Account Balance Notifications & Collections Process for Student Accounts Receivable

Operational Standard/Purpose

When a student enrolls in classes, they are assessed tuition and fees. Other charges may be added to a students’ account, such as for housing, books, regulation violations, etc. In order to collect the money owed, ICC must notify the students of their charges. If the students do not fully pay their charges within the allotted time period then additional communications are sent until the students’ accounts are turned over to a collections agency.

The standard is designed to ensure a process is followed to accurately and effectively communicate the financial responsibilities of the student and ultimately collect the funds owed to the College.

Scope/Applicability

This standard applies to any person that had charges on their account for a given term. The procedures noted in this standard allow ICC to comply with the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act of 1978.

Procedures

Account Balance Notifications:

1. Each term tuition due dates and payment plans are proposed up through Cabinet prior to the opening of the enrollment cycle. If approved the first tuition due date for a term may have an associated drop for non-payment established. With approval, the billing and due date calendar is created for the term setup within Campus Solutions and payment plans are created in the TouchNet Bill+Payment System.

2. Once the enrollment period is open, daily enrollment activity confirmation emails are generated and sent to students giving them a visible amount owed to ICC. Gentle tuition due reminders are sent to HOME and LAB email addresses weekly leading up to the first tuition due date. Approximately 1-2 weeks prior to the tuition due date multiple communications will be sent to those students appearing on a drop list. See Drop for Non-Payment Process for additional information. Once the drop for non-payment is processed, communications to students with open balances continue on a monthly basis with the message that tuition is due now. Students signed up for a payment plan (including outstanding balance plans are sent targeted emails through the online payment system if they are delinquent on their payments. Once student has missed two payment plan installments, the student is removed from the payment plan and falls into the monthly tuition due reminders (or into the applicable Collections Process in the case of outstanding balance plans).

3. When get to the midpoint of the semester, outstanding balance plans are made available in TouchNet Bill+Payment. The plans are set up for four, three, or two payments based upon dollar amount owed. Balance of $650 or higher qualifies for the four-payment plan and $300 or higher qualifies for the three-payment plan

4. In October and March, students with balances and not in a payment plan, are sent a final gentle tuition due reminder stating that if they do not take care of their balance or get into an outstanding balance plan they will be unable to enroll in a subsequent term, receive a transcript or receive a degree/certificate.

5. When the next term enrollment period opens (November for Spring and Summer, April for Fall), students with a balance > $100 and not in a payment plan, get a SF1 service indicator placed on their account. This is a negative service indicator that systematically blocks enrollment, transcripts, and conferral of credentials. Students with balances < $100 and not in a payment plan received a SFU service indicator that does not block enrollment but will stop the conferral of credentials and the release of transcripts.

Collections Process: 

1. After the last regular payment plan installment is due, the student trial balance report is reviewed for those students not in a payment plan or not current in their payment plan. The students are sent an official reminder letter. The official reminder letter is generated through Campus Solutions 3C communications process and is mailed to the student’s address on file. The letter is a 10-day notice that provides the balance amount, term information, and instructions on how to make payment. It includes the following statement:

   • If the balance is not paid within 10 days, your account may be turned over to a collection agency. Illinois Central College reserves the right to assess additional charges associated with administration, collection and any other charges incurred by the College in resolving unpaid balances. Illinois Central College will use any and all means necessary to collect this unpaid balance.

2. After approximately 2 weeks, the student trial balance is reviewed. Those students who received the official reminder and did not arrange for their balance are sent an official Final Notice. The official final notice letter is generated through Campus Solutions 3C communications process and is mailed to the student’s address on file. The letter is a 10-day demand notice that provides the balance amount, term information, and instructions on how to make payment. It includes the following statement:

   • If the balance is not paid within 10 days, your account will be turned over to a collection agency. Illinois Central College reserves the right to assess additional charges associated with administration, collection and any other charges incurred by the College in resolving unpaid balances. Illinois Central College will use any and all means necessary to collect this unpaid balance. At that time if there are students who should be sent a reminder letter, the letters will be processed and mailed to the student’s address on file.

   At that time if there are students who should be sent a reminder letter, the letters will be processed and mailed to the student’s address on file.

3. After approximately 3 weeks after the final notice is mailed, the student trial balance will be reviewed again. Students who received the final notice and still have not taken care of their account will have their accounts submitted to the collection agency (currently TekCollect) and to the Comptroller’s Office of the State of Illinois for processing through the Local Debt Recovery Program.

   A $50 collection fee is charged to the student account and the entire balance is uploaded to the collection agency system. We provide the student name, address, phone numbers, DOB and SSN, if applicable. ICC is not able to submit Housing charges to the Comptroller’s office but they can submit the charges to the collection agency. Students get an SF8 (collections), and SFI (IDROP) service indicator on their account.

   The first phase of collections is 90 days and includes letters and phone calls from the collection agency. The student is directed to contact ICC and set up payment arrangements. The students are eligible to sign up for one of the outstanding balance plans. All monies collected in the first 90 days goes to ICC at 100%. If the student does not respond and a balance remains, the account moves to second phase —a more aggressive attempt to collect. At this point, ICC will accept payments or sign a payment agreement with the student but ICC retains only 65% of the monies collected in this phase.

   Not all proceeds from the Local Debt Recovery Program are subject to the share percentage.

4. Payments made to any entity are updated in the other entities’ systems to ensure that the student’s balance is correct in all three systems.

Additional Provisions/Information

1. Students that sign up for an outstanding balance plan and did not receive the reminder or final notice will be sent the applicable letters prior to their account being turned over to collections.