Setting Up Payment Plans

This chapter lists common elements and discusses how to:

Set up deferral contracts.
Set up payment plan contracts.
Set up third-party contracts.
Set up collection agreements.

Common Elements Used in This Chapter

Status

Enter the status of the contract.

Active: Select to make the contract available for use.

Cancelled: Select to cancel the contract.

Note. Hold: Select to prevent new students from being added to the contract, but not to discontinue its use completely.

Inactive: Select this option to discontinue use of the contract.

Billing Cycle

Select the billing cycle for the payment plan.

Bi-Monthly: Select to bill students every other month.

Monthly: Select to bill students each month.

One Time: Select to bill students only once.

User Selected: Select to specify billing and due dates rather than having the system generate the schedules.

Weekly: Select to bill students weekly.

Setting Up Deferral Contracts

To set up deferral contracts, use the Create Deferral Contract component (DEFERRAL_CONTRACT).

This section discusses how to:

Define basic deferral contract parameters.
Define deferral contract administrative fees.
Define deferral contract eligible charges and maximum amounts.

Pages Used to Set Up Deferral Contracts

Page Name	Object Name	Navigation	Usage
Deferral Contract	DEFER_CONTRACT	Student Financials, Payment Plans, Create Deferral Contract, Deferral Contract	Define basic deferral contract parameters.
Deferral Contract Fee	DEFER_CONTRACT_FEE	Student Financials, Payment Plans, Create Deferral Contract, Deferral Contract Fee	Define deferral contract administrative fees.
Deferral Contract Charges	DEFER_CONTRACT	Student Financials, Payment Plans, Create Deferral Contract, Deferral Contract Charges	Define deferral contract eligible charges and maximum amounts.

Defining Basic Deferral Contract Parameters

Access the Deferral Contract page.

Term

Select the term to which the contract applies.

Tree Name

Select the item type tree name that includes the charge item types that you cover under this plan.

Student Max (student maximum)

Enter the maximum amount you want to allow any one student to defer under the contract. Be sure to set this amount high enough to meet your needs. The system does not defer eligible charges that cause the deferred amount to exceed the student maximum. For example, if the student maximum is 10,000 USD and the system already deferred 8,500 USD, it rejects a new eligible charge of 2,000 USD because the total exceeds the defined maximum.

From Date and To Date

Set the date range for the deferral contract. The system defers only eligible charges posted to the student’s account within this range.

Due Date/Days and Bill Date/Days

Set the time unit used to calculate the payment’s due date and bill date. Options are:

Due Date: If you select this option, the Defer Date field becomes available.

Due Days: If you select this option, the Defer Days field becomes available.

Defer Days

If you select Due Days in the Due Date/Days and Bill Date/Days fields, enter the number of days from the transaction’s effective date that the system defers the due date and bill date.

Defer Date

If you select Due Date in the Due Date/Days field, set the date the payment is due and the date that you want it billed regardless of the charge effective date.

Copy Contracts

Click the Copy button to copy an existing deferral contract as the basis of a new deferral contract. You may copy all contract setup information except for Term and Date information.

Access the Copy Contract page.

New Contract Number

Enter a new number for the copied contract.

If ‘Auto Number’ is ‘ON’ on SF Business Unit payment plan contract set up page, NEXT is automatically assigned as New Contract Number. You may change the Contract Number.

Description

Enter a description for the copied contract.

Copy All Values

Select this check box to copy all other related contract information from the previous contract.

Enter the desired information and click Save. You are returned to the Deferral Contract page where you can modify the new contract information as desired.

Defining Deferral Contract Administrative Fees

Access the Deferral Contract Fee page.

Assessment Fee

Enter the amount of the administrative fee you want to charge for this contract.

Account Type

Select the account type designated for payment plans.

Assess Item Type

Select the item type of the assessment fee.

Due Date/Days and Bill Date/Days

Define the parameters for calculating the due date for the assessment fee.

Use

Select how you want to calculate the due date and bill date for the assessment fee.

Due Date: Select to specify a specific date for the assessment fee to be due and billed. When you select this option, the Due Date field becomes available.

Due Days: Select to make the assessment fee due and billed a certain number of days after it is assessed. When select this option, the Due after Days field becomes available.

Due after Days

In both the Due Date/Days and Bill Date/Days group boxes, enter the number of days after the system posts the assessment fee that it becomes due and is billed.

Due Date

In both the Due Date/Days and Bill Date/Days group boxes, enter the actual date that you want the assessment fee due and billed.

Defining Deferral Contract Eligible Charges and Maximum Amounts

Access the Deferral Contract Charges page.

Offset Charge Info

Fields in this group box are not available for deferral contracts.

Eligible Charge Parameters

Line# (line number)

This field automatically populates as you add new charge nodes.

Tree Node

Select the item type tree node to designate charges covered under this contract.

Max Amount (maximum amount)

Enter the maximum amount that can be deferred under the corresponding tree node. Be sure to set this amount high enough to meet your needs. Eligible charges are selected for deferment on an individual basis and the sum of charges within the node must not exceed the maximum amount.

For example, using the previous setup, suppose a student has tuition charges of 1,500 USD and 3,800 USD, and a housing charge of 4,900 USD. Because the total of the tuition charges exceeds the maximum amount of 5,000 USD, the system defers only one of the tuition charges. The housing charge is within the maximum amount limit and the combined total of the single tuition charge and housing charge does not go over the student maximum amount allowing both to be deferred.

Setting Up Payment Plan Contracts

To set up payment plan contracts, use the Create Payment Plan component (TP_PAYMENT_PLAN).

This section discusses how to:

Define basic payment plan contract parameters.
Define payment plan type, eligible charges, and time frame.
Define payment plan item types. Define self service options.
Define payment plan administrative fees.

Pages Used to Set Up Payment Plan Contracts

Page Name	Object Name	Navigation	Usage
Payment Plan 1	TP_PAYMENT_PLAN	Student Financials, Payment Plans, Create Payment Plan, Payment Plan 1	Define basic payment plan contract parameters.
Payment Plan 2	TP_PAYMENT_PLAN3	Student Financials, Payment Plans, Create Payment Plan, Payment Plan 2	Define payment plan type, eligible charges, and time frame.
Payment Plan Item Type	TP_PAYMENT_PLN2	Student Financials, Payment Plans, Create Payment Plan, Payment Plan Item Type	Define payment plan item types.
Self Service Options	SSF_TP_PMT_PLAN4	Student Financials, Payment Plans, Create Payment Plan, Self Service Options	Define self-service options.
Payment Plan Fee	TP_CONTRACT_ASSESS	Student Financials, Payment Plans, Create Payment Plan, Payment Plan Fee	Define payment plan administrative fees.

Defining Basic Payment Plan Parameters

Access the Payment Plan 1 page.

Description

Enter a description. This will also display in Self Service Enroll in a Payment Plan.

Pay Plan Type

Define how the system credits payments made to this plan.

Credit the Original Account: Select to credit all eligible charges and create a new payment plan charge.

Create Billing Entries: This option should not be used with any of the three payment plans.

Status

Specify whether the payment plan contract is Active or Inactive. You can change the status of a contract to Inactive regardless of the status of any students associated with it.

Note. You should change the contract status to Inactive on any calculated payment plans for previous terms. This enhances performance because of the way the system automatically recalculates active contracts. An active contract is one for which both the contract and student status have a value of Active, and the last date of the contract is greater than the current system date. When the system recalculates contracts for a student, it evaluates all active contracts for that student. You do not need to set the student status to Inactive to receive this performance benefit as long as you have set the appropriate contract status to Inactive.

Total Budget Amt (total budget amount)

This should be defined in conjunction with all eligible charges. Enter the maximum amount of installment payments a student can make through the payment plan account. Carefully consider all eligible charges when you establish this figure to make sure it is high enough to cover all the intended costs.

For lump sum plans, the total budget amount becomes the default lump sum amount. You can adjust this amount for each student linked to the plan.

First Bill Date

Set the date on which you generate the first bill for the payment plan. The system uses the first bill date and the billing cycle to set the billing dates for the duration of the payment plan. You can override this setting for each student linked to the plan.

Note. The billing program does not acknowledge the Payment Plan until on or after the first bill date specified. For example, if your first bill date is set for November 16 and you run your billing process on the 15th, the system does not process Payment Plan billing until the next run.

Payment Due Days

Specify the number of days after the bill date that the payment is due.

Number of Payments

Enter the number of payments (installments) that students must make to pay off the plan. The system uses the information in this field as the default value. You can override the number of payments for each student linked to the plan.

Term

This field is required for calculated payment plans. Enter the term that the system posts on the payment plan credit and the installments.

This field is optional for existing and lump-sum payment plans.

Last Date

Enter the last date that charges can be added or adjusted and still be picked up by the plan.

Service Impact

Specify the service impact that would prevent enrollment into the Payment Plan.

Prevents enrollment into the payment plan through Batch Assignment, Assign Page and Self Service.

Plan Type

Select the value of the HR Plan Type that applies to the Payroll Deduction Code.

Payroll Deduction

Enter the code of the payroll deduction that applies to the payment plan account.

Note. Assigning a payroll deduction code to a payment plan is necessary only if you plan to restrict payroll deductions to apply to payment plan accounts.

Copy Contracts

Click the Copy button to copy an existing payment plan contract as the basis of a new payment plan contract. You may copy all contract setup information except for Term and Date information.

Access the Copy Contract page.

Enter the desired information and click Save. You are returned to the Payment Plan 1 page where you can modify the new contract information as desired.

See Also

Setting Up Payroll Deduction

Defining Payment Plan Type, Eligible Charges, and Time Frame

Access the Payment Plan 2 page.

Plan Type

Select the plan type from the following values:

Calculated: Select to determine which charges to include based on the rules you define on this page. If you use this option, each time you calculate or recalculate the payment plan, the system picks up all eligible charges and adds them to the plan balance. You can also use the Calculate Real Time option to have the contract recalculated each time there is an eligible change to the student’s account. Available for Self Service Enroll in a Payment Plan.

Existing: Select to manually choose which charges to include in each student's payment plan at the time you add the student to the plan.

Note. When you choose the Existing value, the rest of the fields (with the exception of Calculate Real Time) become unavailable.

Lump Sum: Select to create a payment plan for a fixed amount. This is the most basic type of plan and is useful for students who do not expect there to be any changes in their account, and know just how much they need to finance. Available for Self Service Enroll in a Payment Plan.

Note. When you select the Lump Sum option, the Lump Sum Amount field becomes available and all other fields on the page become unavailable.

Maximum Amount

The value for the maximum amount is set by default from the Total Budget Amount and can be overridden, if needed. This field is available with calculated payment plans only.

Lump Sum Amount

Enter the lump sum amount you want the contract to cover. The default value for this field is the Total Budget Amt value established on the Payment Plan 1 page. You can override this value, but cannot exceed the total budget amount limit. This field is available with lump sum payment plans only.

Item Type Group

Select the item type group that includes all of the charges to be included in the payment plan. This field is available with calculated payment plans only.

Offset Item Type Group

Select the offset item type group that includes payments and/or financial aid that the system uses to offset charges and thereby reduce the amount of the payment plan. This field is available with calculated payment plans only.

Term and Offset Term

In these group boxes, enter the range of terms for which the system includes charges and offsetting credits in the payment plan. These fields are available with calculated payment plans only.

Charge Date and Charge Offset Date

In these group boxes, specify when charges and offsetting credits may be added to or adjusted in the payment plan. These fields are available with calculated payment plans only.

Add	Specify the earliest date to include charges and/or offsetting credits in the payment plan.
Adjust	Specify the last date you can adjust the payment plan for new charges or a reduction in charges and/or offsetting credits.

Anticipated Aid Term/Date

Enter the range of terms for which the system considers anticipated aid. These fields are available for the calculated payment plan, but not required.

From and To	Enter the earliest term and latest term for which the system considers anticipated aid.
Anticipated Aid Date	Enter the date that the system uses to determine if anticipated aid is eligible. If this date is less than the current system date, the system disregards anticipated aid when it calculates the payment plan contract.

Calculate Real Time Check Box

Calculate Real Time

Select to automatically calculate payment plan charges whenever a change is made to eligible charges. This option affects all students associated with the plan, but you can override it at the student level. If you do not select this option, you must calculate payment plan agreements in batch mode.

Defining Payment Plan Item Types

Access the Payment Plan Item Type page.

Adjustment Option

Specify how the system distributes changes to payment plan installments. See Increasing Payment Plan Contract Installments and Decreasing Payment Plan Contract Installments below for detailed information on this field and its values.

Extra Payments Option

Specify how the system applies payments that exceed the amount billed.

All Bills: Select to reduce the amount due in equal portions across all remaining bills.

First Bill: Select to reduce the amount of the next bill by the amount of the excess payment. If the excess is greater than the amount of the next bill, the system applies it to remaining bills in the order due.

Last Bill: Select to apply the excess amounts to the final bill of the contract.

Account Type

Select the account type that you have defined for the plan.

Charge Item Type

Select the charge item type. This creates the installment charges on the payment plan account.

Note. If this field is not available, change the payment plan type on the Payment Plan 1 page to Credit Original Account.

Billing Item Type

This field is not available for use with this type of payment plan. If the field is available, change the Payment Plan Type on the Payment Plan 1 page to Credit Original Account.

Payment Item Type

Select the payment item type used to credit the tuition and fees covered by the payment plan.

Note. If this field is not available, change the Payment Plan Type on the Payment Plan 1 page to Credit Original Account.

Note. How you set up the account types and item types you use with your payment plans significantly affects the way the plan works. How you define your account types determines how charges and payments display on the student’s account. Item type setup controls how charges and payments are applied. Test your setup using different configurations to find what works best for your situation.

Increasing Payment Plan Contract Installments

Anytime you add a new eligible charge to a payment plan contract or decrease a payment offset for a contract, the amount of the payment plan contract increases. When this happens, the system must distribute this increase to one or all of the payment plan contract installments.

For calculated payment plan contracts, the Adjustment Option field value determines how the system distributes increases to installments.

Adjust Equally: Distributes increases equally among the unbilled installments.
Adjust Last: Adds increases to the last unbilled installment.
Adjust First: Adds increases to the first unbilled installment.
Do Not Adjust: Does not allow increases.

Note. If all installments have been billed, you cannot increase the payment plan contract, regardless of the adjustment option. In addition, these adjustment options apply only if you have billed at least one installment. If no billing has occurred, the system adjusts equally by default.

For existing payment plan contracts, when you click the Calculate button, the system distributes increases equally among all installments. This happens regardless of the selected adjustment option or whether you have billed any installments. You can use the Payment Distribution page to manually update the installment amounts before posting.

Decreasing Payment Plan Contract Installments

Anytime you reverse or reduce an eligible charge from a payment plan contract, or increase a payment offset for a contract, the amount of the payment plan contract decreases. When this happens, the system must distribute this decrease to the payment plan contract installments. Student Financials does not allow payment plan credits to have an unapplied balance. This means that unlike payment plan contract increases, payment plan contract decreases cannot be prevented. Even if all of the payment plan contract installments have been billed, or the payment plan is inactive, or the last adjustment date has passed, the system must adjust the installments whenever a payment plan contract amount decreases.

Similarly to payment plan increases, the Adjustment Option field value determines how the system distributes decreases to installments. Because an individual installment can never be less than 0.00, however, the adjustment option rules don’t always apply in exactly the same way that they do with payment plan contract increases. When the total amount of a payment plan contract decrease is greater than the amount of each individual installment, the adjustment option provides a starting point for the system to apply decreases.

Adjust First: Adjusts installments in ascending item number order.
Adjust Last: Adjusts installments in descending item number order.
Do Not Adjust: Adjusts installments in descending item number order.
Adjust Equally: Divides the adjustment amount equally across all installments.

If there are no unbilled installments for a payment plan contract decrease, or the total of the unbilled installments is less than the total decrease, the system adjusts installments in the following order using the starting point designated by the adjustment option:

Unbilled and unpaid installments.
Unbilled and paid installments.
Billed and unpaid installments.
Billed and paid installments.

For example, a payment plan contract with an adjustment option of Adjust Last has two unbilled installments of 200.00 USD each and undergoes a decrease of 500.00 USD. The system cannot apply the entire decrease to the last unbilled installment because that would bring the installment to an amount less than 0.00 USD, so it subtracts 200.00 USD from the last unbilled installment, and with the remaining 300.00 USD, moves to the next to last unbilled installment. Again, it can apply only 200.00 USD to the installment, leaving an unapplied balance of 100.00 USD. The system subtracts this unapplied balance to one of the billed installments according to the order given above.

Defining Self Service Options

Access the Self Service Options page.

Use the Self Service Options page to set up self service options.

This self-service component allows the student to link their charges to a specified payment plan. Only the calculated and lump sum payment plans are available for the self service Enroll in a Payment Plan functionality.

If the student wants to revoke permission, this can only be done by the administrator, not via Self Service by the student.

Allow Self Service Enrollment	Select this check box to enable self-service enrollment in the payment plan.
Self Service Description	Enter a useful summary of the payment plan. This will be displayed to the student.
Student Group	To limit self service enrollment to a specific group of sutdents, indicate a student group.
Self Service Start Date	Specificy a start date for self–service enrollment.
Self Service End Date	Specificy an end date for self–service enrollment. An edit is performed to check that the Billing Date is equal or greater than the Self Service End Date.
Limit Amt to Eligible Charges	Select the check box to allow the student to change the amount limit on current eligible charges (lump sum).
Allow Change in Amount	Select the check box to allow the student to change the contract amount.
Allow Change in Installments	Select the check box to allow the student to change the number of installments.
Minimum Amount	Indicate a minimum amount for the payment plan. A student's eligible charges must be greater than this amont. If not, the eligible plan will not be displayed.

Defining Payment Plan Administrative Fees

Access the Payment Plan Fee page.

Type of Assessment

Select the type of assessment. You can leave this field blank if you do not want to assess a fee. When you leave the field blank, all of the other fields on the page become unavailable. If the majority of the students associated with this payment plan should be assessed a fee, select one of the following options. When linking each student to the payment plan you can waive the fee on an individual basis.

Monthly Interest Rate: Select to charge interest calculated monthly against the outstanding balance in the plan. When you choose this option, you must also set a monthly interest rate.

Note. This option is not available with calculated payment plans.

Payment Plan Fee: Select to assess a fixed amount fee. If you select this option, the Payment Plan Fee, Assessment Fee Split, and the Assessment Item Type fields become available.

Percentage of Payment Plan: Select to assess a fee based on a percentage of the plan’s initial balance. If you select this option, the Percentage of Payment Plan, Assessment Fee Split, and the Assessment Item Type fields become available.

Payment Plan Fee

Enter an optional flat amount payment plan fee if your institution assesses a flat fee for payment plans. This field is available only if you select Payment Plan Fee in the Type of Assessment field.

Percentage of Payment Plan

Enter the percent amount you want the system to use when you select Percentage of Payment Plan in the Type of Assessment field.

Monthly Interest Rate

Enter a monthly interest rate you want to charge when you select Monthly Interest Rate in the Type of Assessment field.

Assessment Fee Split

Select how you want to split the assessment fee. This field is available only if you select Payment Plan Fee or Percentage of Payment Plan in the Type of Assessment field.

Add to first installment: Select to apply the entire assessment fee to the first payment of the contract.

Add to last installment: Select to apply the entire assessment fee to the last payment of the contract.

Split over all installments: Select to divide and apply the assessment fee equally over all payments.

Assessment Item Type

Select the item type that you want to use for the assessment fee.

Setting Up Third-Party Contracts

To set up third-party contracts, use the Create Third Party Contract component (TP_CONTRACT).

This section discusses how to:

Define basic third-party contract parameters.
Define third-party contract item types.
Define third-party contract transfer parameters.

Pages Used to Set Up a Third-Party Contract

Page Name	Object Name	Navigation	Usage
Third Party Contract	TP_CONTRACT	Student Financials, Payment Plans, Create Third Party Contract, Third Party Contract	Define basic third-party contract parameters.
Third Party Item Types	TP_CONTRACT_ITEM	Student Financials, Payment Plans, Create Third Party Contract, Third Party Item Types	Define third-party contract item types.
Third Party Charges	TP_CONTRACT_CHRG	Student Financials, Payment Plans, Create Third Party Contract, Third Party Charges	Define third-party contract transfer parameters.

Defining Basic Third-Party Contract Parameters

Access the Third Party Contract page.

Description

Enter a description for the third-party contract. This field is required.

External Org ID (external organization ID)

Select the ID for the contract sponsor.

Contract Priority

Enter a contract priority value if a student is linked to more than one third-party contract. This establishes an order for the contracts to apply.

Contact Type

Select the Type for the contact person at the organization. You define the contact type at the same time you define the organization ID.

Ext. Contract (external contract)

Enter the sponsor’s contract number in this field. This value can be used as a reference number.

Contract Max (contract maximum)

Specify a contract maximum amount. This is the maximum dollar amount that the sponsor provides for all sponsored students combined. This amount cannot be adjusted after students are linked to a contract.

Student Max (student maximum)

Specify a student maximum amount. This is the maximum amount that the sponsor provides for any one sponsored student. This amount cannot be adjusted after students are linked to a contract.

Charge Tree

Select the charge tree (item type tree) that you want to use to define which charges the contract covers.

Last Date

Specify the last date that charges can be adjusted. This date cannot be adjusted after students are linked to a contract.

Delivery Code and Requisition Nbr (requisition number)

Enter a delivery code and/or requisition number if provided by the sponsor. These values can be used as a reference number.

Service Impact

Specify the service impact that would prevent enrollment into the third-party contract, through individual assignment or batch assignment.

Copy Contracts

Click the Copy button to copy an existing third party contract as the basis of a new third party contract. You may copy all contract setup information except for Term and Date information.

Access the Copy Contract page.

Enter the desired information and click Save. You are returned to the Third Party Contract page where you can modify the new contract information as desired.

Defining Third-Party Item Types

Access the Third Party Item Types page.

Account Type

Select the account type for third-party contract charges.

Charge Item Type

Select the item type for third-party contract charges that will appear on the corporate account and invoice.

Discount Item Type

If you want to allow discounts to third-party contract sponsors, select the item type you have set up to credit against eligible charges. For example, if you have a local corporation that provides tuition sponsorship for dozens of employees each year, you can offer them a discount.

This item type number is the default value for all discounts associated with this contract, but you can override and specify a different item type for each eligible node.

Not recommended for use on a Date Range contract.

Credit Account Type

Select the account type that the system uses for credits to the customer’s account.

Credit Item Type

Select the item type that the system uses for credits to the customer.

Contract Type

Select from the following values:

Specific Course: Reserved for future use.

Specific Course List: Select to apply the contract to a specific list of courses. When you select this option, the Term and Course List fields become available.

Note. If you are using term fees and your third party contract is set up with a Course List, then the applicable term fee must have Track Class Pricing on.

Specific Term: Select to apply the contract to charges assessed to the student within a specific term. When you select this option, the Term field becomes available.

Note. You cannot populate offset item group if you use this option.

Specific Year or Period: Select to apply the contract to charges assessed to the student within a particular academic year or specified period of time. When you select this option, the Academic Year, Start Date, and End Date fields become available.

Not recommended for use on a Date Range contract.

Date Type

When you have selected Specific Year or Period in the Contract Type field, you must also set the time period to which the third-party contract applies.

Academic Year: Select to apply the contract to apply to a full academic year. If you select this option, the Academic Year field becomes available.

Course List: This option is not available.

Date Range: If you select this option, the Start Date and End Date fields become available. Enter the start date and end date to specify the date range to which the contract applies.

Term Year: This option is not available.

Term

Specify the academic term to which the contract applies.

Academic Year

Select the academic year to which the contract applies.

Start Date and End Date

Specify a start date and end date for the period for which the contract applies.

Course List

Select the course list to which the contract applies. This course list applies to all students attached to the contract, but you can override it at the student level if necessary.

Note. When using a course list with a third-party contract, there are particular setup issues related to term fees.

Setting Up Tuition Groups

Setting Up Term Fee Codes

Defining Third-Party Charge Transfers

Access the Third Party Charges page.

Offset Charge Info

Item Type Group

Select an item type group that the system uses to offset charges covered by the contract. For example, you can apply all financial aid to the student’s account before transferring eligible charges to the sponsor.

Note. If your school uses the payment priority flag option in the setup of these item types, you may not want to define any offset charge item type groups. The preferred method is to use the payment priority flag option.

Term From and Term To

Specify a term range for offsetting charges. You can limit the range to just one term by entering it in both fields.

Eligible Charges

Line# (line number)	This field automatically populates as you add new charge nodes.
Tree Node	Select a tree node from the item type tree that includes all charge item types you want to cover with the third-party contract.
Max Amount (maximum amount)	Define a maximum amount that you can apply to pay off the charges belonging to the corresponding tree node.
Charge % (charge percentage)	Specify the percentage of the eligible charge that the system transfers to the sponsor. This percentage amount is limited by the maximum amount. For example, if the student has eligible tuition charges of 8,000 USD and a sponsor has agreed to pay 50% of the charges up to a maximum amount of 3,000 USD, the system transfers only 3,000 USD to the sponsor.
Charge Item Type	Select the charge item type that the system uses to apply charges to the sponsor’s account.
Discount % (discount percentage)	If you want to give a discount to the third-party contract sponsor, enter a discount percentage in this field. Note. Discounts are intended to move a portion of a charge to a sponsor account and a portion of a charge to a discount account. At no time should 100% of the charges be moved to the discount account. WAIVE the fee to facilitate this type of transaction.
Discount Item Type	The value in this field is set by default from the discount item type selection you made on the Third Party Item Types setup page. You can override this value for each eligible charge.
Include Tax	Select to transfer all tax charges associated with an eligible charge to the sponsor. When you select this check box, the Tax Item Type field becomes available.
Tax Item Type	Select the item type that applies tax charges to the sponsor’s account.

Setting Up Collection Agreements

To set up collection agreements, use the Collection Agreement component (COLL_AGREEMENT).

This section discusses how to:

Define basic collection agreement parameters.
Define collection agreement administrative fees.

Note. You may only set up a collection agreement for a customer whose account includes items in the collection process.

See Also

Collecting Receivables

Pages Used to Set Up a Collection Agreement

Page Name	Object Name	Navigation	Usage
Collection Agreement	COLL_AGREEMENT	Student Financials, Collections, Collection Agreement	Define basic collection agreement parameters.
Collection Agreement Assess	TP_CONTRACT_ASSESS	Student Financials, Collections, Collection Agreement, Collection Agreement Assess	Define collection agreement administrative fees.
Payment Distribution	TP_PPLN_QCK_POST	Student Financials, Collections, Collection Agreement, Payment Distribution	Confirm collection agreement payment schedules.

Defining Basic Collection Agreement Parameters

Access the Collection Agreement page.

First Bill Date

Select the date you generate the first bill for the collection agreement. The system uses the first bill date and the billing cycle to set the billing dates for the duration of the collection agreement.

Note. The billing program does not acknowledge the collection agreement until on or after the first bill date specified. For example, if your first bill date is set for November 16 and you run your billing process on the 15th, the system does not process the collection agreement billing until the next run.

Payments

Enter the number of payments that students must make to pay off the collection agreement.

Pay Plan Type

Use this field to define how the system credits payments made to this collection agreement.

Credit the Original Account: Select to credit all eligible charges and create a new collection agreement charge.

Create Billing Entries: Do not use this option with this type of plan.

Amount

Displays the amount of past due debt to be covered by the collection agreement after you select the check box next to a line item in the bottom scroll area of the page.

Account Type

Select the account type defined for the agreement.

Reference Number

Enter an optional reference number for each student on a particular contract. The reference number entry is for information purposes only.

Due after Days

Specify the number of days after the bill date that the payment is due.

Adjustment Option

Select an adjustment option.

Adjust Equally: Select to apply adjustments made to the collection agreement equally across all remaining payments.

Adjust First Bill: Select to apply adjustments made to the collection agreement to the plan's next bill.

Adjust Last Bill: Select to apply adjustments made to the collection agreement to the plan's final bill.

Do not Adjust: Select to prevent any adjustment from being made to the collection agreement.

Item Type

Select the item type that creates the charge the student is paying off.

Pay Item Type

Select the pay item type used to pay off the past due charges covered by the collection agreement.

Calculating and Posting the Collection Agreement

Before calculating and posting the collection agreement, you should complete the Collection Agreement Contract Assessment page. After completing this page, return to the collection agreement page to calculate and post the collection agreement.

Calculate	Click to calculate the amount of the collections agreement charges.
Post	Click to post the collection agreement charges. After the agreement is posted, the word “Paid” appears to the left of all items included in the agreement.
Rev (reverse)	After you post the collection agreement, this check box becomes available. Select it and re-post the collection agreement to reverse the agreement and return the student’s account to the original state.
Display Error/Warning	Click to view error and/or warning messages.

Defining Collection Agreement Administrative Fees

Access the Collection Agreement Assess page.

Type of Assessment

Select the type of assessment. You can leave this field blank if you do not want to assess a fee. When you leave the field blank, all of the other fields on the page become unavailable. If you want to assess a fee, select one of the following options:

Monthly Interest Rate: Select to charge interest calculated monthly against the outstanding balance in the plan. When you choose this option, you must also set a monthly interest rate.

Payment Plan Fee: Select to assess a fixed amount fee. If you select this option, the Payment Plan Fee, the Assessment Fee Split, and the Assessment Item Type fields become available.

Percentage of Payment Plan: Select to assess a fee based on a percentage of the plan’s initial balance. If you select this option, the Percentage of Payment Plan, Assessment Fee Split, and the Assessment Item Type fields become available.

Payment Plan Fee

Enter the payment plan fee dollar amount. You can enter this amount as a flat amount only, not as a percentage or interest rate.

Assessment Fee Split

Determine the assessment fee split.

Add to first payment: Select to apply the entire assessment fee to the first payment of the contract.

Add to last payment: Select to apply the entire assessment fee to the last payment of the contract.

Split over all payments: Select to divide and apply the assessment fee equally over all payments.

Percentage of Payment Plan

Enter the percentage of payment plan amount you want the system to use when you select Percentage of Payment Plan in the Type of Assessment field.

Monthly Interest Rate

Enter a monthly interest rate to charge when you select Monthly Interest Rate in the Type of Assessment field.

Assessment Item Type

Select the item type you want to use for the assessment fee.

Term	Select the term to which the contract applies.
Tree Name	Select the item type tree name that includes the charge item types that you cover under this plan.
Student Max (student maximum)	Enter the maximum amount you want to allow any one student to defer under the contract. Be sure to set this amount high enough to meet your needs. The system does not defer eligible charges that cause the deferred amount to exceed the student maximum. For example, if the student maximum is 10,000 USD and the system already deferred 8,500 USD, it rejects a new eligible charge of 2,000 USD because the total exceeds the defined maximum.
From Date and To Date	Set the date range for the deferral contract. The system defers only eligible charges posted to the student’s account within this range.
Due Date/Days and Bill Date/Days	Set the time unit used to calculate the payment’s due date and bill date. Options are: Due Date: If you select this option, the Defer Date field becomes available. Due Days: If you select this option, the Defer Days field becomes available.
Defer Days	If you select Due Days in the Due Date/Days and Bill Date/Days fields, enter the number of days from the transaction’s effective date that the system defers the due date and bill date.
Defer Date	If you select Due Date in the Due Date/Days field, set the date the payment is due and the date that you want it billed regardless of the charge effective date.

Assessment Fee	Enter the amount of the administrative fee you want to charge for this contract.
Account Type	Select the account type designated for payment plans.
Assess Item Type	Select the item type of the assessment fee.

Description	Enter a description. This will also display in Self Service Enroll in a Payment Plan.
Pay Plan Type	Define how the system credits payments made to this plan. Credit the Original Account: Select to credit all eligible charges and create a new payment plan charge. Create Billing Entries: This option should not be used with any of the three payment plans.
Status	Specify whether the payment plan contract is Active or Inactive. You can change the status of a contract to Inactive regardless of the status of any students associated with it. Note. You should change the contract status to Inactive on any calculated payment plans for previous terms. This enhances performance because of the way the system automatically recalculates active contracts. An active contract is one for which both the contract and student status have a value of Active, and the last date of the contract is greater than the current system date. When the system recalculates contracts for a student, it evaluates all active contracts for that student. You do not need to set the student status to Inactive to receive this performance benefit as long as you have set the appropriate contract status to Inactive.
Total Budget Amt (total budget amount)	This should be defined in conjunction with all eligible charges. Enter the maximum amount of installment payments a student can make through the payment plan account. Carefully consider all eligible charges when you establish this figure to make sure it is high enough to cover all the intended costs. For lump sum plans, the total budget amount becomes the default lump sum amount. You can adjust this amount for each student linked to the plan.
First Bill Date	Set the date on which you generate the first bill for the payment plan. The system uses the first bill date and the billing cycle to set the billing dates for the duration of the payment plan. You can override this setting for each student linked to the plan. Note. The billing program does not acknowledge the Payment Plan until on or after the first bill date specified. For example, if your first bill date is set for November 16 and you run your billing process on the 15th, the system does not process Payment Plan billing until the next run.
Payment Due Days	Specify the number of days after the bill date that the payment is due.
Number of Payments	Enter the number of payments (installments) that students must make to pay off the plan. The system uses the information in this field as the default value. You can override the number of payments for each student linked to the plan.
Term	This field is required for calculated payment plans. Enter the term that the system posts on the payment plan credit and the installments. This field is optional for existing and lump-sum payment plans.
Last Date	Enter the last date that charges can be added or adjusted and still be picked up by the plan.
Service Impact	Specify the service impact that would prevent enrollment into the Payment Plan. Prevents enrollment into the payment plan through Batch Assignment, Assign Page and Self Service.
Plan Type	Select the value of the HR Plan Type that applies to the Payroll Deduction Code.
Payroll Deduction	Enter the code of the payroll deduction that applies to the payment plan account. Note. Assigning a payroll deduction code to a payment plan is necessary only if you plan to restrict payroll deductions to apply to payment plan accounts.

Plan Type	Select the plan type from the following values: Calculated: Select to determine which charges to include based on the rules you define on this page. If you use this option, each time you calculate or recalculate the payment plan, the system picks up all eligible charges and adds them to the plan balance. You can also use the Calculate Real Time option to have the contract recalculated each time there is an eligible change to the student’s account. Available for Self Service Enroll in a Payment Plan. Existing: Select to manually choose which charges to include in each student's payment plan at the time you add the student to the plan. Note. When you choose the Existing value, the rest of the fields (with the exception of Calculate Real Time) become unavailable. Lump Sum: Select to create a payment plan for a fixed amount. This is the most basic type of plan and is useful for students who do not expect there to be any changes in their account, and know just how much they need to finance. Available for Self Service Enroll in a Payment Plan. Note. When you select the Lump Sum option, the Lump Sum Amount field becomes available and all other fields on the page become unavailable.
Maximum Amount	The value for the maximum amount is set by default from the Total Budget Amount and can be overridden, if needed. This field is available with calculated payment plans only.
Lump Sum Amount	Enter the lump sum amount you want the contract to cover. The default value for this field is the Total Budget Amt value established on the Payment Plan 1 page. You can override this value, but cannot exceed the total budget amount limit. This field is available with lump sum payment plans only.
Item Type Group	Select the item type group that includes all of the charges to be included in the payment plan. This field is available with calculated payment plans only.
Offset Item Type Group	Select the offset item type group that includes payments and/or financial aid that the system uses to offset charges and thereby reduce the amount of the payment plan. This field is available with calculated payment plans only.

Adjustment Option	Specify how the system distributes changes to payment plan installments. See Increasing Payment Plan Contract Installments and Decreasing Payment Plan Contract Installments below for detailed information on this field and its values.
Extra Payments Option	Specify how the system applies payments that exceed the amount billed. All Bills: Select to reduce the amount due in equal portions across all remaining bills. First Bill: Select to reduce the amount of the next bill by the amount of the excess payment. If the excess is greater than the amount of the next bill, the system applies it to remaining bills in the order due. Last Bill: Select to apply the excess amounts to the final bill of the contract.
Account Type	Select the account type that you have defined for the plan.
Charge Item Type	Select the charge item type. This creates the installment charges on the payment plan account. Note. If this field is not available, change the payment plan type on the Payment Plan 1 page to Credit Original Account.
Billing Item Type	This field is not available for use with this type of payment plan. If the field is available, change the Payment Plan Type on the Payment Plan 1 page to Credit Original Account.
Payment Item Type	Select the payment item type used to credit the tuition and fees covered by the payment plan. Note. If this field is not available, change the Payment Plan Type on the Payment Plan 1 page to Credit Original Account.

Type of Assessment	Select the type of assessment. You can leave this field blank if you do not want to assess a fee. When you leave the field blank, all of the other fields on the page become unavailable. If the majority of the students associated with this payment plan should be assessed a fee, select one of the following options. When linking each student to the payment plan you can waive the fee on an individual basis. Monthly Interest Rate: Select to charge interest calculated monthly against the outstanding balance in the plan. When you choose this option, you must also set a monthly interest rate. Note. This option is not available with calculated payment plans. Payment Plan Fee: Select to assess a fixed amount fee. If you select this option, the Payment Plan Fee, Assessment Fee Split, and the Assessment Item Type fields become available. Percentage of Payment Plan: Select to assess a fee based on a percentage of the plan’s initial balance. If you select this option, the Percentage of Payment Plan, Assessment Fee Split, and the Assessment Item Type fields become available.
Payment Plan Fee	Enter an optional flat amount payment plan fee if your institution assesses a flat fee for payment plans. This field is available only if you select Payment Plan Fee in the Type of Assessment field.
Percentage of Payment Plan	Enter the percent amount you want the system to use when you select Percentage of Payment Plan in the Type of Assessment field.
Monthly Interest Rate	Enter a monthly interest rate you want to charge when you select Monthly Interest Rate in the Type of Assessment field.
Assessment Fee Split	Select how you want to split the assessment fee. This field is available only if you select Payment Plan Fee or Percentage of Payment Plan in the Type of Assessment field. Add to first installment: Select to apply the entire assessment fee to the first payment of the contract. Add to last installment: Select to apply the entire assessment fee to the last payment of the contract. Split over all installments: Select to divide and apply the assessment fee equally over all payments.
Assessment Item Type	Select the item type that you want to use for the assessment fee.

Description	Enter a description for the third-party contract. This field is required.
External Org ID (external organization ID)	Select the ID for the contract sponsor.
Contract Priority	Enter a contract priority value if a student is linked to more than one third-party contract. This establishes an order for the contracts to apply.
Contact Type	Select the Type for the contact person at the organization. You define the contact type at the same time you define the organization ID.
Ext. Contract (external contract)	Enter the sponsor’s contract number in this field. This value can be used as a reference number.
Contract Max (contract maximum)	Specify a contract maximum amount. This is the maximum dollar amount that the sponsor provides for all sponsored students combined. This amount cannot be adjusted after students are linked to a contract.
Student Max (student maximum)	Specify a student maximum amount. This is the maximum amount that the sponsor provides for any one sponsored student. This amount cannot be adjusted after students are linked to a contract.
Charge Tree	Select the charge tree (item type tree) that you want to use to define which charges the contract covers.
Last Date	Specify the last date that charges can be adjusted. This date cannot be adjusted after students are linked to a contract.
Delivery Code and Requisition Nbr (requisition number)	Enter a delivery code and/or requisition number if provided by the sponsor. These values can be used as a reference number.
Service Impact	Specify the service impact that would prevent enrollment into the third-party contract, through individual assignment or batch assignment.

Account Type	Select the account type for third-party contract charges.
Charge Item Type	Select the item type for third-party contract charges that will appear on the corporate account and invoice.
Discount Item Type	If you want to allow discounts to third-party contract sponsors, select the item type you have set up to credit against eligible charges. For example, if you have a local corporation that provides tuition sponsorship for dozens of employees each year, you can offer them a discount. This item type number is the default value for all discounts associated with this contract, but you can override and specify a different item type for each eligible node. Not recommended for use on a Date Range contract.
Credit Account Type	Select the account type that the system uses for credits to the customer’s account.
Credit Item Type	Select the item type that the system uses for credits to the customer.
Contract Type	Select from the following values: Specific Course: Reserved for future use. Specific Course List: Select to apply the contract to a specific list of courses. When you select this option, the Term and Course List fields become available. Note. If you are using term fees and your third party contract is set up with a Course List, then the applicable term fee must have Track Class Pricing on. Specific Term: Select to apply the contract to charges assessed to the student within a specific term. When you select this option, the Term field becomes available. Note. You cannot populate offset item group if you use this option. Specific Year or Period: Select to apply the contract to charges assessed to the student within a particular academic year or specified period of time. When you select this option, the Academic Year, Start Date, and End Date fields become available. Not recommended for use on a Date Range contract.
Date Type	When you have selected Specific Year or Period in the Contract Type field, you must also set the time period to which the third-party contract applies. Academic Year: Select to apply the contract to apply to a full academic year. If you select this option, the Academic Year field becomes available. Course List: This option is not available. Date Range: If you select this option, the Start Date and End Date fields become available. Enter the start date and end date to specify the date range to which the contract applies. Term Year: This option is not available.
Term	Specify the academic term to which the contract applies.
Academic Year	Select the academic year to which the contract applies.
Start Date and End Date	Specify a start date and end date for the period for which the contract applies.
Course List	Select the course list to which the contract applies. This course list applies to all students attached to the contract, but you can override it at the student level if necessary. Note. When using a course list with a third-party contract, there are particular setup issues related to term fees.

First Bill Date	Select the date you generate the first bill for the collection agreement. The system uses the first bill date and the billing cycle to set the billing dates for the duration of the collection agreement. Note. The billing program does not acknowledge the collection agreement until on or after the first bill date specified. For example, if your first bill date is set for November 16 and you run your billing process on the 15th, the system does not process the collection agreement billing until the next run.
Payments	Enter the number of payments that students must make to pay off the collection agreement.
Pay Plan Type	Use this field to define how the system credits payments made to this collection agreement. Credit the Original Account: Select to credit all eligible charges and create a new collection agreement charge. Create Billing Entries: Do not use this option with this type of plan.
Amount	Displays the amount of past due debt to be covered by the collection agreement after you select the check box next to a line item in the bottom scroll area of the page.
Account Type	Select the account type defined for the agreement.
Reference Number	Enter an optional reference number for each student on a particular contract. The reference number entry is for information purposes only.
Due after Days	Specify the number of days after the bill date that the payment is due.
Adjustment Option	Select an adjustment option. Adjust Equally: Select to apply adjustments made to the collection agreement equally across all remaining payments. Adjust First Bill: Select to apply adjustments made to the collection agreement to the plan's next bill. Adjust Last Bill: Select to apply adjustments made to the collection agreement to the plan's final bill. Do not Adjust: Select to prevent any adjustment from being made to the collection agreement.
Item Type	Select the item type that creates the charge the student is paying off.
Pay Item Type	Select the pay item type used to pay off the past due charges covered by the collection agreement.