Commendation to MHCC’s Financial Aid Office for keeping their cool

Financial Aid Office has made great strides in improving the aid process.

The Advocate would like to commend the Financial Aid Office. Since last summer’s financial aid crisis, when aid was delayed and many students suffered the repercussions, the Financial Aid Office has made impressive strides in improving productivity.

By dedicating the morning to paperwork and using afternoon hours for face-to-face student meetings, the turn-around for receiving aid has improved considerably.

More than just the process involved, we would also like to commend the aid workers for enduring the frustration that students have added to the job. Not all students are unruly and not all aid workers keep their cool 100 percent of the time, but when faced with a desperate situation many students seem to have a less-than-patient approach to communication. Aid workers seem to remain courteous and as helpful as possible, in spite of the endless line of students with complaints and dwindling patience.

It takes a lot to admit when a mistake has been made, and the Financial Aid Office was upfront about the shortcomings that led to the summer delay in disbursement and beyond and they have created processes to correct those problems.

Communication with students about when to expect aid was one of those problems. One of the major hold-ups for delayed aid was students expecting payment far before aid would be ready. To remedy this, the department has launched a campaign to let students know that if they apply early they will get their aid on time. This previous pitfall in communication has been met with newspaper ads, information in bathroom stalls and posters.

Financial aid parties have also been introduced to help students get their aid done promptly and correctly to ensure that applications are complete and on time.

The MHCC staff has banded together to help push financial aid to the most efficient capacity possible. Faculty and advising staff understand that if students are stressed about money, then classroom performance will suffer, and this causes turmoil for everyone campuswide. Workers have been borrowed from other departments to help keep up with increasing aid requests. For example, Luis Juarez, current co-manager of the Financial Aid Office, said he has been asked to manage in lieu of his previous position as manager for the Academic Advising & Transfer Center.

MHCC administrative staff made promises of increased efficiency in the beginning of fall term and they have lived up to that promise.

Hopefully, students have received the point being made by the MHCC staff and understand that in order to get aid on disbursement dates, they must make sure to fill out the FAFSA early and keep an eye on the www.my.mhcc.edu website for updates from the Financial Aid Office. With this newly ordered sense of urgency to apply early from the Financial Aid Office, we also hope that students will heed this advice and that stress levels on students in need, and on financial aid workers as well, will be partially relieved.