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- Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card - Place an Ad Archives Revels Classifieds Real Estate Guide Weather Subscribe Contact Us November 11, 2004 SOU gives aid with debit card By Jennifer Squires Ashland Daily Tidings Unlike the uproar at Portland State University, the outsourcing of financial aid disbursement at Southern Oregon University has occurred quietly over the past year. "We're not having the same brouhaha," said Craig Morris, SOU director of business services. "We had a dialogue with the students before we entered the contract. That didn't happen at Portland State." SOU and PSU both signed five-year contracts with Higher One, a Conneticut-based financial services company, that change the way financial aid is doled out to students. Higher One produces student ID cards that double as debit cards for financial aid. The cards contain the MasterCard logo, though they can only be used as debit cards if students choose to activate them. The new ID cards are not credit cards and students will not be extended credit through Higher One. "We feel very strongly about not letting [credit offerings] happen," Morris said. "We feel like providing this service to students will allow them to learn to bank online. We're giving them the means to better manage their money." While 1,000 students at PSU took issue with the privatization of public education and threatened to boycott the ID cards, the change has gone largely unnoticed at SOU. The administration attempted to reach out to students in late May by advertising two Higher One forums in June. No students attended the forums, an absence the student government attributed to disinterest and the conclusion of the academic year. "I'm not getting this overwhelming response of negativity like at Portland State," Morris said. However, the student government passed a resolution at the end of spring term urging the administration to hold off making a decision until students returned to campus in the fall, a request that was not honored. "That was something of a concern to us," said Wind Woods, the president of the Associated Students of Southern Oregon University. "We met with Craig Morris and expressed concerns about that. I don't think the student body is as aware as it should be." Now, the student government aims to educate the campus community about the function and purpose of the new ID cards before the change in January to avoid the pitfalls PSU had to deal with. "We're working with Craig Morris as well as the administration to look at Higher One and the product they're offering," ASSOU Vice President Colin Murphy said. "We're also talking with Portland State administration and also their student government to learn more about their experience with the product." Savings at no cost More than two-thirds of the students at Southern - 3,773 students during fall term - receive some form of financial aid to cover tuition, books and living expenses. Any money leftover after tuition and fees are paid to the school, the refund, is distributed to students at the beginning of each term. Between one-half and two-thirds of SOU students who receive aid already utilize Direct Deposit, a program that sends financial aid refunds into students' personal bank accounts. The remaining students are issued checks, which they must pick up. The university prints approximately 10,000 refund checks a year at a cost of about $9 per check. "We wanted to eliminate that dynamic," Morris said. "We'll also free up time at the cashier's windows at the beginning of every term." Higher One allows students to continue receiving funds directly in their current bank accounts, be mailed checks or create a checking account through Higher One, then use the ID card to extract funds. "The ID card will still have all the current functionality offerings our current card has," Morris said. "It's all about choice, which is why I'm so excited." The contract requires no payment to Higher One by the university, excluding the $300,000 breach-of-contract fine. Higher One makes its money from the interest on financial aid funds and transaction fees when students use the debit cards. DailyTidings.com Home Page Archives | Revels | Classifieds | Real Estate Guide | Weather | Subscribe | Contact Us Copyright 2005 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers All Rights Reserved Slippers Isotoner Slippers Dsw Shoes Ceramic Piggy Banks Fanny Mae Eloans Calenders 2005 Calender 2005 Accelerate Weight Loss Programs Citibank Student Loans Acs Loan Matchmaking & Dating Scripts Adventure Travel Conference Calls - $50/Month Security Systems student loan consolidation helzberg diamonds Click Here Site Search: .:Advertisements:. RESOURCES - Mail Tribune News - ODOT Road Cams