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Financial Aid settles into new space
Staff from the Office of Financial Aid prepare to cut the ribbon officially opening the unit’s new digs in Porter Quad in the Ellicott Campus.
UB’s Office of Financial Aid is truly an office now, and it’s one of several transformations the department has made in the past year in an effort to improve how it serves the university’s 30,000 students.
Office staff, led by Interim Director Jennifer Pollard, celebrated how far Financial Aid has come by holding a ribbon-cutting and grand opening on Oct. 18 in the office’s new digs in Porter Quadrangle, part of the Ellicott Complex on the North Campus.
“We were able to develop this new space here in Porter and officially have an Office of Financial Aid. For the past decade, our staff was located in various places around campus, but we didn’t really have one place to send students just for financial aid,” Pollard explained in an interview before the ribbon-cutting.
The renovated office officially opened on July 2 and began welcoming students a week later. Prior to the move, students who needed help with financial-aid matters had to consult the general Student Response Center or find an adviser in Norton, Capen or Porter, or on the South Campus. All financial aid advisers are now in Porter, with the exception of two who work on the South Campus to service students in the professional schools.
Although it can be difficult to find some offices in the Ellicott Complex, Financial Aid is positioned practically at the entrance, across from the Fargo parking lot. “We’re like the front door of the Ellicott Complex, and now our staff is all in one place,” says Hugh Ganser, associate director for funds management and compliance, who has seen Financial Aid relocate several times since its original location in the former child care center on Main Street.
“If a student needs a question answered immediately, they can go to the person doing the processing. It truly is a one-stop shop for financial aid,” adds Kevin Ryan, senior financial aid adviser, who works with students on the South Campus.
The goal, Pollard says, is to limit the number of times a student needs to visit the financial aid office. “The less visits a student has to make, the better it is for the student. If we’re able to address all their needs in one or two visits, that’s fantastic.”
In addition to the new office space, Financial Aid implemented a caseload system last February, assigning each student a specific adviser. “It’s different from an academic adviser. A student always knows their academic adviser because you need them for all four years,” Pollard says. “With us, we’re there more to help when you need us. The reaction to the new changes has been positive.”
Financial Aid now has 41 staff members, compared to 27 a year ago, and the staff has received more specialized training to be able to better serve students. “The staff in my office has the ability to answer specific questions and take it further. They’re not just generalists any more. It’s really worked well,” says Pollard.
One of the largest undertakings was renovating the office’s phone system, a system that, during peak periods, can receive as many as 1,000 calls per day, according to Pollard. That’s why it was critical to properly train the office’s phone staff.
Pollard acknowledges there still may be a few hiccups, but the changes have received favorable reviews, especially from parents.
The recent changes in the structure of the office stem from a proposal reviewed and approved by A. Scott Weber, vice provost and dean for undergraduate education, that examined separating the different parts of the Student Response Center, and from previous models Pollard worked with before coming to UB.
“The fact that our students can come in and get an answer the day of if they need to supports that the model that was developed and approved really works,” Pollard says.
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