Welcome to the e-bill.
It's time to talk about the bill.
A couple of definitions to keep in mind first:
MITPAY - MITPAY is our online billing presentment and payment system. Through MITPAY, you will receive your most recent bill, be able to make online payments using the ACH-Clearinghouse system (automated withdrawals from your checking account), print a paper copy of the bill to attach to a paper check to send in for payment, and view past bills. MITPAY access is limited to students and authorized payers (see below for a definition of authorized payers).
WEBSIS - WEBSIS is the online access to the Student Information System. WEBSIS access is limited to the student using their Kerberos certificate. WEBSIS information available includes a current view of the student account, financial aid forms, student loan information, student loan entrance and exit counseling, and registrarial and academic information.
Authorized Payers - Students will need to set up parents and other appropriate parties as authorized users for them to be able to view, pay, and -- if necessary -- print the bill.
Keep in mind that the bill is an ebill; we do not present a paper bill to you. Let's talk about how this works.
Once a month (generally on the 10th, or the last workday before the 10th) we prepare an ebill which summarizes all charges and payments since the last bill was presented. This bill is entered into your MITPAY account, and you can view, print, and pay the bill from MITPAY. Bills are due by the 1st of the following month.
Whenever you like, you can view current account activity by looking at your WEBSIS account. Remember that there is only one day a month when your WEBSIS and MITPAY accounts will agree; when the bill is produced. The relationship between the two is kind of like your checkbook register and your bank statement; your bank statement will be accurate as of the date it is printed, the checkbook register (assuming you keep it up to date) will be as of the date you look at it.
Fall charges will not be posted to your account until just before the July 10 bill. Therefore, payment will be due for Fall charges as of August 1, 2005. Your Fall bill will also include financial aid pending credits (assuming you have completed all necessary paperwork), and will be net the difference. Your July bill will only be for tuition, fees, health insurance (if you haven't already waived it), and an average housing charge (this amount will change when the final residence is determined). Once you establish a meal plan or take Tech Cash, these amounts will be listed on future bills.
So you don't really need to worry about the bill until July. I would make sure you have a plan in place to cover the Expected Family Contribution (whether by paying direct payments to the bill, making sure your alternative loans are in place to cover your balance, and/or setting up an MIT Monthly Payment Plan).
But very important, and something you need to do right now is to set up an Authorized Payer. If you (and by this “you” I mean “you, the student”) are not going to be the one paying the bill on a monthly basis, you need to be sure that your parents (or whoever will be paying the bill) are set up in MITPAY. You do this by logging in to your WEBSIS account and, using your Kerberos certificate, accessing the MITPAY link. (Also note: if your bill will be paid by an outside agency [sponsor], then please keep in mind you will not be able to set them up as an authorized payer, instead you will need to contact your Student Account Representative to set up the direct billing of the sponsor).
Once you have done this, you can add an Authorized Payer. You will need to specify the email of the person you are adding as well as creating a user name and a password. After creating an authorized payer, an email will be sent to the person you create asking them to log in and change their password. They then will be ready to access your student account bills and make payments to these bills.
Do this now, before you forget, and make sure to do it... When the July 10th bill is ready, we will send an email reminder to all of you, but do it today. Make sure to share the temporary password you assign with the person you create (or else they will not be able to log in).
Also remember that new bills will be posted on the 10th of every month (and due on the 1st of the next month).
More to come on this I am sure. Let me know if you have any questions on this that I can answer.
Also, my sincere thanks to Anthony who served as a Guinea pig today during testing of this functionality for new students. For a brief moment, I was his authorized payer. How cool to have the Director of Financial Aid as your authorized payer (even though it was only for a brief 5 minutes)! I didn't try to pay his bill though, I must admit...