Student aid disbursements an issue, again

The Office of Financial Aid is located in the CASS building. Photo courtesy: tallahassee.com

As the spring 2023 semester reaches its second month, students at Florida A&M University are still having trouble getting their funds processed.

Some have even gone into panic mode because, without their funds, they will not be able to do certain things, such as extracurricular activities, and receive refunds. Some may not even be able to graduate in time.

According to an article written by Ashley Quintanilla for The Famuan in the fall of 2021, this is not the first-semester FAMU has been slow with processing transactions. The article states that students at FAMU had started a petition insisting that the student services financial aid office is extremely slow and unreliable when it comes to getting things done. 

When Quintanilla went to inquire about the issue, the financial aid office responded by saying there were barriers that created a delay in processing transactions and issuing refunds.

Alphonso Reliford, a fourth-year business student from Broward County, said he was devastated by how slow things were coming along. 

“I’ve been calling on a weekly basis now. It gets pretty annoying when they give you the same runaround every week,” Reliford said. “We (college students) have things we have to take care of, and I rely on my refund check to pay for certain books, so it has been pretty difficult.” 

The reason behind this semester’s delays is unknown. Efforts to get an interview with the Office of Financial Aid were unsuccessful.

Have they reached another barrier, or maybe they are understaffed due to the pandemic? After reaching out to the student accounts office as well as the financial aid office several times, that answer is still unknown.

“I am sorry, but we cannot answer questions pertaining to other students’ accounts. You must reach out to our supervisor,” one of the representatives said.

After reaching out through email and going into the office, the supervisor couldn’t be reached. Hope is still in the air for graduating seniors to have things situated by the necessary time.

Cornelius Bobo, a graduating accounting major from Tampa, said he is worried because it is almost time for him to walk that big stage, and he still has a balance with the school.

“I have paid my dues,” Bobo said. “Why would they prevent me from graduating when they are the ones not processing my payment in time? It just doesn’t make any sense. Things have to change, and I just hope they change in time.”

For more background, check out Quintanilla’s article: 

https://www.thefamuanonline.com/2021/10/12/financial-aid-officials-address-petition/