To receive federal finacial aid disbursements, financial aid students are encouraged to register for the new Sallie Mae Debit Master Cards, called E-dollars Hortenese Cooper, director of the Financial Aid Office, said.
“It takes a two-to seven- days wait to get the financial aid disbursement check through the mail, then students have to go to the bank or a check cashing place, where students have to pay a service fee,” said Cooper.
We’re encouraging more students to go to the (E-Dollars) debit card option.”
Student Crystal Greer said she will get the debit card because the lines at the Financial Aid Office are long and the checks aren’t always ready for pick up after the wait.
Students who are eligible for the Federal Pell grant, Supplemental Education Opportunities Grants and the Academic Competitiveness Grant (ACG) will be eligible to receive their disbursements through the new Sallie Mae Debit MasterCard system.
Although the Financial Aid Office does handle student loans, the Federal Family Education Loan program is a paper application and paper check and will be kept separate from the E-Dollars program.
“We want to keep loans separate just to make sure everything’s in place before we expand to other programs,” said Cooper.
There is no checking or savings account tied to the E-Dollars program but students will be able to transfer their E-Dollars balance into a bank account of their choice and can also have a parent and/or third-party re-load the debit card with their credit card.
“The Financial Aid Office has been talking about going green for some time now; to have more online processes and options,” Cooper said
The program was put in place through collaboration among the Financial Aid Office, Fiscal Services and Information Technology Services which started inquiring into the possibility of instituting a program of this kind more than a year ago.
The new debit cards system has taken affect already in four universities and is spreading to other community colleges such as Orange Coast College, making the financial aid process easier.
“My only worry is that you can lose the card. If you lose it, you won’t be able to get a hold of the money since everything is online,” Brandon James, 30, nursing major, said.
James adds that not being able to get the money immediately poses a problem for him.
“That’s what might hold me back from getting the card,” James said.