New financial aid director promises students better service

Southern University students at times frustrated and dissatisfied with the Office of Student Financial Aid may soon have their concerns addressed. Ursula Shorty, the new Director of Financial Aid, has come to the university with a plan to make the student’s financial aid experience enjoyable and less chaotic.
Shorty comes to the university from Southern University New Orleans with 16 years prior experience in money matters. Six of those years were served as the Director of the Financial Aid Office at SUNO.
Shorty said she plans to deal with everything from customer service to early completion of forms.
“We have upgraded and it is about time,” said Chasea Virgil, a sophomore from Dallas. “That very thing seems to go a lot quicker when visiting the office.”
Shorty said there are two major initiatives the office is working on: Financial Aid Awareness and the Early Apply Campaign.
She said Financial Aid Awareness will consist of “emails to both students and professionals throughout the campus but also new scholarship brochures and updates to JagNet.”
The Early Apply Campaign will consist of “emails, flyers and yard signs until July that will remind the students to submit their aid on time,” Shorty said.
Shorty said she encourages students to submit their documentation as soon as possible and familiarize themselves with the financial aid process.
She also reminds students to complete the FAFSA before the due date, which has passed.
With plans of changes to the Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy forthcoming Shorty said, “This change to the Academic Progress policy will be in conjunction with the Office of Academic Affairs.”
A plan of restructuring the office is another priority, according to Shorty.
Shorty said students will be assigned specific counselors so that they receive consistency through their matriculation.
“They seem to be more organized and address our problems more efficiently,” said Brittany Crosley, a sophomore from Deridder.
Aware of student woes about customer service in the office, “I have talked to some of my students and they have voiced some concerns,” Shorty said. “There is always room for improvement and everyone is not going to always be satisfied.”
“The answering service has been taken off and I hope that students are reaching a person they can speak with,” she said. “My office is there to assist the students.”
Shorty said she wants to “provide a better product for the students and to reduce the possibility for errors.”