Spring Break
New system causes financial aid delays
Antoinette Nevils
Issue date: 11/29/07 Section: News
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Hundreds of students' financial aid was delayed this semester because of a new computer system.
Michael Scott, director of scholarships and student financial aid, said the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board had problems when it installed a new computer system at its offices, delaying disbursement of financial aid all over Texas.
The College Access Loan is the only state loan that was delayed this year, Scott said. Upperclassmen were the main recipients of this loan because they were granted priority over freshmen by the Coordinating Board, he said.
Melet Leafgreen, assistant director of loan programs, said about 600 students took out a College Access Loan, and about 200 to 300 students' aid money was delayed. She said it usually takes about two weeks until loans are disbursed, but this semester it took eight to 10 weeks.
Leafgreen said the B-On-Time loan disbursements were also delayed.
Tiffany Smith, a sophomore middle school education major, said she currently has a $5,000 B-On-Time loan. She said she heard about and received the loan from the financial aid office, so when her disbursement was a month late, she went to the office to get help.
She was originally charged a $25 finance charge, Smith said, but when she told the financial aid office about the problem, it removed the charge.
Leafgreen said the delays were hard on some students because they needed the money to pay for their TCU bills, groceries, books and rent. She said she wrote several letters to landlords telling them about the aid delay in order to extend rent payments.
"Some students had to borrow money from friends," Leafgreen said.
Leafgreen said these students were not punished for their delay, and many students' late finance charges were waived once their money came in.
Leafgreen said it was even more difficult for non-traditional students who quit their jobs to go back to school or for students who had children.
Michael Scott, director of scholarships and student financial aid, said the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board had problems when it installed a new computer system at its offices, delaying disbursement of financial aid all over Texas.
The College Access Loan is the only state loan that was delayed this year, Scott said. Upperclassmen were the main recipients of this loan because they were granted priority over freshmen by the Coordinating Board, he said.
Melet Leafgreen, assistant director of loan programs, said about 600 students took out a College Access Loan, and about 200 to 300 students' aid money was delayed. She said it usually takes about two weeks until loans are disbursed, but this semester it took eight to 10 weeks.
Leafgreen said the B-On-Time loan disbursements were also delayed.
Tiffany Smith, a sophomore middle school education major, said she currently has a $5,000 B-On-Time loan. She said she heard about and received the loan from the financial aid office, so when her disbursement was a month late, she went to the office to get help.
She was originally charged a $25 finance charge, Smith said, but when she told the financial aid office about the problem, it removed the charge.
Leafgreen said the delays were hard on some students because they needed the money to pay for their TCU bills, groceries, books and rent. She said she wrote several letters to landlords telling them about the aid delay in order to extend rent payments.
"Some students had to borrow money from friends," Leafgreen said.
Leafgreen said these students were not punished for their delay, and many students' late finance charges were waived once their money came in.
Leafgreen said it was even more difficult for non-traditional students who quit their jobs to go back to school or for students who had children.
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