The wait begins…

Registration is finally over and students have turned their attention away from the Grand Ballroom to their mailboxes as they await the arrival of the long-anticipated net check.

“It usually takes about one month before I receive a net check,” said Virgil Miller, 21, a senior biology student from West Palm Beach.

“But when compared to other students and the stories I’ve heard, I don’t have a major problem with net checks.”

Like many students, he did mention that he uses his net check to pay bills and has noticed an improvement in the timeliness of net checks.

In previous years, students complained of the length of time that it took net checks to be processed.

In most cases, students rely heavily on net checks as a source of income to pay for books, rent, car notes and other bills that may have accumulated throughout the previous semester.

But the process of disbursing net checks is not as easy as it seems.

“When financial aid becomes available for disbursement, we disburse the checks,” said Jackie Hurchins, Student Accounts coordinator.

“But first, we have to make sure all of the charges such as tuition, library fines, parking tickets and in some cases, previous balances are paid. Once the student is approved, we run the checks.”

According to Hurchins, the process normally starts after the fee deadline. Each week, files are pulled from the Financial Aid office of students who might be eligible to receive net checks.

It is estimated that 7,000 net checks will be sent out this spring.

“Our intentions is to start the process Sunday,” Hurchins said. “Since everything falls in an academic year, we should be finished with net checks around summer,” she said.

“We’re working real hard to get them out to students. We’re doing everything we can.”