The Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid is finally having workshops on April 28 and 29 to teach students the proper way to get funding for their education at UH (See story, Page 1). We think this is a wonderful decision. We think it would have been even more wonderful had it happened a year ago when the University transitioned to PeopleSoft 8.9.
Paying for college is tough, and teaching students about the ins and outs of applying for financial aid, getting their paperwork in order and receiving their funds is a vital part of helping as many students as possible succeed in their educations here. UH Financial Aid TV was a good start, but having interactive sessions with a real person in a public setting is the best way to make sure students understand the process.
We can’t help but remember the students who stood up at the Student Government Association Town Hall Meeting in September, confused about why they hadn’t received their money and why they didn’t know what was going on. Next week’s presentations will go a long way to making sure students can avoid similar problems in the future.
However, the question remains: Why didn’t the University start talking to students about the financial aid process last year? It would have saved many students countless hours of stress and grief. It probably would have saved some from dropping classes or leaving UH entirely.
We applaud the Scholarship and Financial Aid Advisory Committee for working to push this idea through – although the committee formed only a few months ago, these sessions in conjunction with the Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid show it’s making a difference. We hope to see the sessions become an annual event, at least for the next several years as we settle into the new system.
Committee Chairman Alejandro Capetillo told the Cougar in February the committee was working to improve communication about financial aid with students, and we’re glad to see the group making good on its promises.
It is, however, unfortunate that the University couldn’t anticipate students would face problems and confusion in the switch to PeopleSoft, especially when it comes to financial aid, and didn’t make a greater effort to communicate. The University should know by now that in any major change, UH must first and foremost take the student body into consideration and keep it informed. It shouldn’t have taken an angry forum and action by the SGA to fix the communication problem. We’re glad the forum happened. We’re glad SGA took steps to draw attention to the problem in order to solve it.
We’re just saying these reactions shouldn’t have been necessary.
