Each employee is responsible for knowing additional functions not directly related to their immediate duties.
The operations supervisor is responsible for assigning work schedules that allow each employee to be familiar with as many areas within the unit as possible. Each employee must be able to perform at least one function that is not directly assigned to them or considered part of their normal duties.
The Student Accounts Section serves as the central unit for billing, collecting and record- keeping of all student tuition, fees and charges. All refunds are processed by this section after receiving the appropriate authorizations. Additionally, this section is responsible for placing holds (cashier's tag) on student accounts with delinquent and/or bad debt financial obligations to the University. This prevents students from registering for the next semester/term or receiving transcripts until this financial obligation is satisfied.
All tuition, fees, room and meal charges must be paid in full or a satisfactory source of repayment identified (i.e. financial aid, grant, outside agency, outside scholarship, etc.) before an official Individual Class Schedule/Receipt will be generated.
Preregistered students are sent a Cashier's Billing Statement, which includes upcoming tuition and fees, on-campus room rates and any debts from the previous semester/term. Also included are current meal plan rates. The original portion of the statement must be returned with full payment or verifiable source of payment (financial aid, grant, scholarship, outside agency, etc.) by a prescribed due date (approximately two weeks prior to the first day of classes) to allow sufficient time to process payment and return their official class schedule. Those students failing to comply by this due date are subject to a $25.00 late payment penalty. Those students that have preregistered and not paid in full by the published "last day to pay" (two business days prior to the first day of classes) will have their class schedules cancelled and must re-register before paying tuition and fees. Those students not registering until Registration Day (the day prior to the start of classes) must pay their tuition and fees by the " last day to register and/or pay fees" date or forfeit their class schedule. Students attempting to register after this late registration date must first pay tuition and fees before obtaining a class schedule. Once a class schedule has been approved, the student's credit will be processed and an Official Individual Class Schedule/Receipt generated. (Note: A partial payment will not hold a class schedule for any student unless a source of payment has been identified.)
Miscellaneous charges such as fines, residence hall charges, health service charges, traffic/parking violations, etc. will be entered into the Student Accounts Receivable System (S.A.R.) by the appropriate department by an authorized employee and collected through the University Cashier's Office. Exceptions to this policy are library fines. The Library collects their own fines, then deposits them through the University Cashier's Office by departmental deposit.
Individual student charges are entered into the S.A.R. System by the appropriate department by student's Social Security number, amount of the charge and code for identifying the source and reason for the charge. A bill is generated by the University Cashier's Office after receiving written confirmation of the charge from the department. If no response, a second and third bill is generated and mailed. At this point the student's records are tagged and the student is unable to register for the next semester/term or receive transcripts. Approximately ninety days after the first bill is sent, if there is no satisfactory response or the financial obligation is not liquidated, students with delinquent balances of $100.00 or greater are referred to the Attorney General's Office for collection assistance. Students with outstanding past due balances of $50.00 or greater are referred to an outside state contracted collection agency for a period of one year. (see article on Disposition of Delinquent Accounts for greater detail.)
It is to the financial advantage of all students withdrawing, dropping to part-time status or dropping to a lower block of credit hours to do so as early in the semester/session as possible. Refunds for tuition and required fees (excluding room and board charges which are determined by contractual agreement) will be made as follows for students who withdraw or drop to a lower block of credit hours:
All refunds will be subject to the above-noted time limitations and will be based on the difference between the amount paid and the charge for the block of hours for which the student is officially registered.
POLICY EXCEPTION: There will be no refunds available on private music lessons and/or remedial math or any additional extra course fee after the first week of classes (five consecutive class days starting with the first official day of classes for the university).
A separate and extended refund policy exists for first-time Federal Title IV financial aid recipients. Refer to financial aid materials or contact the Student Financial Aid Office.
To officially withdraw from the university, a student must give written notice and surrender the student activity card (ECU 1 Card) to the office of the Dean of Students.
Any refunds that a student becomes entitled to shall first be applied to outstanding financial obligations owed the university.
SUMMER SESSIONS: The refund period for withdrawal or reduction in course load is limited to the first week of classes (five class days starting with the first official day of classes for the university). Students will be refunded 100% minus a $25.00 nonrefundable registration/processing fee for students withdrawing.
(Refer to Procedure Statement 2, "Refunds of Student Tuition and Fees" for greater detail.)
Withdrawals: An official withdrawal form is received from the Registrar's Office identifying the student by name, address, social security number, reason for withdrawal, and official withdrawal date. The form also indicates whether or not the student activity card (ECU 1 Card) was surrendered. A computer-generated printout is also received confirming the above data. Based on this information, an adjustment is made to the student's financial records and a request forwarded to Accounts Payable to issue a refund check. When the refund check is received in the University Cashier's Office, it is mailed no later than the next business day to the student's permanent home billing address unless instructed in writing to do otherwise. For dropped hours, a computer-generated printout (BA 016) is received in the University Cashier's Office identifying the student by name, social security number, official drop date and the dollar amount to be adjusted. The operations supervisor calculates the amount to be refunded based on the above information. (Example: total dollars to be adjusted $l00.00 minus $25.00 registration fee equals $75.00; student officially dropped credit hours 10 days after the beginning of classes, therefore entitled to a 75% refund $75.00 x .75 = refund of $56.25; this example assumes the student activity card was surrendered). Note: No Refund Checks will be disbursed prior to Registration Day. Refund Checks and excess financial aid checks will be available Registration Day only if payment was received one week prior to start of the semester/term. Refunds thereafter should be available for disbursement ten (10) business days from 1) the date processed; 2) the date financial aid/scholarship check(s) were endorsed; 3) the official date of drop or withdrawal. The University reserves the right to disburse refunds of $200.00 or less in cash at its discretion. Refunds greater than $200.00 will be made by University check. The University's refund and policy procedures are governed by the Board of Trustees and The University of North Carolina General Administration and are generally similar to practices at other institutions of higher learning. The existing refund policies and procedures are published in the University's catalogs as well as other printed materials.
The University does not have a prepayment plan. Payment is due and payable in full by the appropriate published deadlines unless student is enrolled in the Academic Management Services Installment Payment Plan, the only recognized payment plan. The only acceptable methods for deferred payment are: 1) as approved and authorized by the University's Financial Aid Office; 2) approved outside agencies and/or scholarships that submit authorizations to be billed (i.e., state agencies such as Rehabilitation, Blind, N.C.V.A., and governmental agencies such as the U.S. Government, U.S. Army, U.S. Air Force, ROTC, etc.); 3) emergency short- term deferments granted by the University Cashier.
In order for a student to have payment of tuition and required fees extended beyond published deadlines, one of the following actions must take place: 1) financial aid deferments, once officially approved, must be entered into the Student Accounts Receivable System (S.A.R.) so that the type of aid and dollar amount will appear when a cashier enters a term reference and student's social security number on a " Pay Screen " in the University Cashier's Office, or a written Financial Aid Deferment form (10-02 9/90) must be submitted prior to the cancellation of classes; 2) an authorization from an outside agency or approved scholarship referencing the student(s) by name, social security number, dollar amount of the award, terms of the award and semester/term to be applied toward must be received in writing on an official government form or letterhead prior to cancellation of classes and/or an established deadline; 3) the University Cashier may grant an emergency short- term deferment. It is his/her responsibility to 1) advise the cashiering unit of this agreement, and 2) monitor the agreement until satisfied or the student is suspended from classes. This type of deferment should be rare and given in extreme and justifiable circumstances. When one of the above-noted criteria is met, an Individual Class Schedule/Receipt is generated with the amount deferred recorded in the receipt section. The University Cashier's Office will be responsible for notifying students when their aid checks have been received, obtaining the proper endorsements, collecting any outstanding balances due, or initiating a refund or releasing financial aid check(s) to the student. The University Cashier's Office will also be responsible for billing outside agencies, scholarships, etc., and for filing the appropriate paperwork.
Pursuant to G.S. 116-143, regulations have been established by the Board of Governors of the University of North Carolina allowing full-time faculty/staff members to take one course per academic term (Fall/Spring) without payment of tuition. The University has elected to also waive the cost of the required fees. A faculty/staff waiver is not extended for summer sessions.
An employee must first obtain a Faculty/Staff Tuition Waiver form (P-50-A, 03-24-94) from the divisional Vice Chancellor. It must then be completed identifying the course(s) and number(s), as well as the time and length of instruction. Once the appropriate signatures have been obtained, the form must be directed to the University Cashier's Office for processing and recording. No Student Activity Card will be issued for faculty/staff taking one course only. A faculty/staff member may elect to pay the required fees and receive student actiity privileges on his orher current faculty/staff ID card. Employees of other state-supported institutions must follow the above noted procedure. (Note: No Faculty/Staff Tuition Waiver will be accepted by the University Cashier's Office after the published "last day to register and pay" or without the appropriate signatures.)
Regulations have been established by the U.N.C. Board of Governors under Chapter 981, 1977 Session Laws to allow North Carolina residents age sixty-five years and older to attend classes on a space-available basis without payment of tuition. The University has elected to waive the cost of required fees as well.
A cashier must determine age and residency status by requesting acceptable and verifiable identification with supporting photograph (i.e.: N.C. driver license, birth certificate, passport, etc.). The cashier will make a copy of the required identification and retain for University Cashier's Office files and records. No Student Activity Card will be issued. (Note: The University Cashier is responsible for compiling the appropriate reports and information on faculty/staff and residents 65 and older waivers for management.)
Certain non-resident students are allowed to pay reduced tuition rates as authorized by G.S. 116-143. The difference between the full non-resident tuition rates and the special reduced tuition rates is called tuition remission; tuition rules and regulations are governed by U.N.C. General Administration Administrative Memorandum Number 181.
An annual budget is established by the U.N.C. Board of Governors for each category of tuition remission.
The Vice Chancellor for Administration and Finance is responsible for insuring that the annual tuition remission amounts do not exceed the established budget. (Note: this responsibility is delegated to the University Comptroller.) Lists are requested and received for approved tuition remission student recipients from the Graduate School, School of Medicine, Athletic Department, School of Music, School of Art, and Academics. After verifying that the recipient has registered for the semester/term and has paid the difference between the current tuition rate and the special rate and/or a satisfactory source of payment identified, an Individual Class Schedule/Receipt is generated. After the semester/term drop/add period, each tuition remission recipient's course load is rechecked against an updated list to adjust both the student's account and the tuition remission budget amounts. After this audit process, a confirmation listing is available, upon request, to departments/schools providing them with the actual tuition remission funds used for a particular semester/term. In August of each year a report is compiled by the Cashier's Office and Comptroller's Office (to be signed by the Chancellor) reflecting the tuition remission statistical data for the past academic year and is distributed to the appropriate officers. A detailed annual tuition remission report is prepared and sent to U.N.C. General Administration each year listing individual names, headcount, F.T.E., regular rates, special rates and tuition remission rates broken down by school or college.
Returned checks are automatically redeposited a second time by Wachovia Bank and Trust Company. Returned checks are then purchased, upon request, from Wachovia after being charged back to either an individual student's account or the appropriate departmental account.
When notified of returned items, the University Cashier's Office, when making the next daily deposit, will sign for the returned check(s). The head cashier will charge the amount of returned check(s) plus a $25.00 returned check charge back to the student's account. The student's account is flagged "bad check" and tagged by "cashier." A request is then submitted to Accounts Payable for a check to be issued to redeem the check(s). The original returned student check is retained in the University Cashier's Office until paid in full. A weekly bad check register is maintained in the Cashier's Office for collection monitoring. If a departmental item is returned, the head cashier will direct a memorandum, under the signature of the University Cashier, to the appropriate department head advising them of the item(s) and dollar amount. A copy of this memorandum is forwarded to Accounts Payable requesting a charge be made to the appropriate departmental account and a check issued to purchase the returned check(s). Once the returned check(s) has been redeemed they are forwarded back to the department for collection activity. Students are notified by certified mail of the returned item(s). University student records remain frozen until the debt has been satisfied. When an insufficient check is received by a University employee, the employee will be notified by telephone, or email within 24 hours. Upon notification, the employee will have five (5) business days to satisfy the insufficient funds.
If the employee does not satisfy the insufficient funds within the original five (5) business days, an official letter will be generated to notify the employee they have five (5) additional days to satisfy the insufficient funds with the University CashierĂs Office or further collection methods will be taken to garnish wages according to the State Employees Debt Collection Act (SEDCA) and the Set Off Debt Collection Act (SODCA).
Outstanding amounts are considered to be past due ninety days after incurred or after the last day of any semester/term. Accounts ninety days or more past due with balances of $100.00 or greater are referred to the Attorney General's Office for collection. Accounts of $50.00 or greater are referred to an outside state contracted collection agency. Accounts of $50.00 or more that are ninety days delinquent are also turned over annually to the State Department of Revenue for matching against N.C. income tax refunds. Delinquent balances of $49.99 or less and ninety days or more past due are considered uncollectible and placed in a holding account to be written off at fiscal year-end. Students with past due financial obligations are not allowed to register for the next semester/term or receive transcripts. Student records remain tagged until the financial obligation is satisfied.
A list of student accounts receivable will be drawn up to include all accounts ninety (90) or more days delinquent with unpaid balances outstanding of $5.00 or greater. This itemized list will identify the following: 1) student's name and last known address; 2) social security number; 3) past due dollar amount; 4) date incurred; 5) reason, and; 6) status of the account (i.e.,Attorney General (A.G.), collection agency (C.A.) write off (W.O.). From this list, a listing following the above-referenced guidelines will be compiled, identifying delinquent student accounts receivable with outstanding balances of $100.00 or greater, to be referred to the Attorney General's Office for collection assistance. Further collection activity on these accounts will be at the direction of the Attorney General's Office. Next, a list identifying delinquent student accounts with balances of $50.00 or greater will be drawn up as previously outlined to be referred to an outside state-contracted collection agency. At the end of twelve (12) months, if collection efforts are unsuccessful, these accounts will be withdrawn and written off as uncollectible by fiscal year-end. Finally, a list identifying past- due student accounts with outstanding balances of $5.00 but less than $50.00 will be compiled, along with a request to write off these accounts as uncollectible. Before June 30 of each fiscal year a request will be forwarded to the University Comptroller's Office for a disbursement to liquidate the balance in the revenue holding account 0-10105-1333 (uncollectible accounts) along with any student accounts with balances of $4.99 or less identified at that point in time as an operating loss. The above-noted steps in handling and disposing of student accounts ninety (90) days or more past-due will occur no less than quarterly to comply with State and University policies and procedures. Student records remain tagged until the financial obligation is satisfied.
Debtors to the University with debts of $50.00 or greater and in arrears of ninety (90) days or more must be listed annually with the North Carolina Department of Revenue for potential set off against their North Carolina individual income tax refunds. Also, a listing of debtors to the University, regardless of the dollar amount owed, is to be submitted annually to the Office of State Budget and Management to cross check and determine if any debtors are employed by the State of North Carolina.
Set Off Debt Collection Act (G.S. 105A/Administrative Memorandum, Number 127, dated October 30, 1979) states that on or before December 1 of each year, a list of former student debtors to the University with outstanding delinquent balances of $50.00 or greater and ninety (90) days or more in arrears will be submitted to the North Carolina Department of Revenue. This list must be labeled to show the following information: 1) name and address of claimant agency; 2) agency code; and 3) code identifying list as initial or update. Debtor information required: 1) social security number; 2) full name; 3) amount of indebtedness; 4) expiration date (if applicable). When a match is identified, a notice is sent back to the University advising the taxpayer's name, social security number, address and amount of the tax refund. The University then sends a letter to the debtor advising them that if 1) the indebtedness is not retired within thirty (30) days, or 2) a satisfactory repayment schedule established, or 3) a written notice of disagreement of the claim submitted to the University within thirty (30) days, the University will request the N.C. of Revenue to disburse the appropriate portion of the refund to be applied toward the indebtedness (copy of letter sent to N.C. Department of Revenue). If no satisfactory response received from the debtor, the original form received from the department of revenue is signed, dated and resubmitted for payment. State Employee Debt Collection Act (G.S. Chapter 143, Article 60/ratified bill reference Article 59) states that on or before December 31 of each year, a listing of former students, regardless of dollars owed, is compiled and forwarded to the Office of State Budget and Management (this information must be submitted on tape and according to specific instructions; refer to Cashier's Office Operations Manual for greater detail). They will cross reference the debtor list with a current listing of employees of the State of North Carolina. When a match is identified, a computer generated listing identifying the state employee by social security number, name and agency of employment is remitted to the University. The University Cashier's Office will then forward a letter to the debtor notifying them of the indebtedness and possible actions that may be taken under S.E.D.C.A. (Refer to Cashier's Office Operations Manual for greater detail.)
In summary, the policies and procedures of the University Cashier's Office are governed by the Board of Trustees of East Carolina University, The University of North Carolina General Administration, the laws and statutes of the State of North Carolina, the federal government, banking regulations and established accounting practices.
The University has a cash management plan to which all collection centers must adhere. The cash management plan stipulates the procedures for both collection and investment of funds. The University Cashier's Office is the central collection unit for all such funds belonging to the University. All funds received by other departments are turned into the Cashier's Office. Pre-numbered receipts are issued to other collection centers to use in the receipt of funds. In addition, all students who pay tuition and fees must pay them in the Cashier's Office in order for such fees to be reflected on students' accounts receivable system and an official Individual Class Schedule/Receipt generated.
The University maintains a blanket honesty bond for all employees which has a $1,000,000 coverage per incident with $10,000 deductible. This covers money, securities and materials.
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Questions
about this policy should be directed to the specific department. Questions
about the ECU Business Manual publication may be directed
to: Business Services Marketing Division of Administration and Finance (252) 737-1310 e-mail: craiglel@ecu.edu |
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