Page 25 - OIT Progress Report: 2025 Edition

“ Implementing STABLE
has given DES access to
data that simply wasn’t
available in previous
years. That visibility
has been critical in
helping us identify
specific opportunities to
improve our processes.”
MARY SAUCEDA
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF STUDENT
FINANCIAL SERVICES AND
DIRECTOR OF FINANCIAL AID
previous years. That visibility has been critical
in helping us identify specific opportunities to
improve our processes. While the software was
not designed for student support requests, the
transparency it offers has been a key step forward
for DES customer service.”
New Student Billing Platform
“What do I owe?” was one of the most frequently
asked questions from students and parents
alike. A major source of confusion was the
student billing process. The technologies in
place for communicating statement balances
and facilitating payment of tuition and fees was
disjointed and confusing to students and parents.
Invoices and statements between my.SMU and
the payment site were not always clear, leading
to confusion over what needed to be paid and
when. In response, Enrollment Services made the
strategic decision to rapidly replace the third-party
application with a new solution and completely
overhaul the process. OIT collaborated closely with
DES to implement a unified, user-friendly solution,
which was successfully launched in summer
2025. Additional enhancements are planned for
the upcoming academic year to further improve
the experience.
The new SMUpay interface
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