Marshall university adds 2.5% fee on credit card payments

Marshall University has decided to charge 2.5% on credit card payments by students as well as parents. The university has to pay 2.5% to the card companies every time a student or parent uses the card to make payments such as tuition fees or fees on other services. Since the year 2006, Marshall University has had to shell out a sum of $285,000 as fee to the card companies with an all-time high last year of $380,000. The costs keep escalating each year.

Hence, Marshall University has decided to add this extra 2.5% to the other fees as a package that would include boarding, tuition, admission, parking fees etc. This addition to the existing fee structure could add up to a huge amount feel students belonging to the university. A student of the university was quoted as saying that the tuition fee as well as all other fees put together was as such on the higher side, and adds that this extra fee could burden the students financially. College students don't really have too much income as such and this would hamper them in more ways than one. However, Bob Collier, Assistant Director, Student Financial Systems, feels that this could actually help students get better quality of education at an affordable cost. He goes on to state that this extra fund would help in buying and installing software that would in turn provide better facilities for students.

This fee (2.5%) would also be applicable to debit card purchases. If this is not done the rest of the students would be burdened with extra tuition fees which would mean an overall increase in tuition fees irrespective of those who use the card and those who don't.

However, the Shepherd University as well as the West Virginia University does not follow similar fee structures for their students who use the cards. These universities are not considering doing this in the near future at least. David Kosslow, Director, Treasury Operations has stated that the school has paid close to more than a million to card companies. Kosslow has stated that he was unaware of these new developments and while these schools are not burdening their students as of now, they are unclear about the future. Some others don't accept cards altogether. Marshall University has already informed its students as well as parents about the same. The university wishes to keep its overheads and operational costs as low as possible.

Jennifer Brown

Jennifer Brown, an external business consultant working with a Fortune 500 company, has years of experience to her credit. Despite having a busy schedule through the day, she takes time out to write articles dealing with credit cards, payday loans and other financial aspects. She has completed her Bachelor degree in Financial Services from Columbia University and has been actively involved in various activities for the betterment of society.