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UWG receives Best Practices Award from Board of Regents
November 24, 2004
CARROLLTON, GA - The University of West Georgia, in a joint effort with University System of Georgia (USG) sister institution Kennesaw State University, has developed a new electronic fund distribution system that provides students with a debit card to provide various options for receiving funds from the institution, such as financial aid and refunds.
The
USG Board of Regents (BOR) at its Nov. 17 meeting in Atlanta recognized
this new practice. It marks the second year of the “Best Practices”
award competition, which involved the system’s 34 institutions.
There were 75 submissions from 26 institutions divided among four categories
— finance and business, academic affairs, student affairs and information
technology. Senior University System administrators in each of the four
categories evaluated and scored the entries on the basis of their impact
on operations, benefits provided to students, faculty, staff and the effectiveness
of cost savings.
“Now in its second year, the University System of Georgia’s Best Practices program continues to recognize and reward innovative and effective programs and business models,” said USG Chancellor Thomas C. Meredith. “This initiative is helping to foster positive competition with impressive results.”
UWG and KSU both had processes that did not support electronic fund distribution. With the help of Higher One, an Internet financial services provider that focuses on higher education, UWG and KSU has reduced the time that students had to wait for their financial aid checks. Before electronic distribution, students would typically wait in long lines to get a check, said UWG Vice President of Business and Finance William Gauthier, who accepted the award at the BOR meeting. The two schools will split a $15,000 award to use for organizational efficiency.
“The University system — especially on the administrative side — has had to find ways to implement technological solutions to problems to avoid having to hire new people,” Gauthier said. “Both schools would disburse millions of dollars in aid and print thousands of checks.”
After implementation, registered students now receive a MasterCard debit card that is co-branded by the University. Students may receive funds as a direct deposit to a bank account associated with the debit card, electronic funds transfer to the student’s own bank account or a paper check. Service enhancements include more rapid availability of student funds, the elimination of long lines for processing of financial aid and financial requests are processed more efficiently.
Both Gauthier and KSU Vice President for Business and Finance Earle Holley publicly thanked UWG Director of Financial Aid Director Kimberly Jordan and UWG Business and Finance staff members Tamara Lane, Theresa Traylor, Karen West and Mark Gerspacher; and KSU Business and Finance staff members Martha Roth and Wayne Dennison for their efforts in implementing this best practice.
UWG President Dr. Beheruz N. Sethna said the program is just one of the University’s efforts in cutting costs without cutting the quality of a higher education.
“I am very proud of Mr. Gauthier and all the staff who worked so hard to make this innovation a success,” Sethna said. “It is no mean feat to be selected to win the No. 1 prize for Best Practice in Business and Finance in the entire USG. This award demonstrates to our friends and critics alike that UWG, already being one of the most efficient universities in the entire State of Georgia, is willing to do even more to save costs for our taxpayers and our students.”
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