Cassandra

Back in October 2011 after being called a "Cassandra" by some Administrators, I wrote about the pitfalls of using Higher One on this blog. Our esteemed Administration kept pushing, I wrote a follow up blog post in December 2011.  That was followed by  students in SHOUT complaining about it and it was posted on this blog. These students were dismissed as "Radicals"and "Uninformed".
Well here it is in the news again.

In case the link does not work here are some excerpts:

...the company hired by his college to pay out students' financial aid on debit cards.
Four years after he opted out, his classmates still face more than a dozen fees , for replacement cards, for using the cards as all-purpose debit cards, for using an ATM other than the two on-campus kiosks owned by Higher One.
"They sold it as a faster, cheaper way for the college to get students their money," said Parker-Milligan, 23, student body president at Lane Community College in Eugene, Ore. "It may be cheaper for the college, but it's not cheaper for the students."
As many as 900 colleges are pushing students into using payment cards that carry hefty costs, sometimes even to get to their financial aid money, according to a report to be released Wednesday by a public interest group.

The following bit caught my attention back in September:

Among the fees charged to students who open Higher One accounts: $50 if an account is overdrawn for more than 45 days, $10 per month if the student stops using his account for six months, $29 to $38 for overdrawing an account with a recurring bill payment and 50 cents to use a PIN instead of a signature system at a retail store.

The response I was given was similar to the following from the article:
 

Higher One has agreements with 520 campuses that enroll more than 4.3 million students, about one-fifth of the students enrolled in college nationwide, according to public filings and the U.S. PIRG report. Wells Fargo and US Bank combined have deals with schools that enroll 3.7 million, the report says.
Lane Community College's president, Mary Spilde, said in an interview that the real problem is a "lack of adequate public funding," which forces students to seek financial aid and colleges to find ways to cut costs.
"Many institutions are looking at ways to streamline and to do things that we're good at, which is education and learning, and not banking," Spilde said.
Programs like Higher One's shift the cost of handing out financial aid money from universities, which no longer have to print and mail checks, to fee-paying students, said Rich Williams, the report's lead author.

Please remember the faculty at Rio Hondo care for their students.  If we come across as Cassandras it is because we care. We do not accept ideas because they are cheaper. We blindly do not accept procedures just because other colleges do it that way. We ask questions because we care.

Student Complaint re: Higher One

From the Facebook page of a Rio Hondo College student.

Higher One Financial Aid or Financial Pain

 In a previous post I wrote about how students were talking about being spammed.  I noticed on the Students Against Higher One Facebook page that some students complained about Higher One spamming them via email. Also in another post I wrote about how some of the decision being pushed by our Administration would make college more expensive for our students.
Here are a series of articles that make me wish I had helped students take a harder stand against the company that is operating on our campus. I found this article from New York Times and this article from Western Front and this article from Boston Globe and many more about the card company Higher One. This is the same company used at Rio Hondo College.
I remember a lively debates about this at both the Senate and PFC. Some faculty (lead by me) were uncomfortable about bringing in this company onto our campus because of the ATM fees. I feel strongly that these concerns were pushed aside by Administration assuring us that if students did not use their PIN they would not be charged, and a Higher One ATM would be installed at Rio Hondo for student to withdraw their cash without paying fees. I regret putting aside my skepticism of financial institutions.

How Can We Make Education More Expensive?

There is a discussion going on in the Academic Senate and the PFC on an  idea presented by the Administration. As usual Administration is flirting with with turning a good idea into a disaster for our students.  Let me start with the idea that is great. Many students sign up for classes without paying for the course. This allows them to hold spaces and shop for classes.  They drop the course when they get the teachers or the time slot they want.  This prevents students who are patiently waiting from getting into the classes they need to graduate. Administration correctly has identified this problem and has came up with a good solution to the problem.  They plan to pass a policy which frees them to drop students for non payment before the course begins thereby opening spaces for students on the wait-list. This is an excellent idea and fair to those students who are patiently waiting on the wait-list.  I do not disagree completely with this solution and applaud them.

NOW ONTO HOW ADMINISTRATION MAY RUIN THIS GOOD IDEA!

However, somebody in the upper administration has taken this good suggestion and has corrupted it by bringing in a business who may be dangerous to the financial well being of our students. Why?
Many of our students are on a tight budget and can not afford  the fees being charged . This is the reason why Rio Hondo had not implemented this policy in the past allowing some students to take advantage of this loop hole and game the system.
In order to help our financially strapped students Administration proposes bringing in an outside financial institution that will charge our students $25 to put them on a payment plan. This company will charge our students $25 to pay their tuition upfront and collect from the students. This is a bad idea. As of now students pay $36 per unit so 12 units of classes cost a student $432 in tuition. However, students using this service will pay $457 for the same 12 units. Also this company will charge late fees for students who are late making payments. Here is the ultimate kicker the company will not collect from delinquent students. I assume since they have paid the tuition upfront they will expect to be repaid by the school. Further I assume that they will add the fee owed by the students for their services costing the school more than the tuition.  
Instead of bringing in such companies that make their profit from the underprivileged there are other solutions that have not been considered. On Tuesday I brought up two suggestions at Planning Fiscal Committee but I have the feeling that it fell on deaf ears.
Suggestion One: Many of our students qualify for Board of Governor's waivers. However, it takes Financial Aid sometime to verify whether they qualify or not.  In the Access Rio system connect Financial Aid intake of applications to Admission and Records so first time students who are waiting for approval do not get dropped.
Suggestion Two: Again in the Access Rio System allow students to pay a portion of the fees so that they are not dropped. Example a student who does not qualify for Financial Aid  and is taking 12 units will owe approximately $432 and will be forced to pay twenty percent of the total bill ($86) at the time of registration.

Fortunately the Academic Senate and fellow faculty on PFC have sent this idea back to be studied some more. I have a fear that the recommendations of this committee will be ignored and this crazy idea will be implemented. Unfortunately, The V.P. of Students Services and the college President consider this an ingenious idea and view the faculty as pesky, bothersome,  know nothings and do not accept criticism well.