Online Registration (OLR) now includes a Tuition section that allows guardians to set up tuition payment plans as part of the student registration process. When enabled, a Tuition step appears in the registration progress tracker. Guardians specify their total tuition commitment, optionally designate additional payers, and sign a tuition agreement within the OLR application. Schools control this feature through the "Include 'Tuition' Section" flag and have two main configuration areas: the Tuition Configuration mapping tool and adding payment plans to the OLR Lists Bank.
Part 1: School Setup
Before guardians see the Tuition section in their OLR application, school administrators must enable the feature.
Prerequisites
Before enabling Tuition in OLR:
- Online Payments must be enabled.
- The Tuition module must be enabled at the school level (System Settings > System Preferences > System Preferences - Enable Tuition = Yes).
- Tuition Groups, Tuitions, and Payment Plans must already be created in the Tuition Group Setup tool.
Enable Tuition in OLR System Settings
The Include 'Tuition' Section setting controls whether the Tuition section appears in the OLR application for guardians.
- Navigate to System Settings > Online Registration Setup > OLR System Settings.
- Select the appropriate Configuration Group.
- Locate the Include 'Tuition' Section checkbox under the OLR Application Options area.
- Mark the checkbox to enable it.
- Click Save.
When this setting is not marked, the Tuition section is hidden from the parent-facing application, the OLR Builder, and tuition-related validation errors are suppressed from application completion checks. The Tuition Configuration tool is also hidden when this setting is off.
Tuition Configuration (Mapping Tool)
The OLR Tuition tool maps Tuitions to specific schools and grade levels within the OLR configuration. This determines which tuition a student is assigned based on the school and grade selected in their OLR application.
Navigate to System Settings > Online Registration Setup > OLR Tuition.
The tool displays a grid showing existing mappings with columns for Tuition name, School, and Grades.
Create a New Tuition Mapping
- Click New.
- Select a Tuition from the dropdown. This list is populated from the Tuition Group Set Up and displays the tuition group name along with the tuition name.
- Select a School from the dropdown.
- Select one or more Grade Levels from the multi-select. The available grades are based on the selected school.
- Enter a Code (up to 15 alphanumeric characters, no spaces). This code is used for translations and to associate tuition-specific agreement text.
- Click Save.
Each school/grade combination can only be mapped to one tuition. The system checks for duplicate grades and will prevent saving if a conflict exists. If a school and grade are not mapped, students registering for that school/grade will show an "Unknown" tuition status.
A "No Tuition" option is available in the Tuition dropdown for schools or grades that do not require tuition. Students mapped to "No Tuition" will not have to select a payment plan or sign a tuition agreement.
Payment Plan Setup
Use the OLR Lists Bank tool to enter the payment plans that should be available to families. These values are maintained in the tuition-paymentPlan under the OLR Lists Bank list.
Each payment plan you add here is shown as an option for parents during the registration process. These plans and their associated codes must align exactly with the payment plans configured in the Tuition Group Set Up. Codes are case-sensitive, and even small differences (extra characters, spacing, or alternate naming) are treated as a mismatch.
If a payment plan code does not match a code in the Tuition Group Set Up, the payment plan still appears valid to parents and can be selected, but the Tuition status will remain Incomplete.
OLR Builder: Tuition Pleats
When Tuition is enabled, the OLR Builder includes a Tuition section with pleats and expandable sections. Tuition fields in the builder are locked and cannot be reordered or removed by school staff. The section and its pleats are controlled by the system configuration. It contains the following pleats:
| Pleat | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Payment Plan | Displays the tuition name and amount, allows the guardian to select a payment plan and enter the amount they will pay. Also allows selecting additional payers, including parents/guardians and others on the emergency contact list. |
| Guarantor | Allows the primary applicant to designate additional guarantors who will receive their own link to complete the tuition payment plan selection and sign the agreement independently. |
| Agreement | Displays tuition-specific agreement text (based on the tuition mapping code) and requires the guardian's electronic signature to acknowledge the tuition obligation. |
OLR Information Center Warnings
When Tuition is enabled, the OLR Information Center displays warnings if any schools or grades in the configuration are not mapped to a tuition. These warnings help school administrators identify gaps in their tuition configuration before guardians encounter issues. Tuition mapping warnings are condensed in the Information Center to avoid clutter. They are hidden entirely when tuition is not enabled.
Application Processing: Tuition Status
When reviewing applications in Application Processing, staff can see tuition-related information for each student:
- The student detail view shows tuition distribution details.
- Applications may have a Tuition Distribution Pending status if the guardian submitted the application but the tuition distributions (e.g., from additional guarantors) are not yet complete.
- Staff cannot flag an application as "Reviewed" when tuition distributions are incomplete.
- The application receipt/FOP (Formatted Output Processor) includes tuition information, including payment plan details and signatures.
- An application can't be moved to an approved/posted status from a Tuition Distribution Pending status.
Applications with tuition data have additional deletion protections. The system prevents deletion of parents and emergency contacts that have foreign key relationships to tuition data. A confirmation dialog warns staff about tuition-related dependencies before deletion. Applications in a "Submitted" status cannot be deleted. Approved/Posted applications can still be deleted but a confirmation dialog and verification has been added.
Part 2: Guardian Tuition Billing Setup
When Tuition is enabled and the student's school/grade is mapped to a tuition, guardians complete tuition billing as part of their OLR application.
Application Progress Tracker
The Tuition step appears in the registration progress tracker and only appears when the Include Tuition setting is enabled. It shows completion status icons (complete, incomplete, no tuition, unknown) just like other sections.
The Tuition Step in the Application
When the guardian navigates to the Tuition section, they see a list of students in their application along with each student's tuition status. The status indicators are:
| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Complete | The student's tuition information has been fully entered and saved. |
| Incomplete | The student has a tuition mapped but the required information has not been fully entered. |
| Unknown | The student's school/grade combination is not mapped to a tuition in the Tuition Configuration tool. A warning dialog is displayed. |
| No Tuition | The student's school/grade is mapped to "No Tuition" -- no billing information is required. |
This screen shows all students in the application with their tuition status. The guardian clicks on a student to open the tuition detail screen and complete the required information.
- A header and footer area display configurable text (set via the OLR Literals Bank).
- If a student has an "Unknown" tuition status, a warning dialog appears explaining that tuition information is missing for that school/grade.
- If a student has "No Tuition" mapped, an informational dialog confirms that no tuition is required.
- The guardian can navigate back to the Student section or proceed to the Completed section when the status of all students is Complete.
Payment Plan Pleat
When the guardian opens a student's tuition detail, the Payment Plan pleat displays:
- Tuition Name -- the name of the tuition that will be assigned to this student based on their school/grade mapping.
- Tuition Amount -- the total tuition amount (including any additional fees).
- Payment Plan -- the guardian selects from the available payment plans configured in the tuition application in Campus and setup in the OLR Lists Bank for tuition payment plans.
- Amount Paying -- the guardian enters their total tuition commitment. This cannot exceed the total tuition amount but can be less than the total tuition amount only if there is an additional guarantor.
- Additional Payers -- the multi-select field is populated with the parents and people listed as emergency contacts. They will be people that are authorized to make payments on this student's tuition. They have no responsibility or obligation for the tuition.
Validation errors appear if:
- A selected payer also exists as a guarantor (duplicate payer error).
- The amount entered is more than the total tuition or less than the total tuition with no additional guarantor.
Guarantor Pleat
The Guarantor pleat allows the primary applicant to designate additional guarantors, who are not part of the current OLR application but will be responsible for a portion of the tuition.
- The guardian selects a guarantor from a list, which is also populated with the parents and those listed as emergency contacts.
- Multiple guarantors can be added by clicking the Add button.
- Guarantors can be removed individually using the Remove button (or Clear if only one remains).
- Each designated guarantor receives a separate email link to complete their own tuition payment plan selection and sign the tuition agreement independently.
The Guarantor pleat only appears in the main application flow (not in the solo guarantor view). Guarantors who receive the email link see only the Payment Plan and Agreement pleats for the student(s) they are responsible for.
Agreement Pleat
The Agreement pleat presents the tuition agreement that the guardian must acknowledge and sign:
- Tuition-specific agreement text is displayed based on the tuition mapping code configured by the school. This is the text that they would enter that is displayed to the parents in the Tuition > Agreement section of the OLR Literals Bank.
- The guardian must provide an electronic signature (clickwrap signature) to acknowledge the tuition obligation.
- The signature is validated -- the application cannot be submitted without a valid signature on the agreement.
If the signature is missing, a validation error is displayed: "Missing Signature." The tuition section will show as incomplete until the agreement is signed.
Tuition Validation and Submission
When the guardian navigates to the Submit screen, the application validates all sections including Tuition:
- If the Tuition section is incomplete, a validation message is displayed on the Submit screen preventing submission.
- All students must have their tuition information completed (or be mapped to "No Tuition") before the application can be submitted.
- The Submit screen shows a "Save & Continue" button from the Tuition step, or a "Submit" button from the additional guarantor view.
Part 3:Additional Guarantor
Tuition payment processing in OLR focuses on setting up the payment plan and payer distribution during registration. Actual payment collection occurs through the Tuition module after the application is posted.
Guarantor Payment Link
When a guarantor is designated in the OLR application, they receive an email with a unique link. This link opens a standalone tuition view in the application where the guarantor can:
- See the student(s) they are responsible for and the tuition details.
- Select a payment plan from the available options.
- Enters their total tuition commitment. The amount entered by all guarantors must be equal to the total tuition amount to move forward.
- Review and sign the tuition agreement.
- Submit their tuition distribution.
The guarantor view includes language selection and the same header/footer branding as the main application. Once the guarantor completes and submits their distribution, the application's tuition status updates accordingly.
Tuition Submitted Screen
After a guarantor submits their tuition distribution, they see a confirmation screen. This screen displays configurable text confirming that their tuition information has been received.
Tuition Distribution Pending Status
When the primary applicant submits the OLR application but one or more guarantors have not yet completed their tuition distribution:
- The application is set to a Tuition Distribution Pending status.
- School staff can see this status in Application Processing.
- Staff cannot flag the application as "Reviewed" until all tuition distributions are complete.
- Once all guarantors complete their distributions, the application status updates.
