Administrative Procedures

Bookstore Charges Procedure

1. Purpose

To provide procedures for the contracted operations of KCTCS bookstores with Barnes and Noble College Bookstores (BNCB). 

2. Scope

This procedure applies to all KCTCS colleges/bookstores.

3. General

3.1

The KCTCS partnership with Barnes and Noble includes services for charge privileges for students to receive instruction materials, college apparel, and other sundries sold in KCTCS college bookstores.

3.2

KCTCS financially guarantees the charges for students pending student financial aid eligibility and award.

3.3

The charge process is an automated electronic file transfer and is only for those students approved to receive student financial aid.

1. Charges for third party payers are exclusively between BNCB and the third party.

4. Required Communication

4.1 

To reduce process and data transmission error, the charge process requires extensive coordination between KCTCS System Office, each college, and BNCB. 

4.2

The automated charge process starts prior to the beginning of the academic term.

4.3

To address courses starting during the traditional fall and/or spring term, colleges may elect to participate in the automated charge process of bi-terms (fall and spring).

1. The bi-term automated process requires set dates for all colleges that wish to participate.
2. Colleges may work with their local bookstore manager to facilitate bookstore privileges for other sub-terms unique to that college (see section 10).

4.4

Charge privileges are contingent on a student’s anticipated aid award, as well as a returning student’s satisfactory academic progress (see section 6).

5. Automated Process Charge Period

5.1

The U.S. Department of Education regulations allow a college to permit students to charge instructional books and supplies contingent on aid awarded and used as the source of payment up to 10 calendar days prior to the 1^st day of scheduled classes.

5.2

KCTCS colleges follow this standard using the 1^st day of class as the benchmark for calculating the dates for charge privileges.

1. Once the charge period has ended, student aid residuals are released to the student per their refund selection.
2. Residual aid is defined as the student’s award less tuition, local charges, and bookstore charges. 

5.3

KCTCS' automated charge period begins 10 days prior to the start of classes and ends on a pre-defined date established by each college.

1. The predefined end date shall not be less than the Friday of the second full week of the start of classes.
2. All established end dates must be confirmed with the KCTCS Office of Student Financial Aid and Student Financials in order to establish and communicate a refund calendar.
3. End dates outside of the pre-confirmed end date require use of the non-automated charge process described in section 10.

5.4

The KCTCS Office of Student Financial Aid approves exceptions in advance.

6. Bookstore Charge Eligibility

6.1

KCTCS has established the following payment priority for applying student aid to the student’s assessed charges:

1. Tuition
2. Local Charges
3. Bookstore Charges

6.2

To be granted bookstore charge privileges, a student must be approved to receive financial aid in an amount in excess of their total tuition and local charges as these items will be deducted from the their aid, with the remaining balance available as a bookstore charge privilege.

1. Student balances remaining after bookstore charges are remitted to the student as a residual check.
2. Charges for third party payers are exclusively between BNCB and the third party.

7. Sequence of the Charge Approval Process

7.1

In order for the automated charge process to work properly, the following processes must occur in sequence:

1. Student submits required documentation for a complete aid file.
2. Student signs release of the aid award information for charge privileges.
3. Faculty turns in grade reports per college schedule to enable grade postings (and satisfactory academic progress, as applicable).
4. College submits scheduled charge period to KCTCS Office of Student Financial Aid.
5. Student aid is posted and loaded in KCTCS’ Student Financials Module with available aid file (after tuition and local charges deducted) forwarded to BNCB.
6. BNCB corporate office loads transmitted student aid file into its point-of-sale system by college, by student.
7. Student is able to charge based on amount of residual charge credit.
8. Charge privileges end per college’s charge schedule with file submitted to BNCB to KCTCS Student Financials.
9. Student charges are settled with residual aid check processed to student’s address as listed with KCTCS’ PeopleSoft Student Administration Module.

8. Charges That Affect the Charge Process

8.1

A student’s charge eligibility is subject to his or her financial aid award and can vary according to the number of credit hours the student is taking at a given point in time. 

1. A reduction in course load could result in a reduction in a student’s aid.
   1. The day following a student dropping a course, a new charge file is submitted to BNCB for a lesser amount of residual aid, resulting in reduced charge privileges.
2. In addition, the opposite could also be true where a student increases from part-time to full-time and student’s financial aid award increased resulting in increased charge privileges.

8.2 

Unused credit after the charge period is converted to a residual check to the student. 

8.3 

Charges in excess of charge privileges are posted to the student’s account as a receivable.

9. Automated Charge and Payment Process

9.1

Once the charge period has ended, BNCB sends KCTCS Office of Student Financials a file listing each student’s bookstore charges.

9.2

KCTCS Student Financials group posts individual charges to student accounts using item type 50xxxxx99003.

9.3

The item type debits the student account receivable (A/R) account 12100 and then credits the BNCB payable account (21005).

9.4

After the charge period has ended, KCTCS receives an invoice from BNCB for each student’s bookstore charges.

9.5

A group posting of all student charges is performed, resulting in a check issued to BNCB for the total of all KCTCS colleges as a whole.

9.6

This check debits the payable account (21005) and credits cash (10000).

1. At this time, the payable account due to BNCB is zeroed out or balanced.

10. Non-Automated Local Charge Process

10.1

On occasion, the local college may find the need to make an exception to the regular charge process outlined above, i.e. student not yet approved for student aid, but college deems it in its best interest to extend bookstore charge privileges to the student, or college offers a number of bi-terms within the regular term. 

1. In such an instance, 51500 must be used (not 21005) in extending bookstore charge privileges to the student.

10.2

If a college allows the student to charge books after the college published charge period end date, business office personnel must manually post the charge to the student’s account using the item type 50xxxxx99002. 

1. If the college has more than one student, they may use the “Mass Select Transaction” process to group post a file of student charges.  
   1. This item type debits the student’s account receivable (A/R) account (12100) and credits a scholarship account 51500.
   2. The local college bookstore will be responsible for directly billing the college for this charge exception.
      1. The charge will not be processed using the system-wide automated process highlighted elsewhere within this procedure.
      2. The college can submit a check request to pay the bookstore using the scholarship account 51500, effectively balancing the college’s financial records, clearing the credit to the scholarship account 51500.
      3. If the college chooses, a KCTCS Procard can be used to pay the bookstore.
      4. In this instance, the college must edit the Procard journal to reflect the charge to the scholarship account 51500.
      5. The student account receivable (A/R) account 12100 will zero out once payment is applied to the student’s account.
2. No group post files will be accepted by the KCTCS Office of Student Financial Services for charges outside the two defined automated charge processes, e.g. beginning of the term and the middle of the term (bi-term).

10.3

If a college receives a bookstore student charge payment from a third party as part of the college’s billing for tuition and local charges, the college must enter a direct journal using the Billing and Accounts Receivable Module for the bookstore portion of the charge/payment using the scholarship account 51500.

1. A check request must be processed to BNCB for the offsetting amount using the scholarship account 51500.

11. Students Taking Classes at More than One College

11.1

For students taking classes at more than one college, a student may also have charge privileges at more than one bookstore location. 

11.2

Extreme cooperation and communication among colleges must occur, especially where charge period closing dates are not congruent.