Why your financial aid was “late”: Disbursement deadline pushed to term’s third Monday
Despite summer’s cybersecurity attack — which shut down campus for a week and required a complete restart of all online systems — fall term’s financial aid repayments were doled out on-time, in accordance with the department’s new deadline.
Refund checks were successfully mailed out early to students on Friday, October 6. Direct deposit recipients, on the other hand, received their aid the following Monday, now the latest expected date for future financial aid payouts.
Regardless of the new deadline, Director of Accounting and Finance Adrienne Kuykendall says her department aims to deliver financial aid to students as soon as possible. “We try to put [financial aid] out early,” says Kuykendall, “[but t]he first disbursement typically takes more time. We would not have finished everything on Friday.”
Robin Bailey / The Mainstream
What motivates the later distribution date?
Accounting and Finance first nudged the repayment to the third Monday of the awarding term on July 1, despite the effects only just now being felt around campus.
Kuykendall says the change was made to allow staff ample time to face any unpredictable and uncontrollable delays often affecting the department — like the cybersecurity attack and IT issues over the summer.
Fall term was no different. “We did have a few delays this time,” Kuykendall says. As well as any other unexpected circumstances, working with the banks issuing funds gives ample opportunity for push backs and miscommunications.
Prior to July, Accounting and Finance staff were frequently left scrambling to meet their due dates. “There were times when our staff would be here, working, until ten or 11 at night,” Kuykendall says.
Financial services provided by Student Accounts
Students with further concerns about their financial status with the college can refer to Student Accounts’ available resources:
- Payment plans for tuition and fees
- Direct deposit
- Bus passes (subsidized upon qualification)
- 1098-T tax information
- Collections processing
- Financial appeals
The Student Accounts department is located in the financial aid offices of the LaVerne Murphy Student Center, operating from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.
Additionally, Student Accounts may be contacted at their email, student.accounts@umpqua.edu, requesting that students messaging from personal accounts provide their student ID and phone numbers.
Contact me at:
UCCMainstream@yahoo.com
For more articles by Robin Bailey, please click here.
