AROUND CAMPUS
MONDAY, AUGUST 18, 2008
Lv
Financial aid refund check options decrease, become faster
Students can no longer pick up their checks starting this fall; they can either use direct deposit or receive them by mail.
BY DEEPA SAMPAT dsampat@kansan.com
Students will no longer be able to skip school.
pick up refund
pick up refund checks from their tuition. Starting this fall, refunds will either be directly deposited into students' bank accounts or mailed to them.
Jeanne Rooney, associate comptroller, said the bur-sar's office had already seen a
She said last spring about 700 students picked up checks, com-
decrease in the number of students who were picking up checks.
"We thought the students were saying, 'We want to do direct deposit,' Rooney said. "The money
pared to 2,200 students two years ago. She said about 7,000 total students received refund checks
"We think the students are just telling us,'Just give us the money the fastest way possible."
JEANNE ROONEY associate comptroller
soon as their refund is calculated. Rooney said that in the past when students didn't pick up their checks, the checks weren't mailed out until several days later.
instantaneously hits your bank account, which is the direction we want students to go because you directly get your money."
If students elect not to have their refund directly deposited, a refund check will be mailed to them as
that tasia Rayton, Austin, Texas,
senior, will receive a refund check.
"We thought, let's go ahead and speed the whole process up for everybody," Rooney said. "We think the students are just telling us, 'Just give us the money the fastest way possible.'"
"I don't think people will mind as long as their money is getting to them."
She said she set up a direct deposit account and wouldn't have picked up
This is the first semester
TASIA RAYTON Austin, Texas, senior
her check even if that were an option.
"D iRECT deposit is convenient and I'll get it immediately," she said.
She said she thought students wouldn't care about not being able to pick up their check.
"I don't think people will mind as long as their money is getting to them," she said. "Most students have bank accounts anyway."
Edited by Ramsey Cox
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