How Palomar College Improved Student Payments and the Student Experience With Nelnet

When Cassandra Stone joined Palomar College nearly seven years ago, she brought with her a passion for student service and a drive to improve financial operations. As Manager of Student Accounts and Cashiering, she’s led her team through a digital transformation that’s reshaped how students interact with the college’s financial systems—and Nelnet Campus Commerce has been a key partner every step of the way.

Before partnering with Nelnet, Palomar relied on outdated systems that created friction for students and staff alike. Payments were often made in person, and refund checks were processed manually. The pandemic only amplified the need for change.

“We had no way to take payments for different items,” Cassandra recalled. “During the pandemic, we really didn’t. Nelnet Forms was presented to us and it became something that definitely works for our purposes,” she added.

Palomar began its journey with Nelnet by implementing Payment Plans, then expanded to include Past-Due Payment Plans, Online Payments, Nelnet Forms, Refunds, and Checkout. Each solution addressed a specific need—and together, they created a more seamless experience for students and staff.

The impact of Nelnet’s solutions has been felt across campus. With Nelnet Forms, students and staff can make payments for everything from preschool tuition to gym memberships—without needing to visit campus or mail checks.

“I love Nelnet Forms. It works really well for our institution,” Cassandra said.

She even shared a personal story: “My daughter goes to the preschool here on campus. At a birthday party for another child, other parents who found out I worked in the cashier’s office shared with me their excitement that they didn’t have to pay an extra fee to make their preschool payments online. They were just really stoked.”

Refunds have also been transformed. What was once a manual, check-based process is now streamlined through Nelnet.

“Implementing refunds simplified a lot of things for our students and for ourselves. I wouldn’t want to go back,” Cassandra said. “It just made things a lot more difficult, the way we were doing things in the past. This is the way of the future,” she added.

The improvements have had a ripple effect on staff morale and student satisfaction.

“Our phone calls have decreased… my staff’s not frustrated because the students aren’t frustrated. That’s huge,” emphasized Cassandra.

She credits much of Palomar’s success to Nelnet’s customer support—especially the team’s responsiveness and proactive mindset.

That level of support has helped Palomar confidently expand its use of Nelnet solutions, including a recent transition from a previous payment processor.

“Before transitioning to Nelnet, we faced challenges with our previous system—especially around communication and reliability,” Cassandra said. “Now, if there’s an outage or issue, it’s communicated to me effectively. We’re not having students call saying, ‘Hey, I can’t make a payment.’ We just don’t experience that anymore,” she added.

As Palomar continues modernizing its financial systems, Cassandra and her team are focused on improving accessibility, strengthening digital processes, and preparing for future growth. One priority is updating long-standing paper-based forms to ensure students can easily read, complete, and submit essential documents online.

“We’re taking some of these older forms that have been around for years and making sure they’re clear, easy to understand, and work better for students,” Cassandra explained. “We want every process to feel straightforward and intuitive.”

The college is also exploring enhancements to its payment plan offerings. This includes extending past-due payment plan options to better support international and non-resident students, as well as integrating these plans directly with PeopleSoft for a more seamless experience.

On the technology front, Cassandra sees opportunities to evaluate new tools—including AI-powered solutions—that could reduce manual work and provide faster information to staff and students.

“Technology is changing quickly, and we want to understand how tools like AI can help us work more efficiently,” Cassandra shared. “There’s a lot of potential there.”

“Yes, absolutely—I would recommend Nelnet and I’ve done so before,” she said. “The customer service alone will exceed your expectations in every sense of the word…It’s just really streamlined everything we do. To have everything in one place is a relief for students.”