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Student Association is working with Syracuse University to improve communication between students and employees in the financial aid office. 

SA is working with the Office of Financial Aid and Scholarship Programs, as well as Information Technology Services, to create a chat box where students can ask questions about their financial aid. This would decrease the amount of time students wait to get their questions about scholarships and other financial aid concerns answered, said SA President Justine Hastings.

While the financial aid office has been working toward improving communication with students for years, the perspective changed after Hastings and SA Vice President Ryan Golden brought up the idea for a chatbox this summer, said KC Woods, associate director of the Office of Financial Aid and Scholarship Programs.

Many students, including Hastings, have had difficulty communicating with the financial aid office, she said. One time when she called the office, Hastings was placed on hold and the person she ultimately reached wasn’t able to answer any of her questions.

 “I know I am not the only one who experiences communication issues with financial aid,” Hastings said. “The purpose of the chat box would be to resolve student concerns in a more efficient manner.”

Woods said the student experiences Hastings and Golden shared changed the office’s perspective on the initiative. Hearing directly about what students wanted to do to resolve communication issues helped the office better understand the problem, he said.

“ITS is committed to enhancing the student experience and supporting student success at Syracuse University through technology,” said Jenny Gluck, associate chief information officer for academic services. “With that in mind, we are working with campus partners to identify and evaluate possible solutions to provide accessible (chatbox) functionality to the campus community.”

 While the best way to fix communication issues and reduce long wait times would be to increase staff in the financial aid office, it’s unrealistic at the moment due to budget cuts, Woods said. But the chat box is a good start, he said. 

 “I hope that (the chatbox) helps students easily find answers to questions they may have that they don’t necessarily need to call our office so we can answer some of the more difficult, in-depth, complicated questions quicker,” Wood said.

Published on October 18, 2020 at 11:04 pm

Contact Kailey: kmnorusi@syr.edu