University financial aid office makes updates to financial aid portal

Erika Pernis, General News Reporter

April 22, 2024

The Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid announced updates to the financial aid system on April 9 to make financial aid management in upcoming semesters more user-friendly.

The updated financial aid portal went live on Friday. It includes new features like a breakdown of students’ financial aid packages, a financial aid to-do list and a simplified document-upload system. Students will start to see their financial aid awards in the new portal in late May, according to Diane Todd Sprague, assistant vice provost for the Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid.

“That system is going to be a significant improvement for students,” Todd Sprague said. “It’s going to be greatly simplified, it’s going to be in plain language and it should operate more quickly and there’ll be fewer impediments to students.”

Brian Dixon, vice provost of enrollment management, said one of the reasons the University made changes to the financial aid system was to accommodate for the new layout of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid form.

“We can make the changes the federal government made work for us, but then also hopefully deliver a better experience for students,” Dixon said.