Savannah Mul – Opinions Editor –
In regards to the refund money that students usually receive during October and November, Southern has changed their process once again stirring up more confusion than is necessary for the refunds to be made available to the students.
Apparently at the end of Spring 2012 semester, Southern “sent” emails out to all students regarding information about the new owl choice card, within the email it evidently made aware to student to check their home mailboxes and watch out for a lime green colored envelope.
Personally I’m attached to my email as if it was my cell phone; which thanks to modern technology I’m capable of receiving and sending emails from my iPhone. But I don’t recall receiving any type of email that described the process or changes that were soon to be coming.
For students to receive their financial aid refunds, they were told to check their home addressed mailboxes for the owl choice card.
So naturally knowing nothing, I was not vigilant for this so-called lime green envelope that Southern said would be sent to my house. As far as I know, I got nothing. But that doesn’t cancel out the chance of my parents—who typically get the mail—to perceive it as “junk mail” and throw it out. Which I feel is what actually happened and what might have also happened to other Southern students as well.
Within this crucially important envelope resided the new owl choice card, which if students didn’t set up direct deposit already, the card will leave them hanging on waiting for their money until activated. I’m still waiting for my financial aid refund. When students go to owlchoicecard.com, before doing anything the site asks for the last four digits of your social security numbers and the account number on the owl choice card and without that information you can’t get the refund or set up a way for it to be deposited into another account.
The account number on the choice card gives you the permission to select the preference on how student want to receive their student-refund. Either through the owl choice card, direct deposited into specified account or the old-fashioned way: a paper check. In the end of the Spring 2012 semester Southern didn’t do a very good job in explaining the new service to students or the steps that go into receiving the student-refunds.
My email is recently being flooded now from Southern notifying me that my refund is now available on my owl choice card yet, I have to sit and wait for a new card to be issued to my account. Apparently, according to the University Card Office they sent the card to my house back way back in May 2012 and said I should have gotten it in the middle of June. Who knows if I did or not, assuming with the way mail gets lost or thrown out in my house, it probably has been at the dump for the past month, decomposing with all the other garbage.
But, what about the other half of Southern’s population who live on campus? The card will still get sent to their home address. If anyone’s parents are like mine and assumed it to be junk mail, I’m sure other students are waiting for their refund as well. I recently went to the University Card Office last Monday for more information and have to wait another two weeks until I receive a replacement of the owl choice card, which I can then select a preference for how I would like to get my refund.
These owl choice cards seem to have caused more trouble than they’re worth, at least for me. But for the students’ still hanging on and waiting for money back this can be a headache and a never ending maze for them as well in receiving the payment.
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