The KSU Bursar’s Office now offers an interest-free payment plan for students seeking to break up the cost of tuition into multiple payments over the course of several months.
KSU is working with Nelnet Business Solutions, a Nebraska- based lending company that specializes in providing student loans, to fund the new payment plan. The payment option, which became available to KSU students July 1, covers up to $5,500 in student expenses per semester.
KSU Bursar Rita Adams said she is excited about the new plan and thinks it will be helpful to students and their families who are working to cover the costs of college.
“It’s brand-spanking new,” Adams said. “Students can get enrolled as early as July and their payment plans would run through October. They can start with as little as 40 percent down and then payments are due on the fifth [day] of each month. “ Students who apply for the program sooner are required to put less money down and can make smaller payments up until the October due date. Students who apply by August 5 are required to make a 60 percent down payment and are given two months to pay the balance. Those who apply by the August 22 deadline are also required to put 60 percent down, but they must pay the remaining balance by October 5.
“A lot of our students, even though they might receive financial aid, don’t receive full financial aid,” Adams said. “It’s that unexpected last portion of the balance that they have to pay that usually gives them a little bit of difficulty. We’re thinking this payment plan will help students in that situation.”
Adams, who began working at KSU in 1998, has seen the university’s student population nearly double since she arrived.
She said she enjoys her job and having the opportunity to help students become financially successful.
“We like to think that they learn just as much inside the classroom as they do outside of it and we like to be a positive part of that,” she said.
Tenisha Carrington, a junior studying International Affairs, said tha plan sounds like a good idea.
“I think it’ll be easier for students to pay certain amounts at a time,” she said.
The Nelnet payment plan is available at www.mycollegepaymentplan.com.
