Paper tuition-refund checks are no longer produced for students at the University of St. Thomas.
Pam Peterson, director of the Business Office, reminds students that per the announcement last winter, with the efficiency and cost effectiveness of electronic disbursement and faster availability of funds for students, paper refund checks have been eliminated beginning this academic year. All refunds will be disbursed through the eRefund process.
According to Peterson, the Business Office has been processing electronic refunds (eRefunds) for a number of years, and has moved to this exclusive electronic method of disbursing student account credit balances to get students their money faster, improve operational efficiencies and reduce costs.
With the paper refund-check process, the Business Office mailed refund checks only once weekly on Friday afternoons; eRefunding delivers excess funds to students’ bank accounts on a daily basis. After receiving the check in the mail students would then have to find time to get to their banks and deposit them. This process took from two to 10 days before students had use of their money; eRefund eliminates this delay.
eRefund eliminates costs associated with paper check production, such as printing, handling and distributing paper checks, which are far greater than material and labor alone. The eRefund process also contributes to a positive environmental impact by reducing paper waste – not only the check but also the mailing envelope, accompanying inserts, and related deposit slips and receipts.
Last year the Business Office processed more than 13,000 student refunds worth more than $31 million. In the recent past, 70 percent of student refunds were done through the eRefund process and 30 percent were processed as paper checks.
With exclusive eRefunding, students have access to input, delete and update their refund profiles (bank account information) as needed – online anytime, anywhere.
The benefits of eRefunds:
- Swift – refund is in the student’s bank account faster
- Secure – no risk of loss, delay or checks stolen in the mail
- Confidential – no need to share bank account data with the university
- Convenient – no trip to the bank to deposit refund checks
The Business Office urges students who have not yet done so to go to the eBilling and ePayment suite to enter their banking information to ensure that they are prepared for any refund of excess funds from their student accounts this academic year.
Click here for step-by-step instructions on entering and managing eRefund banking information. For more information call the Business Office, (651) 962-6607, or visit the Business Office eRefund website.
