College is filled with choices for students:
- When should I attend classes?
- What should I study?
- Should I take seated or online courses?
- What groups or clubs should I join?
Sometimes more choices is not necessarily better. Beginning with the spring 2019 semester, the choice of a payment plan is being simplified down to one.
All students must sign up for My Payment Plan on the same day they register for classes. A student’s registration is not complete until the student signs up for My Payment Plan.
“In the past, students would register for classes, but forget to complete payment arrangements by signing up for a payment plan,” said Marla Moody, vice chancellor for finance at OTC. “Then, periodically throughout the registration period, those students who had not signed up for a payment plan by published deadline dates would be removed from classes. Usually, students could re-register in their preferred classes, but sometimes they could not. That was a problem we wanted to fix.”
Now, all students who register for classes and sign up for My Payment Plan on the same day will know that their registration is complete. Plus, they will know that they have three payments to make throughout the semester. For spring 2019, the payments will be on February 5, March 5 and April 5.
If students are awaiting their financial aid in the form of grants, scholarships or loans, My Payment Plan will take into account the students’ “anticipated aid” when it calculates payments. Anticipated aid is based on a complete financial aid file.
Therefore, every student’s payment calculation equation will look like this:
(Registration charges) – (Anticipated financial aid) = (Balance used to calculate monthly payments)
For example, if your registration charges total $1,000 and your anticipated financial aid is $250, your balance of $750 will be divided among the remaining payments in the semester.
“It is more important than ever for students to complete the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) as soon as possible,” said Dr. Joan Barrett, vice chancellor for student affairs at OTC. “Completing the FAFSA and turning in all necessary documentation early in the process gives students the best opportunity to know exactly how much financial aid they are going to receive and how much they will owe the college.”
Bottom line: All students MUST sign up for My Payment Plan the same day they register for classes, and they should complete the FAFSA as soon as possible.
For more information, visit the FAQ website, contact your advisor or email cashhelp@otc.edu.
