Instead of students being able to pick up refund checks every day of the week, the Bursar's Office will only deliver leftover scholarship funds on Fridays and only through direct deposit or mail.
The new policy will be in place at the beginning of the fall semester, according to an e-mail sent to students by the Bursar's Office.
"We're changing the process in order to insure that refunds of excess aid are available to students prior to the start of classes whenever possible," said Danielle Hillman, assistant manager of accounting and student accounts at The University of Memphis.
"This plan will help students plan their budget and their course schedules on a more timely basis and reduce confusion for students who in the past had received refunds and then realized later that they had incurred subsequent charges."
The office announced that it wants students to sign up for direct deposit, called eRefund, through the Spectrum Portal on TigerXpress by Aug. 24 (Aug. 10 for law students) so refund checks can be directly deposited during the semester.
"It'll make it much easier for the students and faster for them to get refunds as well," said Ellen Watson, associate vice-president of Information System Operations.
From a technological standpoint, Watson said this system of distributing refund money will simplify things.
The e-mail, labeled as "urgent," was initially unclear to some students, sending them into shock, law student and refund recipient Yael Julian said.
The message was unclear, she said. It read as if students would no longer receive limp sums of money in the beginning of the semester, she said.
"It impacts so much of the student's life," Julian said.
Many students rely on a lump-sum refund check to make housing and car payments. Some students thought the e-mail said the Bursar's Office would distribute their refund checks in increments throughout the Fall semester.
"My main concern was that they didn't explain how they were going to distribute it," Julian said. "Their e-mail left it up in the air. It makes you wonder how much that first check is going to be."
Details need to be given in a follow up e-mail so there will be "no ambiguity that would raise eyebrows and concerns," Julian said. The word "thereafter" in the e-mail was the main source of her confusion, she said.
"Since awards continue to be disbursed each business day, eRefunds will be processed daily for excess financial aid and scholarships," Hillman said.
But this will not affect the start-of-the-semester payment.
If students do not sign up for eRefund, the Bursar's Office will mail them their checks beginning Sept. 4.
To successfully use eRefund, students must be enrolled in the minimum number of credit hours required for their scholarship, have signed the promissory note and completed the Entrance Interview online.
The new direct deposit for refunds is a separate process form payroll direct deposit.
