University Business - February 2007 - (Page 1)

Warning : session_start : The session id contains invalid characters, valid characters are only a-z, A-Z and 0-9 in /mnt/data/www.nxtbook.com/fx/config_1.3/global.php on line 9 Warning : session_start : Cannot send session cache limiter - headers already sent output started at /mnt/data/www.nxtbook.com/fx/config_1.3/global.php:9 in /mnt/data/www.nxtbook.com/fx/config_1.3/global.php on line 9 Warning : Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by output started at /mnt/data/www.nxtbook.com/fx/config_1.3/global.php:9 in /mnt/data/www.nxtbook.com/fx/config_1.3/global.php on line 10 PACE & HIGHER ONE - A CASE STUDY Pace University, located in New York, was founded in 1906 and now boasts over 14,000 students at campuses in Manhattan, Pleasantville, White Plains, and Hudson Valley. Pace University’s core values are reﬂected in its motto, Opportunitas, bringing an abundance of professional and personal opportunities to its diverse and motivated student body. With its Centennial Anniversary this year, Pace illustrates its commitment to enhancing the student experience through new and innovative programs. BY THE NUMBERS Pace University has realized substantial, measurable impact on institutional operations: The wait time for access to funds as been reduced by 7 days for Pace students. In 2005 Pace students received more than 12,000 disbursements. All of these payments were handled through Higher One. Higher One has handled $60,050,525 in refunds for Pace since the start of the program. The OneDisburse program encourages electronic receipt of refunds. 67% of students currently receive their refund electronically. Check printing for refunds has been eliminated. In 2005, Higher One printed and disbursed about 4,000 checks to students who chose to receive their refund in this manner. 5,225 students have chosen to use the optional free checking account attached to the card. These students have used their Pace OneCards to make more than $4.4 Million in debit card transactions. THE CHALLENGES Like many higher education institutions nationwide, the start of each semester meant the frustrating and time consuming process of making “change check” or ﬁnancial refund payments to students. Pace University utilized a manual paper-check process whereby one business ofﬁce member was responsible for the printing, signing, and sending of refund checks to the entire student body. Students complained about the time it took to get their money, and the administration was burdened with the cost of a ﬂood of student calls, returned checks, stop payments, and other exception handling processes. Looking to upgrade, administration ofﬁcials sought out a student-oriented refund management service that would increase student satisfaction, reduce costs and could easily be applied across all campus locations. Pace ofﬁcials also wanted to fulﬁll its goal for a “universal” campus card that would provided functionality for students both on and off campus. They wanted the card to be able to access refunds, have a checking account option, direct deposit of payroll, ATM access, Debit MasterCard® access, and would integrate with campus systems for access and dining. is constantly growing. This enables those students to use their Pace OneCard at the millions of locations that accept Debit MasterCard®. Pace students have used their cards to make more than $4.4 Million in debit card transactions. Aside from the simple implementation, Lieto noted happier students and staff, quicker refunds, easier access to money, and reduced costs. In fact, Pace University has been so pleased with the outcome that, “Of all the partnerships and the thousands of vendors at Pace, Higher One is one of the few I will vouch for, let alone speak on their behalf,” Lieto shared. It is not only the Pace administration that has been happy with the success with the Pace / Higher One program. “Students at Pace have seen a big beneﬁt with the Higher One service,” stated Pace Student Government Association President Reggie Thomas. “Faster refunds and the option of the OneAccount mean we have more choices and faster access to our money. Higher One has gone out of its way to work with students, address any issues and partner with our student government to be a positive presence on campus. They’ve supported special events and are available anytime a question comes up.” Pace ofﬁcials say the relationship with Higher One is “a perfect marriage,” and enjoy knowing that Higher One is a company that keeps the best interest of the students in mind every step of the way. Higher One’s staff provides the utmost excellence in customer service with its individualized care. Lieto also notes that “by exclusively focusing on the higher education market, Higher One accurately understands the needs of schools and the intricacies of the refund process.” In 2006, Pace renewed their contract with Higher One and looks forward to continuing to work in partnership to provide service to students while improving efﬁciency in the business ofﬁce. WHY HIGHER ONE Pace considered several ways that they could improve their card program and refunds and ultimately decided that Higher One’s program would best meet the needs of their administration and students. Higher One’s OneDisburseSM was recognized as best in class and Pace liked the company’s sole focus on higher education, meaning Higher One is committed to student satisfaction, cost effectiveness, and ease of implementation. Additionally, the OneDisburse refund management service is patent pending and had been a proven success with other customers. THE RESULTS The initial contract was signed in May of 2003 and the system was in place prior to the start of September semester. The implementation process was simple and trouble-free transition. According to Executive Director Mary Lieto, “It’s implementation was the beginning of change management at Pace University and has provided the most beneﬁt to our students thus far.” Pace University and its students are exceptionally pleased with Higher One’s refund management service and overall improved functionality of their campus card. Students receive their refunds up to 7 days faster than before. 67% receive their refunds electronically, exceptions and customer service are handled by Higher One, and reconciliation of payments has been vastly simpliﬁed for the Pace business ofﬁce. Currently, ~ 61% of Pace students have elected to use the optional OneAccount checking account linked to the new card and the number www.HigherOne.com UB_207_HighOneCaseStdy.indd 1 1/10/07 11:21:02 AM Warning : Unknown : The session id contains invalid characters, valid characters are only a-z, A-Z and 0-9 in Unknown on line 0 Warning : Unknown : Failed to write session data files . Please verify that the current setting of session.save_path is correct /var/lib/php/session in Unknown on line 0 http://www.HigherOne.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of University Business - February 2007

Contents
College Index
Company Index
Advisory Board
Editor's Note
Stats Watch
Sense of Place
Viewpoint
Admissions
On The Hill
Future Shock
Facilities Focus
Independent Outlook
Flu Pandemic Prep
Advancing the Brand
The Picture’s Getting Clearer
Groundbreaking Ideas
Gotta Get a Message to You
Internet Technology
What's New
calendar of Events
Direct Connect
End Note

University Business - February 2007