UWSP recognized by AASCU

The Financial Aid Office at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point has been recognized by the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU) for a partnership program with Great Lakes Higher Education Corporation (GLHEC).

The AASCU recognized UWSP’s quality assurance program along with those from 100 other institutions. The partnership with GLHEC makes possible electronic transfer of financial aid funds from the corporation to the student accounts at the university, eliminating errors, the need for additional paperwork and the issuing of checks.

"Electronic fund transfer, or ETF, is clean, fast and accurate," says Phil George, director of the Financial Aid Office at UWSP and creator of the partnership program. "There is no room for error and the funds are attributed correctly."

Students receive their tuition payments sooner, records are reconciled efficiently and staff members may use their time on other projects.

According to program facilitator Paul Watson, 82 percent of the $13 million dollars in UWSP’s annual financial aid was transferred electronically during the 97-98 school year.

GLHEC previously sent checks to UWSP’s Bursar’s Office on a bus, he said, then that office would cut the checks and get students to sign and return them. With ETF, the funds are wired directly, saving a great deal of transportation and personnel time. During the first two weeks of this semester, 2,900 transactions worth $4 million came through electronically, Watson said.

Through the partnership, the Financial Aid Office weekly receives a computer file from GLHEC, which reports the amount of funds to be dispersed. A computer program in the office pre-validates the funds, checking the names of the students and reporting who no longer meets the criteria of their loan such as credits or academic standing. The exception list goes back to GLHEC, making it possible for the funds that come to UWSP to be deposited automatically and correctly. Students no longer get the wrong checks, he said, a problem which used to cause delays and extra work for those involved.

Students seem to like the program, he added, as no one has refused the change to ETF.

George created the partnership after the university decided not to go with direct lending, a governmental program in which the university would get federal funds for direct deposit into student accounts, rather than having students borrow through local bank and savings and loan lenders.

Like the partnership program, direct lending eliminated much of the paperwork and checks, George said. But it also took away some of the benefits to students who borrow from local lenders. When those lenders sell the loans to secondary markets such as the Sallie Mae Corporation, he said, students can reduce their payback amount through repayment incentive programs. The GLHEC partnership continues the use of local lenders.

Direct lending was also more costly for the university to administer, while the GLHEC partnership saves staff time as well as university and taxpayer dollars.

Another benefit of the partnership, George said, is that it continues UWSP’s healthy relationship with local lenders, continuing the business of community banks and saving and loan associations. These lenders also assist UWSP, he added, by sponsoring local financial aid symposiums and assisting in the student exit counseling process, which helps students understand the loan repayment process and encourages good repayment practices.

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