While some students feel a new billing system that divides student expenses into two separate bills unnecessarily complicates the billing process, most students are supportive of the changes which the College hopes to implement by Fall term.
Under the new system, the College will send parents a bill that includes "cost of attendance charges" including tuition and room and board and the College will send to students' Hinman boxes a separate bill for miscellaneous expenses such as fines and College ID charges. Most students support the idea of allowing students to make more charges on their College ID cards and implement a declining balance account on College IDs.
Co-Chair of Palaeopitus Dani Brune '96 said she supports the plan.. Brune attended a presentation from members of the committee who devised the new billing system to a group of about 10 students -- executive members of Palaeopitus and the Student Assembly Executive Committee -- on March 4.
Palaeopitus is an organization of senior leaders who advise the College President and Dean of the College.
"Most everything that would be on the separate student bill are things that my parents expect me to pay for anyway," she said. "This saves me the trouble of dividing up the bill."
The new billing system will also allow students to make more charges on their College ID cards and implement a declining balance account on College IDs.
"I think having two bills would be kind of nice," Bradley Bingham '99 said. "There are things that my parents would not want to pay for that I would," he said.
Peggy Stolt '99 said, "I think that sounds good because now I am always paying my parents back for charges on my ID."
Palaeopitus member Matthew Silvia '96 said the changes compel students to be more responsible with money.
Steve Oh '98 said the proposed changes will not affect him.
"It makes no difference," he said. "My parents will still pay. I will probably end up sending the bill to my parents or they will send me a check."
Sarah Kimberly '99 also said she will send her bill home.
"I would think that if you are charging it to your ID, your plan is to charge it to parents, not yourself, so in many cases the bills would be sent home," Kimberly said.
Students said they hope to eventually be able to use student IDs for dormitory vending and laundry machines.
"Expanded use of College ID's is a good idea, especially if we could use them for laundry machines," Bingham said. "It is so hard to get quarters around here."
Stolt said he supports the idea of having a declining balance on College ID's. "That is a good idea, because we don't have to worry about paying for things afterwards," she said.
But Tracie Davis '97 said she thinks the new billing system will complicate the billing process.
"I think the changes will probably just make billing more complicated because some students' parents pay for that stuff already," she said. "Now they will have to send the bill home."
Davis said she would prefer if students had the option of choosing whether they wanted the bill sent home.
Palaeopitus member Monica Oberkofler '96 said most of the students who attended the presentation to Palaeopitus were pleased with the new billing system and agreed upon what needed to be changed.
Brune said she thinks "there were a few areas" which "need to be addressed."
Student Assembly President Jim Rich '96 said the Assembly is looking into the changes that were suggested at the March 4 meeting.
The Assembly is considering "the discretionary account and what services will be placed on that account and if some of those services should be included in the other three sections other than the discretionary account," he said.
Brune said the committee was very receptive to students' suggestions.
"I am quite confident that they will do all they can to make this new system convenient for students," she said.
"They were very encouraging about our opinion," she said. "I would imagine they are willing to consider the opinion of anyone who thoughtfully considers the proposal."
Rich said the Assembly will play a significant role in educating students about the new billing system.
"If the Dartcard is instituted by the Fall, a serious amount of education" must go on, he said. "The SA is the best conduit for that."
