Starting this fall, students will be required to pay anadditional fee to use a credit card to pay their tuition and otherfees, and Visa will no longer be accepted at Sacramento State.

A 3.15 percent fee on credit card use will beimplemented starting June 14, when students begin to pay for fallsemester fees.

Jonathan Self, associate vice president offinance, said the university has absorbed the processing fee ofstudent usage of credit cards, and this year, Sac State absorbed$500,000 in credit card processing fees. He estimated that nextyear the university will save $600,000 by placing the cost ofcredit card usage on the students.

“We are not making any money on thisfee,” Self said.

Between 2004-05, Sac State will face a $30million budget cut. Self said that most universities absorb thecost of credit card fees. He said the main reason the new policy isbeing implemented is that not only are registration feesincreasing, but so are the number of students using credit cards oncampus.

“Some universities no longer acceptcredit charges,” Self said.

“If students do not choose to use thosecredit cards, they won’t have to pay the extra fee,”said Paul Nobles, associate vice president for academic affairs,budget and planning.

Nobles said the $600,000 that would be savedby the university could support the faculty necessary to teach 120classes.

Charles Reed, chancellor of the CaliforniaState University system, recently declared a “freeze”on any new fees. This does not include raising existing fees. As aresult, the university turned to an outside source to handle theassessment and collection of credit card processing charges.

The outsourcing is currently handled byCash Net Co. This contract will serve as a temporary solution untilthe freeze is lifted by the chancellor. Self hopes that by nextyear the university will be able to end the contract with Cash Net,allowing the university to implement its own fee that will be abouthalf the Cash Net fee, Self said.

In addition to the credit card fee, Visa willno longer be accepted. The Visa Corp. does not allow a servicecharge that is based on a percentage, only a flat rate, promptingthe university not to continue business with Visa.

“I understand why the university isdoing it,” said Nicole Croly, ASI director of education.”It’s unfortunate that it falls back on thestudents.”

Self understands that students will not becontent with the extra fee, but the university did not have anyother options.

“I think it’s a crime thatstudents have to suffer the increase of credit card use,”said Leonie Rannie, graduate and psychology major.

Other methods of payment are listed on theStudent Financial Services Center Web site atwww.csus.edu/sfsc.