Another 15 colleges implement Higher One’s Refund Management system
Fifteen additional colleges and universities have signed agreements to use the OneDisburse Refund Management system from Higher One, a financial services company serving higher education. That brings to 185 the number of campuses in 37 states that are now using the Higher One platform to speed disbursement of refunds to their students. That’s also a 20% growth rate in 2008 alone.
These signings were completed during the past two months and represent more than 140,000 students.
“Higher One is excited to introduce fifteen additional colleges and universities to innovative financial products and services that benefit students and universities,” said Dean Hatton, Higher One’s president and CEO. “These new signings signify that the higher education community continues to look to Higher One for simple and cost effective financial solutions to improve their student services and decrease administrative costs as these institutions face large budget cuts and high enrollment levels.”
Since May 7, these schools have signed on:
Armstrong Atlantic State University, Savannah, Ga; Blinn College, Brenham, Tex.; Bossier Parish Community College, Bossier City, La.; Butler County Community College, Butler, Penn.; Central Piedmont Community College, Charlotte, NC; Chabot College, Hayward, Calif.; Dixie State College, Saint George, Utah; Gateway Technical College, Kenosha, Wisc.; Kansas City Kansas Community College, Kansas City, Kan.; Lane Community College, Eugene, Ore.; Las Positas College, Livermore, Calif.; Oklahoma City Community College, Oklahoma City, Okla.; Rend Lake College, Ina, Ill.; South Texas College, McAllen, Tex.; Tyler Junior College, Tyler, Tex.
“The rapid growth of Rend Lake College made it necessary to seek alternative methods of handling financial aid disbursement and campus refunds,” explained Larry West, the college’s vice president for finance and administration. “Our current system of internal paper checks became antiquated, time consuming, and costly to the college. Higher One’s services exactly matched what I was looking for in handling student accounts. I hope to expedite student refunds and to reduce the number of hours my staff needs to process disbursements and refunds.”
The OneAccount can provide students with tools that help them with financial management, such as online statements they can access anytime and mobile messages to alert them when they have received their refunds. Students also have access to 24/7 online and secure customer service. As part of Higher One’s commitment to educate students about fiscal responsibility, Higher One sends students regular tips on managing their money.
“Our goal for the program at Tyler Junior College is to increase student satisfaction with the remainder reimbursement process,” said Carol Hutson, the junior college’s controller. “This includes providing students access to their funds in a safer, more efficient manner while reducing the need to wait in long lines to pick up checks.”
Since September 2002, Higher One has managed the disbursement of $4.65 billion for its client institutions totaling more than 3 million transactions. In that time period, over two million students, faculty, and staff at these institutions have used Higher One’s services through their ID or refund card.