A difficult education payment process can affect not only the student experience, but also a student’s ability to stay enrolled at an institution. Creating a frictionless payment process is worth the effort, as it saves you and your students time, money, and frustration. By building a seamless process that is easy to navigate and clearly considers the payers’ needs, you promote trust and alignment between your institution and the students you serve. Here are a few steps you can take to achieve this:
- Provide convenient and secure payment options
A streamlined payment experience needs to be full of convenient options that your students are familiar with using. You can make payments easier for your students by offering a variety of payment methods, ensuring they can find one that best suits their needs. It’s also important to partner with a payment processor who takes security seriously—for your institution and your students. Be sure to check the processor’s security reports and see what certifications they have obtained.
- Provide flexible payment plans
One way to measure the success of a payment plan is by examining whether it keeps your students enrolled and engaged. In order to do this, a payment plan should be flexible so that it fits your students’ needs. Start by helping your students figure out the best payment plan for them through either a budget calculator or worksheet. A good payment solution should allow you to then make a custom payment plan based on these calculations, and even support the ability for multiple payers to contribute to the same account. Ideally, you can also use a built-in engagement solution to monitor and reach out to students before they ever miss a payment.