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The University of Hawai'i at Mānoa's financial aid office has been overpaying some students' federal assistance, then expecting the students to pay back the difference after the error is realized, according to the 2007-2008 Annual Ombudsman's Report.
Students who were overpaid are pressured to pay back money that they may have already spent without any payback plan, resulting in disputes between the university and the individual, according to the report.
"We discovered how many overpayments there are ... and how complicated and difficult and unfair and cumbersome the process can be to deal with overpayments," said Neal Milner, university ombudsman.
Shunya Ku'ulei Feliciano, a UH financial aid counselor, said that students are mailed a notice of the overpayment through the Cashier's Office and given 30 days to pay the money back. She said that there is no payment plan in place for students to reimburse the college over time, forcing students to pay the full amount all at once.
Feliciano said that she didn't know the exact number of students who were overpaid last year, but said that the number was "less than 1,000."
The discrepancy usually results from students receiving outside scholarships or scholarships from UH on top of the financial aid they were awarded and not informing the financial aid office about them, said Dean Nushida, a UH financial aid counselor.
"So when we do get the information, we have to revise them, and if it's an over-award situation, that's when they have to owe back money," Nushida said.
Students who have any outstanding financial obligations can't register for the next semester; or, if they are graduating, can't receive their diploma or official transcripts, according to Nushida.
While financial aid cases only made up 8 percent of the 387 cases the Office of the Ombuds dealt with last year, Milner called the overpayments "pretty serious stuff."
"Financial aid is the lifeblood for students," Milner said. "Students tend to describe their years at the university in terms of a bad experience ... and I think sometimes they have a bad experience with the financial aid process and generalize that to the university."
Milner said the Ombuds Office was careful not to place the blame on the employees at the financial aid office, which the report calls "understaffed." Milner said there have been problems with financial aid operations at the university for while.
"It's a pretty complex system because there are so many federal rules and other rules. So what you need is a well-functioning, well-oiled system, but what you have are problems," Milner said.
The report says that cases involving small monetary disputes often "fall through the cracks" of the financial aid office because the employees "on the front line" don't have the power to do anything.
Financial aid disputes can be prevented if students are up front with the financial aid office about other outside resources they receive, Feliciano said, adding that she disagrees with the report about the issues it raises regarding how long the financial aid office takes to inform students of overpayments. Feliciano said that the Cashier's Office handles the collection and repayment of students' funds.
Feliciano said students can always check their financial aid status through their MyUH Portal account.
"Students have access to this information 24/7," Feliciano said.
Other findings
Academic issues are the second-most common issue people bring to the Ombud's Office, accounting for 47 percent of total cases, according to the report.
"We were surprised how many grading disputes end up in here," Milner said.
Milner recommended that the university evaluate its academic grievance procedure, which was last revised in 1993.
Milner said that over the past two years, the academic grievance procedure has only helped resolve about six cases each year.
"It's a very formal procedure that changes grades, but it's obviously a procedure that deals only with a minuscule number of cases. And that's not a bad thing," Milner said.
Although the process sets official guidelines for grading disputes, Milner said most disagreements are resolved informally between the professor and student.
The report offers ways to improve the informal process, including letting students know how they are doing in the class earlier in the semester and advising faculty on ways to prevent grade disputes before they arise.
Milner said one-third of grading issues also involved some degree of incivility, which was the most common problem people sought help for.
Cases involving incivility increased from 17 percent of the Ombuds Office's total cases, in 2006-2007, to 40 percent in 2007-2008, although the report notes that it is possible the number of issues increased in part because the Ombuds Office added more categories under the heading "interpersonal issues."
UH Mānoa Office of the Ombuds
Krauss Hall 22 Phone: (808) 956-3391 *E-mail: ombuds@hawaii.edu Hours: 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Other times are available; please contact office to arrange an appointment.
*In order to preserve complete confidentiality, the Office of the Ombuds discourages e-mail communications
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