Refunds: Will they ever work well?
Balance paid January 17. Over a week later, still no refund.
posted almost 13 years ago
Has anyone had a better experience than mine?
Why is there one day before class starts and I still have no money for food, books, bus fair, etc?
If UMBC wanted to give us a pleasant experience, they would have had our balances paid well enough in advance that they could ensure we all have our refunds in time to buy books. At this rate, I don't expect to be even a bit prepared for the first day of class. I will have no books, no food to eat, no money to even pay the monthly MTA fair.
Who can I even talk to for help? SBS gave me a canned response which I had already found online:
"Financial aid disbursement began on Tuesday, January 17, and will continue over the next few weeks until all pending financial aid has been disbursed to individual student accounts. If you have Pending financial aid showing on your account that is equal to or more than your current charges due, you need do nothing. The system will recognize that your financial aid will be more than your charges. Any over payment or financial aid will be refunded to the student electronically."
Well riddle me this, SBS: Are there a few weeks between January 17th and January 26th?
Answer: No. Students need their refunds before class starts so they can buy all of the rip-off textbooks, other supplies, rent, utilities, auto insurance, etc.
(And who really is or is not making money off the HigherOne accounts? It doesn't take one long to realize they're carrying around a free advertisement for affordable state-subsidized education with the branded UMBC debit card.)
A friend of mine at the University of Maryland Law School said that they will immediately make up to $1500 of your refund available within a few weeks of the beginning of the semester. This must be how students are treated by an institution which respects them. Or maybe it's because the administration is afraid of offending the professional staff and the students?
In any case, the consistent failures of SBS over the three years I've been at UMBC have left a black cloud over the memory of my time here. I hope someone finds themselves at least partially responsible for this problem, because it certainly is someone's (or many people's) fault.
