Student Accounts Specialist Justin Carroll identified a recurring issue in how late fees were assessed and reversed on student accounts. Departments were expected to use a late fee deferral service indicator to exempt certain students, but many instead submitted manual lists to Justin each month. This created an inconsistent, error-prone process where he had to manually review the late fee file and approve charges before posting.
To improve the process, the team ensured the deferral service indicator functioned correctly and re-established accountability across departments for using it properly. With that structure in place, they worked with SIS to implement automated late fee processing on the 18th of each month – removing the dependency on Justin's manual review.
Finally, to support tracking and transparency, the team created a new item type specifically for late fee reversals. This allows KU to monitor how many late fees are waived each month/year and ensures consistent documentation of credits, reinforcing institutional accountability, and, thereby, reducing workload.
Fellow Change Agents:
- Justin Carroll
- Angie Dopp
- Amanda Tucker
- Dee Anna Rendall
- Kay Walden
- Deborah Rollf
- Erin Otter
Impact of idea:
- Eliminated manual monthly review for late fees
- Strengthened use of the deferral service indicator
- Established automation for consistent billing dates
- Enabled tracking and reporting of late fee reversals
- Estimated annual staff time savings: $3,900 and 152 total hours
