FOCUS TouchNet Information Systems, Inc.

As higher ed institutions take steps towards innovation, strategy and technology need to be developed together. On this episode of FOCUS, Heather Fraser of Dalhousie University (Dal) discusses the strategic approach the institution is taking to manage campuswide digital transformation. Fraser, the Director of Enterprise Application Services at Dalhousie, is responsible for managing recent efforts to innovate the institution’s enterprise portfolio. Listen to learn about the importance of ownership of technology and key strategic insights as you bring your institution forward in the digital space.


Approach to managing enterprise-level systems
Dalhousie is a long-time user of TouchNet solutions such as OneCard, Payment Center, and more as their digital transformation has evolved. The university also uses Ellucian’s Banner as their ERP (enterprise resource planning) system.


A recent merger of digital teams brought the management of enterprise applications including OneCard and Banner into one office. The portfolio also includes cloud service technologies management, project management, systems architecture, infrastructure and databases, program development, business intelligence reporting, and the university’s web presence.


Deciding who “owns” the technology
The restructuring of Fraser’s department presented the opportunity to review how the university as a whole approaches enterprise applications. The DalCard, Dalhousie’s OneCard system, has historically been owned by the IT department because of the need for technical support resources.


However, the team is looking at shifting how they manage the DalCard. The idea is to shift the decision-making process to better accommodate needs from the business units that use the technology. Using a similar governance to how they already manage Banner, IT partners with all the different functional areas across campus that run the business processes of the technology. So offices such as student affairs and ancillary services would be the front-line support for the end users (students) with the IT team being backend support for those teams.


Driving forces behind moving to the cloud
Fraser’s team is looking at a 2-3 year plan to relocate their data center off campus for a variety of reasons. In doing so, they are using this as an opportunity to reevaluate which technologies are hosted on premise versus moving technologies to the cloud, which can help mitigate the risks of on-campus data storage, add flexibility, and lay a foundation for additional technology improvements.


Additionally, a lot of Dalhousie’s technology partners are making greater investments in their software-as-a-service (SaaS) or in other cloud offerings that are overshadowing what is happening in on-premise solutions. In order to keep up with student expectations, a move to the cloud is an integral part of Dalhousie’s strategy.


Dalhousie University’s Strategic Plan and Digital Strategy
Fraser explained that none of this could be done without a unified vision for the university. Dalhousie is currently working through a five year strategic plan that includes an accompanying digital strategy led by the university’s Chief Information Officer and Dean of Libraries.


The Digital Strategy has been a driving force behind the decisions they are making from a digital space perspective, which encompasses both technology and people. The document focuses on five key pillars which outlines leadership’s commitment to making Dalhousie a state-of-the-art digital learning campus with an extreme focus on research: Teaching and Learning, People-centric, Research and Innovation, Community Collaborations, and Digital Foundations.


“There is a lot of human focus in this strategic document that you normally may not associate with something that is a digital or technology plan,” said Fraser. “But really it’s a way to look across our entire institution at how we’re going to be able to meet the n

Higher ed institutions are constantly innovating to fit the changing needs of students to support their success. Kevin Smith, Assistant Vice President and Director of Student Records and Financial Services at Canisius University, joins FOCUS to share how the university’s experience in evolving the one-stop shop with a new solution from TouchNet, Student Account Advisor. Smith offers insights on how Student Account Advisor provides a comprehensive view of a student’s financial engagement while protecting sensitive information, how Canisius has applied the solution, and his plans for campus-wide expansion.


About Canisius University
Canisius University is a liberal arts institution outside of Buffalo, New York. The university is aJesuit institution that serves 2,700 students across undergraduate and graduate programs. Canisius is a long-time TouchNet partnerand has been live since 2001 when they initially implemented credit card payments in the payment gateway. Over the years, the university has added many solutions including Cashiering, the Bill+Payment suite, Payment Plans, Marketplace for ecommerce, and ACH validation with the help of TouchNet. Most recently, Canisius added TouchNet’s newest solution, Student Account Advisor into the fold and has already seen tremendous results.


What is Student Account Advisor?
When Canisius’ Student Records and Financial Services Center converted to a one-stop shop, the last piece to provide a more efficient experience was the addition of Student Account Advisor. TouchNet’s Student Account Advisor is an integrated solution that provides a centralized oversight and advanced customer service to students who have questions or need personal assistance with their accounts.


The solution pulls data from student information software (SIS) systems into one screen for easy navigation, without displaying any sensitive information. The unified dashboard of student information eliminates the need to sign into multiple systems, giving advisors more time to help students and enhancing the student experience in financial offices. Authorization can be customized to give certain advisors and offices more access than others to mitigate privacy concerns. The built-in communication function allows advisors to reach out directly to students in need, or to follow up on their questions.


Simplifying advising students
Since implementing Student Account Advisor, Canisius University has seen great improvements in staff efficiency. Student Account Advisor is primarily utilized in the Student Records and Financial Services Center, but has also been rolled out to the Griff Center (their office for advising, tutoring, mentoring, career success, and coaching), and the university’s co-op graduate programs. Plans for further expansion include other high-contact offices, such as deans and academic advising, that students engage with. Smith finds that the solution has overall eased complications in student transactions in his office and other on-campus applications for staff.


“It simplified the transaction. It created a true one-stop shop experience that enabled the users to assist students and parents when discussing financial aid, student accounts, and academic data points that are crucial in a student's success,” said Smith.


In addition to these simplified transactions, Canisius University has experienced higher student retention rates since Student Account Advisor’s addition to the one-stop shop. Smith credits this to the centralized information dashboard, giving advisors a more holistic view of a student’s situation and more opportunity for a more personalized student experience.


Set your institution up for success
Although Canisius’ transformation with Student Account Advisor didn’t happen overnight, Smith and other management at the university learned to ask the right questions to maximize the solution. One of the most important parts of figuring out the right plan for implem

Many higher education administrators are called to their positions for the same reason: to help students succeed. Lisa Mazure, Associate Vice Chancellor for Finance and Fiscal Services at Alamo Colleges District, joins this episode of FOCUS to share her experiences with supporting students while keeping accounts receivable and revenue flow healthy. Listen to hear her journey of improving account services at different institutions, leading to an increase in student success and financial literacy.


Lansing Community College
Mazure joined Lansing Community College as the institution’s Controller after 25 years working for the government in the Office of the Auditor General. One of the first things she noticed in her role at Lansing was the disjointed experience for students interacting with the Student Finance Office for payments and refunds. Students were forced to log into multiple systems to manage different functions. From that point, she sought to consolidate the system down to one unified platform to make it easier for students.
In her search for solutions, the benefits of TouchNet became clear.


The college already used TouchNet for accepting online payments, but learned it could be expanded to also offer payment plans, refunds, and much more all through a single solution. This allowed LCC to reduce the number of systems that staff had to be trained on, improve the student and staff experience by managing everything in one place, and provide streamlined reporting and updated student accounts.


Payment plans
Once Mazure’s mission to simplify student finances was complete, she turned her attention to creating payment plans that accelerated student success.
“My goal is always for my students to be able to balance that financial responsibility with their academic success,” said Mazure.


One of the first plans the college implemented was bi-weekly payment plans, which remains popular with students because it spreads payments out in a way that matches up with paychecks rather than one lump sum each month.


Lansing also added specialized payment plans for past-due balances. Each plan is specific to a student’s account balance and the repayment agreement they have with the institution. Students on this plan have the opportunity to have their balances forgiven if they complete a certain number of credit hours and meet other Student Finance Office requirements.


Students on financial aid that didn’t cover their full balance were given a payment plan that started later in the semester, after their financial aid was fully rewarded. This made it easier on students to pay correct balances after the add/drop course period concluded. Veterans, students in the Adult Resource Center, those with childcare scholarships, and other special cases were also given additional payment plan options. Adding plans for these unique situations gave students more financial freedom, helping them be more successful on campus.


Alamo Colleges District
The Alamo Colleges District is a system of five independently accredited colleges with over 69,000 students across Bexar County in southern Texas. The district is home to an HBCU and all five are Hispanic serving institutions. Since Mazure joined the district, the system has been dealing with a large accounts receivable balance stemming from conditions during the pandemic, in which the colleges avoided putting holds on student accounts.


She and her team are actively exploring solutions for reengaging students with past due balances and starting the process of placing holds again. It is important for Mazure and the system to find the balance between financial responsibility and academic achievement.


Like Lansing Community College, the Alamo Colleges District uses TouchNet solutions for student finance needs, but has not used the tools to their full potential. Mazure has been working to incorporate as many TouchNet solutions as possible to create immediate changes to help studen

As higher ed institutions continue to evolve to offer more cashless payment solutions, automated clearing house (ACH) payments are becoming more popular. This week, Brad Smith, senior director of industry engagement and advocacy at Nacha, joins FOCUS to discuss the benefits of ACH payments for campus transactions. Learn more about ACH payments on campus, Nacha, and efforts to update the ACH rules for better risk management in the network.


What are ACH payments?
ACH payments are direct transactions involving a bank account. Most online payments attached to a bank account number are ACH, which allows transactions to be reflected to the account in near real-time. ACH payments are popular with different merchants because of the lower fees compared to other payment methods, reliability, and security.


“If you get paid by direct deposit, you know what the ACH network is,” said Smith.


In 2022, 30 billion transactions were made through the ACH network totalling $76.7 trillion. Business-to-business payments through same-day ACH saw a 44% growth in 2022, and in the first quarter of 2023 alone, same-day ACH transactions grew by 94% compared to first quarter of 2022.


Institution implementation
As Smith explains, ACH is most practical when used for large payments. ACH may not make sense for smaller purchases like at campus stores, sporting events, or dining halls. However, opportunities exist for ACH to be used for tuition payments, payroll, and business-to-business payments for accounts receivable and accounts payable.


Nacha’s role in ACH payments
Nacha owns and manages rules for the ACH network. Merchants, also known as ACH originators, enter an originator agreement with their bank, credit union, or third party processor, like TouchNet, to follow a specific set of standards to comply with. New rules are highlighted on the Nacha website.


For institutions implementing more ACH payment options on campus, Nacha is also working on a suite of tools to help educate students, parents, and vendors on why ACH is a good option.


Avoiding fraud
According to Smith, risks for fraud in regards to ACH do not vary greatly from other payment methods. The trend now is vendor impersonation. For example, a bad actor will call a staff member acting like a vendor who needs to change banking information. Next thing you know, payments are going to the bad actor instead of the actual vendor.


To help, Nacha provides a risk framework for partners that helps merchants address fraud. The first part of the framework are strict rules to set a solid anti-fraud foundation, which now includes a provision to validate transactions without needing to give out routing and account numbers. The second part is the operating guidelines that show merchants how to apply the rules to their processes.


Nacha recently rolled out new supplemental data security requirements to ensure data is secure while it’s at rest. This means that account information is unreadable, deleted, or masked properly any time ACH data is not being used. Third party vendors also held to the same standards as ACH originators to keep security a priority.


Best practices
As previously stated, the best opportunities for institutions to use ACH to reduce costs and increase efficiencies are for tuition, payroll, and business to business with vendors.


Smith believes one of the ways to stay vigilant against fraud is to continue education on the latest trends. This can be managed with an institution’s relationship with their bank or processor and completing regular training to stay up-to-date on compliance and fraud trends. There are also different organizations that offer training to colleges and universities on the latest ACH rules, risk courses, and audit courses.


Learn more about ACH rules and alleviating risk at www.nacha.org/rules/new.
Special Guest: Brad Smith.

On this episode of FOCUS, Doug Vanderpoel joins from Mount Holyoke College to share insights into how his institution uses the TouchNet OneCard Campus ID system to enhance the campus experience. From student ID management to ensuring campus safety and smart data monitoring, Mount Holyoke College has developed numerous unique and innovative uses for their OneCard system.


Mount Holyoke College
Mount Holyoke College, the oldest women’s college in the U.S., was established in 1837 in South Hadley, Massachusetts. It is home to over 2,000 students and 80 major buildings across the campus’ 800 acres. The college is a longtime TouchNet client, having implemented nearly every solution offered in the past 25 years. Most notable is the OneCard system, which Mount Holyoke has tailored to meet a wide range of needs.


An Integrated Campus ID Program
OneCard simplifies the student experience on campus. Students at Mount Holyoke use OneCard for their student ID, access to dorms and other campus buildings, meal plan swipes in the dining hall, tickets to events, vending, tracking packages, and even for POS transactions.


After the school got the initial functions of OneCard up and running, they sought more ways to integrate it into campus life. Most recently, they’ve partnered with USEFULL, a TouchNet Ready Partner, to provide reusable takeout containers in the dining hall, which are monitored and paid for through OneCard. The campus also has 24/7 coffee machines that are integrated with OneCard, so students can use their ID for payment. Faculty can even use their IDs to activate the institution’s gas and fuel stations to fill up the institution’s fleet vehicles.


Integrated safety measures
The safety of students is paramount to Mount Holyoke College, as is evident in the measures they take to monitor access to dorms and buildings with OneCard. Mount Holyoke uses the system to grant or deny access to specific areas of the campus at any given time based on predetermined criteria, and on case-by-case situations if needed. When the school hosts conferences, attendees are given limited access with a visitor ID through OneCard for entry to the dining hall, presentation areas, and on-campus lodging accommodations for the duration of the conference.


Mount Holyoke has also connected various sensors with the Master Security Monitor feature of OneCard to detect irregularities at sensitive places on campus. The system alerts campus staff when emergency showers and eyewash stations are used in labs, sensors are tripped in the art museum, and even when there is unexpected motion around the on-campus horse stables.


Additionally, Mount Holyoke has connected panic buttons to the system as well for students and faculty to contact public safety in the case of emergencies. These panic buttons are also placed across campus in areas like the HR department, cash POS locations, practice rooms in the music department and more. If a button is pressed, public safety is notified immediately to respond to the location.


OneCard as a data source
The OneCard system is constantly gathering data, which Mount Holyoke decided to put to work in making informed decisions. It has given valuable insights into student behavior surrounding meal plans, dining hours, and dormitory capacity. The integration of the system with POS systems also aids in tracking popular food items, easing the product ordering process. Additionally, the ability to generate reports on dormitory usage and visitor patterns helps optimize campus resources.


The key to implementation
Having the right partner can make all the difference when setting up a system like OneCard. Listening to your teams and being communicative is one of the easiest ways to gain faculty and student adoption.


“Just build good relationships and listen to people's issues and problems and know your system and understand that you can have an effect on that,” said Vanderpoel.


As Mount Holyoke

Guiding international students through account payments can be tricky. With currency exchange rates constantly changing, it can be difficult for students to be confident that they are paying the correct amount. On this episode of FOCUS, Mike Pilman, System Administrator for the Account Receivables Office at Tulane University, joins us to give insight on how Tulane works with TouchNet and TransferMate to simplify payments for international students while improving administrative processes for their staff and protecting the institution against fraud.


Tulane University
Tulane University was founded in 1834 in New Orleans as the Medical College of Louisiana. Today, the university is a private research institution with 14,500 students across ten undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools. Ten percent of the school’s population are international, coming from 90 countries. Pilman says that the institution is looking to expand its international population, particularly in graduate degree programs.


Issues with cross-border payments
With so many international students from so many different countries, the common issues with international payments added up for Tulane. . Students are not only unfamiliar with U.S. banking systems, but also with calculating currency exchange rates with ever changing market rates. This led to incorrect payment amounts, delayed payments, and payments with no student account information included. The combination of issues left a lot of work for accounts receivables to manually fix. Tulane needed a solution to automate their processes and found it in TransferMate.


TransferMate
Tulane first began working with TransferMate 11 years ago to support cross-border payments which helped tremendously with backend reconciliation. But it wasn’t until they transitioned to using the integration between TransferMate and TouchNet that they saw the biggest change. Through this integration, students are able to initiate payments with TransferMate directly in their Student Account Center.


The embedded solution includes a currency exchange calculator that converts the student’s payment amount from US dollars to the equivalent in their local currency. The student completes the details of the transaction within their account and then pays TransferMate according to instructions provided. TransferMate then handles all the details of the currency exchange, cash clearing, and the transmission of payment directly to Tulane. Students are able to access their account at any time to check the status of their payment and TransferMate offers 24/7 customer service.


Campus adoption
Using TransferMate is now the preferred payment option for international students at Tulane. The embedded solution is easily adopted by students, which Pilman attributes to the integration with TouchNet Payment Center.


“Having it [TransferMate] embedded in the billing and payments portal, that really was the biggest factor,” says Pilman.


Tulane also provides general advice on TransferMate on their payment options webpage, which is listed on the Student Accounts Receivable and Office of International Students websites. They also talk to students about it during orientation to make sure every international student knows about it.


Helping more than just students
Aside from international students, TransferMate alleviated many stressors for the accounts receivable staff. Before, staff had to manually alter accounts with any issues. Now, problems with balances and reconciliation are automatically updated with TransferMate, giving staff more time to focus on student needs.


With TransferMate, the need for students to use bank wires has decreased significantly, which has strengthened Tulane’s cybersecurity.. Previously, the institution had their bank wire information on their website for international students to use, leaving Tulane open to bad actors. They still offer wire transfers to students, but only need to give out their