A new financial aid system, PowerFAIDS, was successfully implemented at the School of Medicine and Dentistry for the 2012-13 award year. It has enabled staff in the Financial Aid Office to focus more on students and less on processing.
Outgoing communication to students is now largely electronic, originating from the system as though coming directly from students’ aid counselors, ensuring more immediate, yet still personal, correspondence. “It is easier and quicker to send information like missing document letters and award notifications,” BJ Revill, Director of Financial Aid, said. “What used to take us days — going through files manually and sending individual emails — are now done using the tools PowerFAIDS offers. This results in a much quicker notification to the student.”
The new system also provides staff with more in-depth, granular reports, improving the Office’s business processes. Revill said, “Our reporting ability has changed dramatically! We have much better control and ability to extract data from our system.”
With the new system in place, the Financial Aid Office plans to introduce web-based self service for students in the future. This would enable students to check their financial aid awards online and process forms electronically.
The School of Medicine and Dentistry was the last of three implementations during the past four years. All schools now use the same financial aid system.