Effective March 1, the Office of the Bursar has transitioned to the IUP Office of Student Billing. The office is part of the Division of Administration and Finance.
Tammy Hamilton, a 31-year employee of the university, most recently serving as the director of grant and special fund accounting, will direct the office, which will continue to be located in Clark Hall. Applications are currently being accepted for the position of assistant director of the office.
“The issue of financing a college education is complex and can be very stressful for our students and their families,” IUP Vice President for Administration and Finance Debra Fitzsimons said.
“It's extremely important that our Office of Student Billing have the highest standards of integrity and accuracy, but this work must be done while providing outstanding customer service and timely and clear communications,” she said. “This office touches every student, so it plays a critical role in the university's commitment to becoming truly student-centered.”
“I feel very confident in Mrs. Hamilton's ability to lead the Office of Student Billing and to meet not only the mission of office, but the vision and goals developed for the office, including implementation of current technology and other resources that will also students to complete financial transactions online as conveniently as possible, while maintaining all appropriate security and privacy of information,” Fitzsimons said.
Mission, vision, goals, purpose, and values statements have been developed for the office.
“I'm very happy to be in this role, and very excited to be part of the transformation of the Office of Student Billing,” Hamilton said. “This office is a prominent student service area that provides financial services to our students, and our students are the main focus of our new mission and goal statements. This team of hardworking and professional employees are committed to providing an environment that benefits our students.”
Staff members in the office, in addition to Hamilton, include Windy Bartlebaugh, William Bracken, Marcia Briscoe, and Donna Swatsworth. The office phone number is 724-357-2207. The email address of bursars-office@iup.edu will be changed to student-billing@iup.edu.
Specific Responsibilities for the Office of Student Billing Include:
- Provide official information on cost of attendance, billing and payment information, and refund information; help students to resolve financial holds and inform students and families of various payment options.
- Student billing and the collection of tuition, fees, and other university-related charges; the disbursement of excess financial aid funding; and processing refunds due to overpayments, adding/dropping of classes, or withdrawals.
- While the Office of Student Billing does not award financial aid (that is handled by the Office of Financial Aid in the Division of Enrollment Management), the Office of Student Billing provides student account information and guidelines, important dates and deadlines relating to student finances, and recent changes and updates to student accounts.
- Functioning as the university treasury, accepting and processing payments on behalf of all university departments and provide banking and merchant services for departments at IUP; serves as a central collection point for university receipts.
- Dedicated to high ethical professional standards, superior customer service, fostering the fiscal learning experience among student groups, assisting faculty and staff, delivering quality services to all college constituents, and working with the community while ensuring the regulatory requirements associated with the various government entities, auditors, and the state system chancellor's office are being met, including all IUP and State System policies, applicable laws, regulations, and mandates.
- Be aligned with the university's strategic plan by committing to a culture of student centeredness and student success.
- Respect, support, and encourage diversity of gender, physical or mental ability, culture, and the pursuit of intellectual and personal growth.