Financial aid is the one thing that makes college possible for several students. When refunds were disbursed September 4, 2015 to Higher One cards, several students were relieved while others remained confused about the status of their refund or where it was.
Since many students use their refunds to purchase textbooks, pay rent, and cover the cost of tuition and an assortment of other university fees, several students at the Marietta campus were left panicking. However, at the Kennesaw campus, there was much less commotion. It wasn’t spotless on either end, but former SPSU students seemed to be the most confused.
“I initially was confused because I was expecting a $2000 refund, which would help me cover all the charges that I owed. When I got my refund, I only received $1000. I am a student at the Marietta campus and I didn’t hear of anything like this happening before.” said Ellie Jarnes, a junior and Apparel and Textiles major.
“I never received the Higher One Card in the first place. Maybe it was because I’m a former SPSU student. Perhaps it was just an oversight,” said Kevin Gotta, a junior and Engineering major.
The Office of Financial Aid and The Bursar’s Office work hand in hand to award aid. It is a collaborative approach where the awarding of aid is released to the Bursar’s Office to address educational costs. If a credit balance exists, refunds are generated and distributed by the Bursar’s Office.
Ron Day, Director of Student Financial Aid “When merging two schools, processes and procedures must also be combined. This also involves the setup necessities for systems related to technological needs, i.e. Banner. Often this is a challenge,” said Day.
Despite the circumstance surrounding the dispersion of refunds and other forms of financial aid, a large scale problem is believed to have been avoided. “I was very pleased with how financial aid was handled during the consolidation and students that meet the financial aid deadlines received their aid,” said Gary Bush, Director of Enrollment Services.
“With the proactive and collaborative nature of the Consolidation Working Groups, much of this was mitigated and many anticipated issues were resolved well prior to fall startup. The merging of the two schools and the dedication of the staff of the Financial Aid Office, no eligible student was harmed in any way. This is true of all aid types – whether federal, state, private, or institutional.” said Day.
Overall, the technical issues seemed to have smoothed over, whether they worked themselves out or the students had to take control. “We are very excited to say we disbursed to 25,193 students approximately $128 million for the Fall 2015 semester,” Day said. Next semesters distribution of refunds on January 25, 2016 will ultimately determine whether this is a large scale problem that needs further addressing.