Inside February 22, 2005's Issue

Board of Regents imposes new exemption rules for Regents' Test

'SMP' wins 19 awards from State Press Assoc.

Cultural Awareness Society plans trips

FC/Darton College medical lab tech student scores high

Deadline for Bahamas trip fast approaching

Peer educators plan to poll students on alcohol/drug use

Maymester and summer student advising and class registration to begin soon

Financial aid refunds sent later than many colleges'

By Lindy Dugger
[email protected]
Assistant Editor

Student financial aid refunds were mailed Feb. 8 � a total of 31 days after the start of spring semester classes.

A number of University System colleges process financial aid checks more promptly.

For example, Dalton State dispersed financial aid money to students on Jan. 6, and Southern Poly distributed checks in the second week of the spring semester. Waycross College's student checks were available for pickup on Jan. 24. Kennesaw State's financial aid money was distributed by the end of January.

However, Valdosta State's checks were not available until Feb. 1. Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College distributed its money Feb. 4.

"The money isn't late," said Dr. Ron Shade, vice president of student development at Georgia Highlands College, who oversees the financial aid process. "In fact, I believe we're actually ahead of last year at this date."

According to Kelly Gribble, director of financial aid, financial aid money for spring semester 2004 was distributed at the end of last February.

The Georgia Highlands College Spring 2005 Academic Calendar said financial aid refunds were to be processed and sent to students Feb. 7-11. "This is the first time we've published a date," said Gribble.

"The excess refund amount is usually held to a certain point in the term until the registrar can confirm students [who receive financial aid] are actually attending their classes," said Shade.

These financial aid refunds refer specifically to excess monies from the HOPE scholarship and the Pell grant.

According to Gribble, scholarship monies from organizations separate from the State of Georgia will be dispersed sporadically as the money is received and processed.

Stratford Loans are distributed depending on when applications are received.

"I don't know the process other schools have in place to get the checks out when they do," said Shade.

Gribble said that while a "major upgrade" of the college's Banner software program, used in student recordkeeping, did delay processing time for the refund checks, it did not necessarily delay the refund time. "Usually we begin processing financial aid during the [semester] break but with the system upgrade, we weren't able to do that," said Gribble.

According to Gribble, there was a "glitch in HOPE disbursement" that was explained in an email to all students sent via the Office of Student Life.

This email, sent on Jan. 4, stated, "Due to a technical issue, some of you may have noticed you were awarded the HOPE scholarship for Spring before the holidays, but now it is not showing up. This is simple to correct, no need to worry. If you fall into this category, you can email your name and last four digits of your social security number to [email protected] or stop by the Enrollment Management offices if you're on campus."

The email also stated that students would not lose their schedules after the Jan. 6 fee payment deadline if their HOPE money had not yet been paid.

According to Shade, Georgia Highlands College students received $5 million in financial aid money last year.

Wayne Jones, comptroller at Georgia Highlands College, said all financial aid money from the state is transferred in lump sums by electronic transfer to Georgia Highlands College's generic bank account. Once FC receives notification that the money is in the bank, the money is moved to a separate account for financial aid.

"Between the time we get the money and it is distributed to students, we don't draw interest," said Jones. "Basically, we can't, because it's not ours."

Any questions about financial aid can be directed to the Financial Aid Office at (706) 295-6311. However, Gribble encouraged students to email questions about financial aid to [email protected] .

Front Page | News | Features | Editorials | Opinions | Entertainment | Sports | Poll | Archives | Our Staff | Application | History | F.A.Q.'s

"Notwithstanding any language to the contrary, nothing contained herein constitutes nor is inteded to constitute an offer, inducement, promise, or contract of any kind. The data contained herein is for informational purposes only and is not represented to be wholly accurate.