Student Accounting:

FAQs

What is an Item Type?
Item types are the basic work unit of the Student Financials application. Each item type defines and describes a unique action. The item type setup differentiates between charges and credits and defines how and where each can be applied. It also groups them by classification and determines how the system uses them to transfer student account information to the general ledger.

How can I get a list of my department��s item types?
Login to PeopleSoft Student System and run query UHS_GA_SF_ITEM_TYPE_LIST.

What is FIXIT process?
Departments will see differences in revenues and expenses reported for the Fall semester. The student system does not recognize fiscal periods – transactions post on the date they occur (once tuition/fee calculation begins for a term). In the student system, tuition and fee calculations for a Fall semester begin earlier than September 1 (the beginning of a new fiscal year).
Rather than have those Fall transactions post in the old fiscal year, the PS Finance system runs a process called FIXIT that identifies all Student System-feed transactions with the new fiscal year budget period and posts Net Tuition & Fee Revenues (Tuition & Fee Revenues less Waiver Expenses) as Deferred Revenues and posts Expenses (mostly Scholarships & Grants) as Prepaid Expenses. The FIXIT process reverses the Deferred Revenues and Prepaid Expenses on September 1 (the first day of the new fiscal year), moving the Deferred Revenue back to Revenue and Prepaid Expenses back to Expense.

How can I get detailed transactions for FIXIT Journals?
• Login to PeopleSoft Student Financials and run query UHS_GA_FIXIT_SF_JRNL_DETAIL

What queries or reports are available in PS Finance to help me understand the impact of student system transactions on my cost center?

   • Student Financial Accounting report
       Navigation: Custom Reports> Student Financials> Student Financial Accounting.
       Results are available in .PDF or .CSV format.
   • UHS_PSSA_DETAIL_DEPARTMENT – Public query which lists PS student system detail
       by DeptID/EmplID
   • UHS_PSSA_SUMM_DEPARTMENT – Public Query which lists PS student system summary transactions       by DeptID

What is Bad Debt?
A bad debt is an accounts receivable which will likely remain uncollectable and will be written off. The University of Houston makes an estimate of bad debt that might be incurred in the current time period based on past records as part of estimating a bad debt allocation rate. This historical average (bad debt allocation rate) is used in the monthly bad debt allocation process which debits departmental revenue and credits the bad debt reserve account, thereby spreading the cost of anticipated bad debt equitably.
When student receivables are written off, the receivable is credited and the bad debt reserve account is debited. As part of the write-off process, service indicators are placed on student accounts.
The impacts of the bad debt service indicator (B13) are to block:

Transcripts
Enrollment Verifications
Adding of classes
Refunds

A student, who wishes to clear their bad debt and have the B13 service indicator removed, should contact Student Business Services.

What are bad debt allocation journals and what is bad debt allocation rate?

The monthly bad debt allocation processes run during month-end closing in PeopleSoft Finance. Bad debt entries from the monthly bad debt allocation process are not found in PS Student Financial Accounting Entries (SF_ACCTG_LNs).

The monthly bad debt allocation process creates journals beginning with BDEBT:

�� Debit revenue and credit the bad debt reserve account

�� Up to 9 journals , for different types of Student revenues (tuition, designated tuition, student service fees, other fees, and for various revenues earned by auxiliary departments)

Monthly Bad Debt Journals

�� SA Bad Debt – Designated Tuition

o Based on 00730 revenue in GL Accounts 40300-40499

o Creates GL entries:

�� 40302 (debit) - BAD DEBTS-DESIGNATED TUIT-REV