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A bursar (derived from "
bursa ( grc-gre, Προῦσα, Proûsa, Latin: Prusa, ota, بورسه, Arabic:بورصة) is a city in northwestern Turkey and the administrative center of Bursa Province. The fourth-most populous city in Turkey and second-most populous in the ...
", Latin for '' purse'') is a professional
administrator Administrator or admin may refer to: Job roles Computing and internet * Database administrator, a person who is responsible for the environmental aspects of a database * Forum administrator, one who oversees discussions on an Internet forum * N ...
in a school or university often with a predominantly financial role. In the United States, bursars usually hold office only at the level of higher education (four-year colleges and universities) or at private secondary schools. In Australia, the United Kingdom and other countries, bursars are common at other levels of education.


Duties

The bursar is responsible for billing of student tuition accounts. This responsibility involves sending bills and making payment plans; the ultimate goal is to bring all student accounts to a "paid off" status. Bursars are not necessarily involved in the
financial aid Student financial aid in the United States is funding that is available exclusively to students attending a post-secondary educational institution in the United States. This funding is used to assist in covering the many costs incurred in the p ...
process. Bursars' duties vary from one institution to another. At many institutions, bursars deal only with student finances. At other institutions, bursars also deal with some faculty finance issues. Elsewhere, they also oversee accounts receivable, or the payments that the university receives from outside organizations for which it performs services. In some institutions, all money held by the institution is the bursar's responsibility. Some bursars (in the UK for instance) also have responsibility for payroll, investments, facilities, IT, human resources, health and safety and oversight of administrative functions at an institution. The bursar statement is also known as a tuition
bill Bill(s) may refer to: Common meanings * Banknote, paper cash (especially in the United States) * Bill (law), a proposed law put before a legislature * Invoice, commercial document issued by a seller to a buyer * Bill, a bird or animal's beak Pla ...
or a student account bill. The bursar often reports to a comptroller. For example,
Barnard College Barnard College of Columbia University is a private women's liberal arts college in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It was founded in 1889 by a group of women led by young student activist Annie Nathan Meyer, who petitioned Columbi ...
employs an Associate Comptroller–Bursar. In other cases, the bursar has the same level as the comptroller, and both report to the director or vice president of finance. Some universities in the United States still have a director of student financial services whose role is similar to that of a bursar. The University of Pennsylvania employs an associate vice president who essentially combines the role of a bursar (using the student financial services title) and that of a
registrar A registrar is an official keeper of records made in a register. The term may refer to: Education * Registrar (education), an official in an academic institution who handles student records * Registrar of the University of Oxford, one of the sen ...
.


Notable bursars

* Andrew Munro (1869–1935), bursar
Queens' College, Cambridge Queens' College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Queens' is one of the oldest colleges of the university, founded in 1448 by Margaret of Anjou. The college spans the River Cam, colloquially referred to as the "light sid ...
* Sir John Bradfield (1925–2014), senior bursar of
Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge or Oxford. ...
(1956-1992) *
John Maynard Keynes John Maynard Keynes, 1st Baron Keynes, ( ; 5 June 1883 – 21 April 1946), was an English economist whose ideas fundamentally changed the theory and practice of macroeconomics and the economic policies of governments. Originally trained in ...
(1883–1946), first bursar of
King's College, Cambridge King's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Formally The King's College of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge, the college lies beside the River Cam and faces out onto King's Parade in the centre of the cit ...
(1924–44) * The Rev. Prof.
Norman Walker Porteous Norman Walker Porteous (9 September 1898 in Haddington, East Lothian, Scotland – 3 September 2003 in Edinburgh, Scotland) was a noted theologian and writer on Old Testament issues, and the last surviving military officer of the First World Wa ...
(1898–2003), first bursar of University of Edinburgh (1916) *
Derek Taunt Derek Roy Taunt (16 November 1917 (Note 1) – 15 July 2004) was a British mathematician who worked as a codebreaker during World War II at Bletchley Park. Taunt attended Enfield Grammar, then the City of London School. He studied mathema ...
(1917–2004),
Jesus College, Cambridge Jesus College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college's full name is The College of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Saint John the Evangelist and the glorious Virgin Saint Radegund, near Cambridge. Its common name comes f ...
*
Billy Liddell William Beveridge Liddell (10 January 1922 – 3 July 2001) was a Scottish footballer, who played his entire professional career with Liverpool. He signed with the club as a teenager in 1938 and retired in 1961, having scored 228 goals in 534 ap ...
(1922–2001), Liverpool University (?-1984) *
Cecil Goodden Cecil Phelips Goodden (12 November 1879 – 5 November 1969) was an English cricketer, writer and British Army and Royal Marines officer. Goodden was a right-handed batsman. The son of John Robert Phelips Goodden, who would later become High Sh ...
(1879–1969), Harrow School


Fictional

Professor Dinwiddie is "
The Bursar The Unseen University (UU) is a school of wizardry in Terry Pratchett's ''Discworld'' series of fantasy novels. Located in the fictional city of Ankh-Morpork, the UU is staffed by a faculty composed of mostly indolent and inept old wizards. The ...
" of the
Unseen University The Unseen University (UU) is a school of wizardry in Terry Pratchett's ''Discworld'' series of fantasy novels. Located in the fictional city of Ankh-Morpork, the UU is staffed by a faculty composed of mostly indolent and inept old wizards. The ...
in Terry Pratchett's '' Discworld'' novels. He is driven insane by the Archchancellor and so madness is known there as "going Bursar".


See also

*
Chief financial officer The chief financial officer (CFO) is an officer of a company or organization that is assigned the primary responsibility for managing the company's finances, including financial planning, management of financial risks, record-keeping, and financi ...
* Purser, etymologically cognate military (especially naval) position * School business manager *
Treasurer A treasurer is the person responsible for running the treasury of an organization. The significant core functions of a corporate treasurer include cash and liquidity management, risk management, and corporate finance. Government The treasury o ...


References

{{Reflist Business occupations Education and training occupations