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Office of Financial Aid adds online features


Students can now receive notification of financial aid online without having to wait for weeks by the mailbox.

The office of student financial assistance has announced that students will no longer be receiving award notifications through mail in an effort to cut back for budget reasons.

Students will now receive e-mail notifications of all awards.

The office will contact any student lacking information that may be needed to process the awards. Students will still have to mail or deliver tax papers to the office.

A student can access all information online through Banner once receiving the initial e-mail. Online, students can view information in real time without having to wait weeks to go through the mail. Students can also accept loans and print documents to pass along to parents or guardians.

The office of student financial assistance will send e-mails individually to students based on the primary e-mail listed on the FASFA application. If one is not listed, then the office will refer to the student’s admissions application. The office’s last resort is using the mars e-mail accounts issued by the university to each enrolled student. The office warns not to delete e-mails from “UT Martin Financial Aid Office.”

Financial assistance has already sent out approximately 500 e-mails and less than 200 were returned with the incorrect address.

For parents who handle their child’s financial aid information, there is a new service for them. It will be the UTM Parent Lifeline and will be accessible from the UTM page. The service requires no personal identification number and postcards will be sent to all parents or guardians of students applying for financial aid.

Some students wait until the last minute to apply for financial aid and sometimes do not know what to do. Financial assistance has created a workstation in 202 Administration, located right down the hall, for students to look up their information online. This workstation was created for less than $500 by purchasing an old computer and did some low cost decoration with contact paper.

Financial assistance is spreading the word to incoming freshmen and current students through SOAR, advisers and The Pacer.

Students can request a copy of the award letter to be sent via mail but the request has to be made in writing.

“The e-mails we sent out have been to request more information. Award notifications will begin April 7 and will be done twice weekly. I cannot stress enough how important it is for students to check their e-mail or visit Banner Web to find out about their financial aid information for the 2003-04 academic year,” said Bobbie McClain, director of student financial assistance.

Besides helping with financial aid, the office is also making scholarships and other pertinent information available online. Students can apply early and accept the financial aid at any time, even at 3 a.m. from the dorm.

Financial assistance is creating another Web page for off campus scholarships for which students can apply. This process will be similar to sites like FastWeb.