By KJ Burns, Managing Editor
As a college student, few things are more stressful than wondering if you’re financially cleared to move into the dorms or attend classes. Tuition bills, financial aid and required paperwork are already stressful enough.
Adding unanswered phone calls and emails to the process makes the situation that much worse.
At Newman, students are given deadlines to clear their bills so they can move onto campus and remain enrolled in their classes. When those deadlines approach, being able to reach Student Accounts or Financial Aid shouldn’t feel like a game of chance.
Unfortunately, my experience over the summer showed me just how difficult it can be to get a response when you need one.
Over the course of about a week and a half, I attempted to contact Newman University’s Student Accounts and Financial Aid offices more than a dozen times.
I called during the offices’ listed hours, sent emails and waited for a response because I had questions that needed to be answered before my bill could be cleared and my financial aid offer approved.
Eventually, I did receive an email regarding my financial aid, and that response cleared up the majority of my questions.
However, I was told that I would be notified when my aid was processed or if I needed to complete any additional steps. That notification never came.
Ten days later, I reached out again and discovered that my financial aid had not actually been completed. Suddenly, what I thought would have been a routine process became a last-minute scramble with move-in day approaching.
I had to redo forms and make sure everything was submitted correctly. At that point, I needed confirmation from the university that my paperwork had been received and that I was cleared to move in. Once again, I tried calling and emailing the offices and received no response.
The situation was eventually resolved but not until move-in day. On top of that, it took an unusual course of action to get it resolved.
I contacted my head coach about my situation, and he physically walked over to the office and got me on the phone with a staff member through his cell phone. Only then was I finally able to get the answers I needed.
During that conversation, I was told that the office was short-staffed and that I was not the only student experiencing problems with getting bills cleared and receiving responses.
That explanation made the situation more understandable, but it did not make the problem any less frustrating.
It’s understandable that university employees can only handle so much, especially when an office is operating with fewer people than it needs. I’m not trying to criticize the individual employees who are working there.
If the office is genuinely short-staffed, the employees are very likely dealing with an overwhelming number of requests from students.
The problem, however, is that students should not have to figure that out on their own.
When a student is waiting on financial aid, a bill or a required form, silence leads to uncertainty and stress. Students don’t know whether their paperwork was received, whether something is missing or whether they are actually cleared to attend classes and move onto campus.
For those already dealing with the financial stress of college, that uncertainty can make an already tough situation even worse.
There needs to be a better system for communicating with students and getting support to short-staffed offices. This is especially important during the weeks leading up to a semester, when these offices are likely to be busiest.
Communicating with students in moments like that is also very important. Even if staff can’t immediately solve a problem, knowing that someone has received the request and just needs more time to answer it would eliminate much of the uncertainty.
Newman could also provide students with clearer expectations during busy periods. If responses are expected to take several days because of staffing shortages, students should be told that upfront.
The university could also incorporate a temporary means of communication or additional staff during the weeks surrounding billing and move-in deadlines.
Students should not have to call a coach, walk into an office or find another person with university connections just to get someone to answer the phone.
Staffing shortages are a legitimate problem, but they shouldn’t become the student’s problem.
PHOTO: Vantage Staff
