Students and families will be able to pay for housing, tuition and transportation charges all under one billing system, beginning Sunday.
Students have paid for housing and tuition through separate accounts up to this point. With the new system, however, only the BruinBill through URSA will be used to make all payments.
The change, which will not require additional university funds, is intended to increase efficiency, said Marsha Lovell, director of student financial services.
“We’ll no longer have to go through the hassle of paying two portals,” said Ayman Ullah, a first-year molecular, cell and developmental biology student. “This is just a much more convenient way of handling housing payments.”
Under the new system, housing payments will have to follow BruinBill credit card restrictions. Those who want to use a credit card will be assessed a 2.75 percent fee, and the system will not accept Visa cards, Lovell said.
The plan to bring housing under the BruinBill has been in the works since 2009, Lovell said.
The new system was created as a response to student satisfaction surveys that indicated student demand for a more centralized bill paying system, she added.
Kristen Chan, a second-year English student, said she expects the new system will make it easier to pay bills.
Beginning today, UCLA Housing Web applications will be inaccessible for the weekend to transition to the new system.
The system will be running again by Monday at 8 a.m., according to a Housing statement.
Apart from the payment consolidation, BruinBill will undergo other enhancements this weekend, including renovations to the page so it is easier for students to read and understand their bills more effectively, Lovell said.
Students receiving financial aid will also have expanded options in viewing their anticipated financial aid awards, she said.
In a few weeks, students will have the option to determine and change which banking account receives direct deposit for financial aid refunds, Lovell said.