New face, new attitude

In an effort to solve financial aid problems, Prairie View A&M University has hired Kelvin Michael Francois as executive director for the Office of Financial Aid.

With more than $159 million in federal aid and scholarships, Francois, who referred to himself as the "problem solver" of financial aid issues, comes with more than 16 years of experience.

"I am pro-student. I don't want to see the students suffer because I am here for them. It is our job to make the financial aid process accurate and effective so that the students can focus on their academic goals and success," Francois said. "Now that I'm here, we're going to be proactive to improve what was so we can strive for perfection."

With a commitment to an 80 percent error reduction, Francois says there will be changes to the internal reporting system and the Web site.

The staff's awareness of students' financial aid will increase, eliminating long lines.

The Web site will be user-friendly. All forms, information and steps needed to complete the financial aid process will be available online, making the financial aid office electronically accessible.

In addition, having a working student I.D. card will be necessary for the datasensitive system.

These problem-solving implementations are going into effect now, but Francois is asking that students remain patient as the provisions won't happen overnight.

The financial aid process works in cycles, so the problems from previous semesters won't be repeated the next semester. Francois has an open door policy so if anybody has any issues, he is ready and willing to solve them.

Orterria McDavid, a freshman mechanical engineering major, said, "The longest I've waited for financial aid was three hours last semester. The problem is that the office is not organized, which is the reason why my refund check was delayed."

Junior human performance major Larry Johnson said, "I remember waiting three days my freshman year. I think the finanacial aid office should have assigned counselors for each student. This way, they will be organized and less likely to lose paperwork."