Georgia State’s financial aid office is offering a new method of payment known as the Georgia State Payment Plan for the 2015 spring semester.
The plan will give students the option to delay payment for a maximum of 50 percent of the term’s tuition and mandatory fees or 50 percent of their account balance, according to the Student Financial Services website. The first installment for the deferred payment is due Feb. 5, 2015, and the second is due March 2, 2015.
Students can enroll in the Georgia State Payment plan using PantherPay through PAWS. Enrollment for the plan opened Dec. 3, 2014 and will close Jan. 23, 2015, according to the website.
“The deferrable balance is calculated after all estimated financial aid is applied to the student account,” the website states.
Director of Student Accounts Charmaine Daniels said the plan was designed to fit within the boundaries of state law.
“The state of Georgia and the Board of Regents have a policy that prevents us from providing credit or providing a gratuity, basically giving a service without receiving payment beforehand,” Daniels said. “I worked with Georgia tech to devise a plan that would fit within the perimeters of the state law and the board of regents policy.”
Origins of the payment plan
Daniels also said the payment plan was introduced at Georgia State after a pioneer launch at the neighboring college Georgia Tech.
“The Board of Regents approved last fall 2013 for Georgia Tech to implement the pilot of this installment plan option, and earlier in 2014—spring 2014—they approved Georgia State to also use the same plan,” she said.
A down payment is required for each term a student enrolls in the Georgia State Payment plan along with an additional $50 fee, according to the website.
To be eligible for the plan students must have a balance of at least $300 remaining after all financial aid payments have been applied to their account, according to the website.
Georgia State graduate assistants that qualify for the Graduate Assistant Payroll Deduction Plan are not eligible for the Georgia State Payment Plan, according to the website.
Daniels said the Georgia State Payment Plan is intended to give students a more flexible payment option.
“I really wanted to be able to provide students some more flexibility and there are all different kinds of circumstances where students would have to pay out of pocket or wouldn’t have enough financial aid to cover their balance so we wanted to give them an option. Also we have a lot of working students who are paying for their tuition as they get paid,” she said.
Response to the payment plan
As of Jan. 7 approximately 490 students signed up for the Georgia State Payment Plan, according to Daniels.
“It seems to be well-received. We haven’t really done any advertising besides putting the information on our website. We plan on doing the full marketing, rollout campaign for fall 2016. It has been well received very quickly,” she said.
Georgia State student Joseph Wilson said he was not aware of the plan’s existence until recently.
“I had no idea about this plan, which is kind of a problem. There are so many assistive programs that are offered that many students are unaware of. Even so, it could be a great option for some students. It gives students time to gather up funds that they don’t have on hand at the moment,” he said.
Antoinette Mussa, a managerial science and hospitality major, said she believes the new payment plan is a rational option for working students.
“GSU is pretty non-traditional in the sense that many students are already working, living on their own and paying their own bills,” Mussa said. “With so many other finances to take care of, it seems practical that the school would offer a payment plan to make it easier on those students.”
However, Mussa also said she didn’t think she would use the plan unless it was necessary.
“I think it’s a good idea, but I would rather not use it until it becomes a last resort,” she said. “It seems much more practical to just make one payment [that I’ve saved up for throughout the semester] rather than split it into two. That way I don’t have to worry about meeting another payment deadline.”
