|
|
|
|
Hinds CC, Higher One partner for new student debit card
|
06/19/08
-
Hinds Community College and Higher One, a financial services and payment company focused exclusively on higher education, are teaming up to offer students an easy, fast avenue to receive financial aid refunds from the college.
Hinds Community College is the first Mississippi client for the New Haven, Conn.-based Higher One. Higher One will distribute refunds through the use of the new card to students who receive a financial aid refund during the fall 2008 semester that begins on Aug. 18.
 The college enrolls nearly 11,000 students, of which about 80 percent receive some type of assistance. Previously Hinds distributed refunds to students by mailing them paper checks — a labor intensive and expensive process. Hinds Community College entered into an agreement with Higher One primarily to improve the student experience at the college.
"Higher One was brought in to help us speed up the delivery of refunds to our students and reduce the costs associated with printing refunds checks," said Russell D. Shaw, vice president for Business Services at Hinds.
Higher One's OneDisburse Refund Management enables Hinds to quickly and efficiently deliver these refunds electronically. This process saves the school time and money. Additionally students are given a choice between multiple ways to receive refunds. Among these choices is the ability to have the refund directly deposited to Higher One's OneAccount, an FDIC-insured checking account tied to a Debit MasterCard®. The college considered other means for distributing refunds to students but selected Higher One after speaking with a number of the company's current clients.
"We were impressed with our sales representative and his presentation of the company's products," Shaw said. "As far as service, we liked the delivery of the debit cards to the students early in the semester and the marketing efforts that Higher One promised. But what really set Higher One apart were the comments we received from other institutions in the region who were already Higher One customers."
Hinds and Higher One have begun the process of educating students and parents about the new cards and getting students on board. Returning Hinds students are asked to update their addresses online. All students will be mailed the cards over the summer. They then must go online to activate the card. In an era of decreased funding at both the state and federal level, a rapidly increasing number of institutions around the country are relying on Higher One to help them streamline the distribution process.
Higher One currently helps 178 colleges and universities distribute refunds to their students. Today, more than five percent of College students in the United States use Higher One's services.
OneDisburse Refund Management will also be utilized as part of Hinds' ongoing commitment to maintaining compliance with various regulations for the distribution of refunds to students. The Department of Education has accepted changes to the regulations surrounding the disbursement of these funds to encourage institutions to distribute refunds electronically.
"Our expectations are that Higher One will help us deliver refunds to students in compliance with Federal Financial Aid Rules and Regulations and provide our students with several more efficient options for getting their refunds," Shaw said.
|
|
|