Financial aid refunds delayed for some Austin Community College students — when it should be fixed
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AUSTIN (KXAN) – A group of students from Austin Community College await thousands of dollars in funding for which they have been approved.
KXAN found out about the funding delay after a student wrote to us with a concern and found it was due to the implementation of a new system at the college to manage their day-to-day business activities.
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The college said that $ 131,800 in grant reimbursements was due to be paid out on October 22nd. Finding on October 18 that there would be a delay, they emailed the students who might be affected.
A spokesman for Austin Community College said they sent the email a few days before the financial aid was paid out to the students. (Source: Austin Community College)
“I am myself… [a] Veteran, and we’re fighting without those monies we borrow for gas and expenses, etc. There is no hope in sight. Most of us students live from paycheck to paycheck, ”said the student who wrote at KXAN.
The student added that the college did not tell the students when they could expect these funds. ACC told KXAN that they should be paid out by Wednesday.
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Freshman Josella Jock can empathize. She received her money, but is heavily dependent on it.
“If I waited for my financial help, I would be really worried,” she said. “If I don’t get it, it’s like ‘no school for me’.”
Jock hopes to study medicine and become an optician, inspired by her cousin in Uganda who was born with eye problems.
“My dream is just to study here and go home and start a very big eye hospital or something,” she said. “For those who have difficulty seeing, I want to make this available to them.”
ACC said it recognizes that many students rely on these funds to pay not only for tuition but also for textbooks. Jock said she used it for gasoline too.
“The Austin Community College District cares deeply about its students and their success, and is extending payment deadlines for those awaiting reimbursement of financial aid,” a spokesman wrote to KXAN, adding that students affected by this delay will not be excluded from classes for non-payment.
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The college said it also sent an email to faculty letting them know that some of its students may not be fully prepared for class.
An Austin Community College spokesman said they sent this email to faculty members to inform them of the funding delay for some students. (Source: Austin Community College)
ACC said this withdrawal delay was not the result of a glitch, but “the time the new system was implemented as with any system change or upgrade”. They say it’s a one-time change that won’t happen again.
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