Amid budget cuts and fee increases in the California State University system, there is good news for Sacramento State students using the university’s installment plan.

Starting in the spring semester, the plan will allow students to pay fees in smaller amounts on a monthly basis, as opposed to three larger payments over the course of the semester.

“We wanted to spread the current monthly installment plan into a five-part plan,” said Gina Feliciano, director of the Student Financial Services Center. “We have been exploring this option for several years after requests from students and parents.”

Nearly 3,500 Sac State students are on the installment plan this semester, said Elena Larson, collection manager with the financial services center. That number includes part time, full time, undergraduate and graduate students.

Larson hopes the new program will help students budget their semesters.

“That first payment to get in was a big one,” said Larson, referring to the payment that is due five days before registration. “Especially when it was the payment for the spring semester because it’s right before Christmas. Fall is always the hardest semester to make the payment for students.”

The new plan drops the preregistration payment down to $309 for all students. Subsequent payments vary based on the number of registered units and the graduate or undergraduate status. Sophomore Diego Hernandez, a mechanical engineering major, uses the installment plan and thinks it will help students who are making just enough money to get by.

“Luckily I have a student job with the state and I work enough hours each week,” Hernandez said. “But for students working a few hours at Best Buy or Quizno’s, and maybe only bringing home $300 to $600 a month, it’s tough.”

Though a monthly payment may be easier to budget, the new plan also means that the second payment is due in January instead of March, Feliciano said.

“Students will not receive a statement through the mail for the first two payments and they need to remember to pay the first payment by January 6,” Feliciano said. Larson said because of this, it is important for students to update their e-mail information on CASPER.

“We want students to get the message that they need to update their CASPER e-mail information,” she said. “A lot of students put their Sac link e-mail in CASPER, but they never check it. It needs to be an account they check often.”

Students can accrue up to $40 in late fees each semester, Larson said.Evelyn Horrell, a senior interior design major, is using the installment plan for the first time this fall.

“It’s nice because it makes it easier to pay,” she said. “I would probably use it again because it’s hard to come up with the money all at once. I did forget about one payment but I was able to pay that online with CASHnet.”

If a student forgets to make first payment before the five-day deadline, they can pay online using the CASHnet SmartPay system accessible through CASPER. A convenience fee of 3.15 percent is added to each transaction and the system only accepts MasterCard, Discover and American Express. Students are also charged $33 each semester for using the installment plan.

As tuition fees continue to soar, Feliciano hopes that the new plan will make it easier for students to pay on time.

“This should give students the opportunity to get on a regular monthly payment plan that’s easier to budget,” she said.

For more information about the new student fee installment plan, visit the Student Financial Services Center Web site at www.csus.edu/sfsc.

Lora Simmons can be reached at [email protected]