Bad credit
The university's new credit card convenience fee likely has irritated many students, who now will want to seek another method of payment.
It's tempting to describe the new policy as an underhanded stingy move by the university, but the fee actually is quite reasonable.
Yes, it's inconvenient. And yes, there may be some longer lines in the Bovee University Center.
But it's not as though the university has elected to have additional charges on those payments; rather, the fees come originally from the credit card companies, and the university simply has shouldered the burden for the past several years.
University officials said those fees totaled $583,000 last year, and estimated they will total nearly $1 million this year - a fiscal burden that has nearly doubled.
Likewise, as the university continues to bemoan inadequate state allocations and other funding problems, it hardly seems appropriate to swallow an extra $1 million in fees simply because students rather would pay with a credit or debit card.
That money could go toward faculty positions, equipment or anything significantly more meaningful.
For students, the fee is nothing to shrug at, either. Though 2.75 percent may seem like nothing, applied to a full semester's tuition, it's a fairly hefty charge.
At $304 per tuition hour, the in-state tuition rate for last fall's freshmen, 15 credit hours would result in a $125 convenience fee.
The university needs to do everything in its power to ensure students do not unintentionally pay this fee - whether it's an additional warning screen or a bit of heavily bolded text next to the payment options.
All things considered, students still have ample alternatives, and this change is not so grave an inconvenience.
The savings to the university are far too great to overlook.
Trimming this cost will ease tougher financial decisions that await administrators.
