By Julia Yetter

Since 2005, students who choose to pay their tuition online with a credit card must pay processing fees, which can range anywhere from $15 to $50.

Previously, the University of Louisville absorbed the cost of such transactions, but two years ago the Board of Trustees voted to pass the cost on to students.

Michael Curtain, vice president of finance for U of L, said, “We would prefer to not have to do this,” and mentioned several alternatives the university is considering.

One option Curtain said U of L was looking into involves permitting students to use their Higher One cards, which would process payments for a lesser fee. However, U of L’s current exclusive contracts with other banks might prohibit this option.

Curtain also said the university resorted to the fee because it is not receiving adequate funding from the state, and rather than cutting back on academics, they have chosen to cut corners in other areas, such as credit processing fees

Processing fees for U of L students’ credit payments totaled some $340,000 last year, according to Curtain.

Another possible approach is an exemption policy, which would, in the case of “bureaucratic snafus,” be eligible for review, and possible refund according to Curtain.

Robert Shader, an undergraduate student studying management, said he could appreciate such an exemption policy. Shader explained that in an attempt to build credit he “paid online once with a credit card, didn’t know about the fee, and got burned. Now I mail a check.”

In a credit card study conducted by Sallie Mae, which claims to be the nation’s leading provider of student loans, results showed that for many students entering college today, their first credit experience is with a credit card, whereas years ago it was through a student loan.

Asked if she would ever pay tuition with a credit card given the steep processing fees, Tanisha Johnson, a gender and woman’s study major, said, “Absolutely not.”

“It’s ridiculous, and just another way the university is out of touch with students that are paying for their own tuition.”