University of Illinois System
Policies & Procedures
Last item for navigation

13.5 Enrollment and Key Deposits

Policy Statement

Units must ensure that both enrollment and key deposits are properly accounted for within Banner.

Reason for the Policy

To ensure accurate reporting for the University of Illinois System’s audited financial statements.

Applicability of the Policy

All units who collect enrollment deposits or key deposits as outlined below:

Enrollment Deposits

Enrollment deposits are paid by potential students who have been accepted into the system but who have not yet committed to attending.

  1. The enrollment deposit serves as a placeholder to reserve the potential student’s spot in the incoming class for a certain period of time while they make their final decision.
  2. If the potential student does enroll and attend the University of Illinois System, then the enrollment deposit is applied as a credit to their student account to offset tuition charges.
  3. If the potential student does not enroll, then they typically lose their deposit and the amount paid for the deposit is reclassified to the system’s tuition fund. This amount is then budgeted back to the applicable unit as temporary state budget.

Key Deposits

Key deposits are deposits paid by students, faculty, and/or staff in exchange for temporary possession of a key allowing space access within a system facility (such as an office or research lab).

  1. Key deposits act as a safeguard against situations where the keyholder may lose the key. If the individual loses the key, then they lose their key deposit. In those situations, the key deposit would be reclassified to the system’s tuition fund and budgeted back to the related unit as temporary state budget. The unit would use the additional state budget to cover costs associated with replacing the key and/or the related lock.
  2. If the individual returns the key, then the deposit is refunded to them.
  3. Note: The key deposits addressed within this policy only apply to key deposits for non-auxiliary buildings and non-auxiliary operations. For guidance on how to handle key deposits for auxiliary operations accounted for in self-supporting funds, refer to Section 22.

Procedure

To ensure enrollment and key deposits are properly accounted for in Banner, follow the guidelines and procedural steps below.

  1. Ensure that a proper fund code has been established to account for the enrollment and/or key deposits.
    1. Enrollment deposits and key deposits for non-auxiliary operations must be accounted for in a fund assigned with a 2N fund type. This type of fund resides mostly in the 201nnn numerical range in Banner.
    2. To request a new 2N fund code, complete and submit the Banner Fund, Program, Index Code Request Form.
  2. Ensure that a unique program code has been established to account for lapsed deposits and/or credit card processing fees. Note: Credit card processing fees can only be assessed against tuition fees.
    1. A unique program code must be established to accurately track any related activity recorded to the university’s tuition fund (C-190010), such as lapsed deposits or credit card processing fees.
    2. Given that the program code will be used with the system’s tuition fund (not the 2N fund itself), the program code must reside in the 103nnn numerical range.
    3. To request a new program code, complete and submit the Banner Fund, Program, Index Code Request Form.
  3. If there is a need to accept credit card payments for these deposits, then approval must first be obtained from Merchant Card Services (MCS).
    1. When making the request, details must be provided to MCS regarding what C-FOAP accounting string to use when recording the credit card receipts and related credit card processing fees to Banner.
    2. See step 4 below for details regarding what general ledger liability account code should be used when crediting the payments to the 2N fund. Note that since the payments are being credited to the general ledger, no organization or program code will be needed. All MCS will need is the chart, 2N fund number, and the applicable account code as outlined in step 4 below.
    3. All credit card processing fees should post to the system’s tuition fund. The C-FOAP should be C-190010-103000-142350-103nnn, where C represents the applicable chart and where 103nnn represents the unit’s specific program code that was established in step 2 above.
  4. Ensure that the enrollment and/or key deposits are credited to the proper general ledger account code of the applicable 2N fund.
    1. Enrollment deposits should be credited to the 61800 (Enrollment Deposits for Potential University of Illinois System Students) account code within the general ledger of the applicable 2N fund.
    2. Enrollment deposits for LLM students at the UIC Law School should be credited to the 61801 (Enrollment Deposits for Potential LLM Master of Laws Students) account code within the general ledger of the applicable 2N fund.
    3. Key deposits for non-auxiliary operations should be credited to the 61810 (Deposits Not Elsewhere Classified) account code within the general ledger of the applicable 2N fund.
  5. For 2N funds used to account for student enrollment deposits, units must request a new payment detail code from the University Bursar.
    1. If the individual enrolls, a payment detail code is needed to apply their initial deposit payment to their new student account. This will ensure that their deposit payment is then applied as a credit against their tuition charges.
    2. To request a new detail code, complete and submit the University Bursar Detail Code Request form.
  6. For 2N funds used to account for student enrollment deposits, use Banner AR to apply the payment to the student’s account via the new payment detail code, if applicable.
    1. Individual or small-volume assessments should use Banner page TSAMASS, while recurring high-volume assessments should use a Banner feeder.
    2. If a Banner feeder is used, verify the transaction posted successfully using the Interface Error Reports (FIINTERFAC) within Mobius View.
    3. For questions on how to use Banner AR, contact University Bursar’s Accounts Receivable Operations office.
  7. Ensure that the 2N fund and the related program code on the tuition fund are reconciled on a regular and timely basis and that any discrepancies are corrected on a timely basis. In addition, keep in mind that a final reconciliation for June 30 period 12 business is required at the end of the fiscal year, to ensure that all forfeited deposits are properly reclassified and any errors are corrected by the close of the fiscal year. This will ensure that liabilities are not overstated and that all errors are cleared for the system’s audited financial statements.
    See below for tips on what to look for during these reconciliations:
    1. When reconciling the 2N fund, ensure that there are no expenses, revenues, or fund transfers on the operating ledger (other than possibly bad debt expense) as this type of fund should typically only have general ledger activity.
    2. When reconciling the 2N fund, ensure that the only balances on the general ledger are claim on cash and liabilities. See step 4 below for the liability account codes that would be expected.
    3. When reconciling the 2N fund, ensure that any cash balances being held are current deposits. This will help ensure that the system is not letting any past deposits from past periods or past fiscal years remain stagnant in the 2N fund, and that all deposits are properly reclassified on a timely basis (i.e., applied to the student’s account, lapsed to the tuition fund, or paid back to the individual who paid the key deposit).
      1. A good business practice for enrollment deposits is to have a publicized date each semester when enrollment deposits are either applied to the student’s account or lapsed to the system’s tuition fund.
    4. When reconciling the 2N fund, ensure that there are no non-normal balances in the general ledger (e.g., make sure the 2N fund is not in a cash deficit).
    5. When reconciling the related program code on the tuition fund (C-190010), ensure that the only transactions that you see on the operating ledger are credit card processing fee expenses on the 142350 (Processing Fees—Vendor Payment) expense account code and revenue from the lapsed deposits on either the 300290 (Enrollment Deposit Forfeiture Revenue) account code or the 300291 (Key Deposit Forfeiture Revenue from a 2N Fund) account code. If discrepancies exist, reach out to UAFR for assistance.
  8. Ensure that the deposit is properly resolved and removed from the 2N fund when applicable, and that temporary budget is received for any deposits that are lapsed to the tuition fund.
    1. For example, for student enrollment deposits, ensure that the deposit is either (1) applied to the student’s account on a timely basis or (2) reclassified to the tuition fund on a timely basis once it is known if the potential student has accepted or declined the admission offer.
    2. For key deposits, ensure that the deposit is either paid back to the individual (via a Chrome River expense report) once they return the key or reclassified to the tuition fund if they fail to return the key.
    3. For assistance on reclassifying deposits to the tuition fund for either one of these scenarios, reach out to UAFR at uas@uillinois.edu. UAFR will record the lapse entry on the unit’s behalf, and will put the unit in touch with the appropriate university budget office to coordinate a temporary budget adjustment to ensure this lapsed amount will be budgeted back to the department.
    4. As noted in step 7, it is essential that these reviews and entries are completed by the end of the fiscal year (June 30) to ensure liabilities are not overstated at the end of the fiscal year.
  9. Finally, if this activity ever comes to an end (e.g., if a unit decides that they are no longer accepting enrollment deposits and/or key deposits), then the unit will need to:
    1. Perform a final reconciliation of the 2N fund to ensure that all deposit balances have been properly addressed and the fund has no remaining cash or liability balances.
    2. Perform a final reconciliation of the related program code used with the tuition fund ensuring no discrepancies or unallowable transactions are posting to it.
    3. Once all issues are rectified and cleared, submit a termination request to UAFR (uas@uillinois.edu) requesting that the fund and program code be terminated.
    4. Units must submit a request to the University Bursar to deactivate the related detail code using the University Bursar Detail Code Request form.

Policy Information

  • First Published

    January 2025

  • Last Updated

    January 2025

  • Last Reviewed

    January 2025

Related Policies and Procedures