The financial aid office awarded some 2,600 refunds to students totalling $9.9 million as of Labor Day, despite long lines and the implementation of the new Banner system.
Policy changes in the department and the transition to the Banner system caused confusion and panic for many students at the beginning of the semester. The result was a flood of students in the office of financial aid on the first class day, causing the office to extend its hours to as late as 1 a.m.
An influx of freshmen enrolled this semester combined with students who were unaware of recent changes in the financial aid system all contributed to the confusion.
Changes in operations included notification for students requiring verification to receive financial aid to be electronic. Alerts for students who needed verification were sent to their respective student e-mail accounts.
“A lot of the time it was difficult to get notification to students because their campus e-mail boxes were full…and the e-mails would simply bounce back to our office,” said Dr. Carlos Clark, director of the financial aid department.
Clark warned students to maintain and check their campus e-mail accounts regularly, as the financial aid office will soon shift to e-mail as the primary mode of communication between the office and students.
“Financial aid is going green. Starting next fall, financial aid will not mail to a student’s physical address,” said Clark.
Students’ concerns also involved the department’s announcement that students were to be dropped if they had not paid at least the first installment of their tuition by the first day of class. The university began enforcing this deadline after it was discovered that the office, prior to the first summer term of 2008, was not complying with state guidelines, which required that students pay before they were eligible to attend classes.
Though this development had little to do with Banner’s implementation, some students were concerned with other ways the new system would affect their registration and processing for financial aid. Christa Molloy, who oversaw the implementation of the new system, assured students that the first day drop rule would have gone into effect regardless of the integration of the new system.
Despite fears that the new rule would cause a large number of students to be dropped, only 331 students were actually dropped from the system by the end of the first week of instruction.
The reinstatement process for students who have been dropped has changed slightly as well. Beginning this semester, the reinstatement fee will now be $200, up from the $75 students have paid in the past. Students have until Sept. 10 to apply to be reinstated.
The financial aid office also began requiring that students pass an online “financial literacy test” designed to educate students about the responsibilities involved with taking out loans and to encourage good budgeting skills among students once their financial aid is awarded.
In addition to getting their paperwork in on time, Registrar Deborah Dungey suggested that students make use of the university e-mail system as an important line of communication between students and the financial aid and registrar’s office.
Dungey advised students to be aware of changes in the registrar’s office as well as the ones occurring in financial aid.
“Students from now on hoping to drop classes must bring drop forms to the office of the registrar. No drops will be handled by only their department,” she added.
Overall, administrative opinion on the new system was good. Clark noted the increased speed with which Banner allowed the financial aid department to distribute refunds to students. With the new system, dispersal to student accounts through financial aid occurs twice a day instead of once.
“Banner has allowed the process to become much more automated,” added Clark.