Navigating Information at Portland State University: A Comprehensive Guide to myPSU and Payment Options

Portland State University (PSU) provides various digital resources and payment options for its students, faculty, and staff. This article aims to provide a comprehensive overview of accessing information and managing payments at PSU, focusing on the transition from Banweb to myPSU and the available payment methods.

myPSU: Your Digital Hub

Designed and built at Portland State University, myPSU serves as the central digital hub for students, offering quick access to academic, financial, and account information. In addition to grades, a calendar of important dates, maps to classrooms, and important campus alerts, myPSU also showcases club activities, concerts, and other events. While myPSU is primarily a student-focused website, faculty and staff can also log in to find links to commonly used administrative functions like the Employee Dashboard and Finance Dashboard.

Accessing myPSU

myPSU can be accessed at my.pdx.edu. Over the past year, PSU has worked to provide an improved digital experience for faculty, staff, and student employees. If you are a PSU employee, myPSU now contains links to all of the resources from the Employee and Faculty tabs in Banweb. The myPSU student interface will still appear for everyone, regardless of whether they are taking classes or not. Three new sections for: 1) all employees, 2) faculty, and 3) advisors will only display for people with those roles.

Benefits of myPSU

Centralized Access: Everyone at PSU will use the same starting point for accessing digital resources: myPSU.
Improved Support: Employees can easily experience the student interface, allowing them to better support students in navigating myPSU.
Modern Experience: myPSU replaces an outdated system with a more modern experience that has the flexibility to evolve over time.
Customizable and Flexible: myPSU is fully customizable, which makes it flexible and more future proof.

Transition from Banweb to myPSU

PSU has upgraded myPSU to be an improved central hub for students to access digital resources such as class schedules, grades, account balances, financial aid information, and links to other resources and school tools. This allows PSU to move the student experience out of Banweb, and eventually, students will no longer be able to log in directly to Banweb.

This change is being implemented for several reasons:

Read also: Education Jobs in Portland

Simplified Student Experience: To provide fewer “portals,” a more modern look and feel, and a more intuitive name.
Technology Upgrade: The technology underlying Banweb will no longer be supported by the vendor.

If you support students in your role, you can help with this transition by directing students to myPSU instead of Banweb and by updating any content that contains references to Banweb (documentation, web pages, PDFs, syllabi, video tutorials, etc.).Instead of going to banweb.pdx.edu, you should now go to my.pdx.edu.

Payment Options at PSU

PSU offers various payment options to accommodate students' and employees' needs. These options include online payments through CashNet and e-checks. However, due to security concerns and compliance requirements, PSU does not accept credit card payments at the cashier windows.

CashNet: Secure Online Payments

CashNet is a payment gateway for Portland State University. CashNet ensures all payments remain PCI compliant and provides a convenient way for students to make payments online. CashNet payments may be made at the computer kiosks in Fariborz Maseeh Hall, available during lobby hours.

Credit Card Payments and Merchant Fees

PSU strives to offer choices to students and has decided to keep the option of paying by credit card, even if it means that there are fees involved. As a state institution, PSU is not budgeted to support these fees; therefore, PSU is faced with the difficult decision to either pass these fees on to students or eliminate the option of paying by card altogether. Because merchant fees continue to rise, other universities nationwide have been faced with the same issue, and some have decided to no longer offer the option of paying by card. Unlike traditional merchants, PSU must be transparent and cannot build the merchant fees into the cost of tuition. Portland State University gets no portion of these fees. The fees are paid directly by CashNet to the credit card companies for processing the credit card payment.

Recommended Payment Method: e-Check

PSU recommends paying tuition with e-Check, where there are no service fees.

Returned Check Policy

If your check or e-check is returned due to a closed account, stopped payment, incorrect account number, or insufficient funds, PSU will reverse the original payment on your account and add a $25 returned check charge. A hold will also be placed on your account. PSU reserves the right to cancel your registration for classes if a payment is returned as non-payable.

Important Information for Students and Employees

Students and employees must keep their address and banking information up-to-date in Banweb. For international students receiving stipends or awards via Accounts Payable, a W8 form must be uploaded to the W8/W9 portal, providing the student ID number and full name.

US Students/Employees: Banweb
International Students: W8 External Vendors: PaymentWorks

PCI Compliance and Security

In order to meet the State of Oregon mandate of PCI (Payment Card Industry) compliance, PSU is unable to take credit card payments via the cashier windows. As cardholder data is highly sensitive information, the potential for computer fraud is high. PCI security standards require that no credit card numbers are stored on card terminals. By offering CashNet to students, PSU ensures a secure environment for credit card transactions.

It is of utmost concern to comply with the Oregon Identity Theft Protection Act, that an individual’s personal information is safeguarded, including Social Security numbers and banking information.

Additional Information

Authorized payers can view payments made by them; however, they cannot see any other account information or authorize other payers.

Read also: Navigating PCC Job Postings

The University is required to report to the State of Oregon its annual expenditures with minority, women-owned, and emerging small businesses (MWESB).

tags: #portland #state #university #banweb #information