STUDENT SATISFACTION SURVEY 2007 RESPONSES TO OPEN ...

994: The staff was rude evry time i would come in to seek help. They always told mesomething different every time i came in. My papers were not in the computer on timeand i turned in evry in on time. I was finally able to get help but it took getting the deanand the head of finacial department which she has nothing to do with finanial aidinvolved to get my problems fixed997: they are the rudest staff, not helpful at all....i have been in there many times, and eachexperience is the same, regardless of which staff memeber helps me. they are not alwaysinformative in telling you all that you need to know. the computer systems often showdifferent information than what admissions computers have listed (how thta is even anissue is beyond me! the computer systems should link together) finanical aid process atHCC is an absolute NIGHTMARE.1005: Get more help1014: Have the staff enroll in a class on manners. They are very rude and snippy. They act likethey don't want to be there, and students are an inconvenience. When I went my questionswere ignored and she rushed me out of the office. I made an appointment and waitedhours to see someone, and she rushed me out in less than 5 minutes.1016: I would have a mandatory course for all the Financial Aid services staff. This coursewould be about empathy as well as how to do the job with enthusiasm. It is understoodthat the job can get boring, annoying, and stressful. If I treated my customers and clientsthe way the majority of the staff in the Financial Aid dept talk and serve the students, Iwould have no business and I would be FIRED. Additionally, there is a reason thatstudents of all different ethnicities are are at this college, there is a reason that students ofethnicities that have a stereotype of being wealthy in this country are coming to acommunity college and not a private university. A big reason is that these are thestudents who fall between the cracks. Please have the Financial Aid staff realize that ifsomeone is coming in for Financial Aid, that they truly do need it, even if all the peopleof the particular student's ethnicity that they know are rich.1024: Hire more financial aid reps., and train them to assist students that may not qualify forneed based aid, by helping them explore scholarship options, instead of focusing onstudent loans.1029: HCC can reorganize the loan process. There is not timely notification of informationneeded and if you are not persistent and follow-up constantly with staff the loan wouldstay in a pile stacked in the manager's office. In this current day and age the documents,processing, completion and status should be managed on line with a processor id or someidentification label of whom is accountable for timely processing. I initiated a loan inJuly 2007 for the fall semester and it was not completed until mid October 2007. I wasadvised that it was on hold in August when I sought out status because I had not receivedanything. The reason my phone number was not up to date in HCC’s system and thiscaused a delay in Sallie Mae receiving my information. My email correspondences to theFA manager were not acknowledged nor my voicemails and he/she was never in theoffice when I arrived. HCC needs to establish accountability for errors in processing anddelayed wait times due to staf f not being punctual. On one occasion my address waschanged to an address that was two years old because of a report that FA runs that onoccasion can cause this anomaly. As a result, reimbursement I was due was returned andhad to be re-mailed; again another inconvenience. I am all too familiar with thingsgetting screwed up or just sitting. I was in a situation one semester where I was injured inStudent Satisfaction Survey 2007 – Q20: Financial Aid – Page 175