SIS shutdown backs some up for two weeks, officials say

Jennifer Etsitty Arizona Daily Wildcat A sign in the Financial Aid Office in the Administration building notifies students about a delay with financial aid check disbursements. The Student Information System shutdown during Family Weekend caused checks to be backed up since Oct. 9.

That's what UA financial aid department officials told students yesterday about previously delayed financial aid payments.

Staff had warned University of Arizona students who receive aid checks to expect delays, after a mid-October software update for the Student Information System caused a lag in disbursement.

But late yesterday, Financial Aid Director John Nametz said the checks should have gone to print last night and will most likely be in the mail today.

"I thought they'd be in the mail today (Tuesday), but there was a technical problem," he said.

Nametz said 376 checks should be mailed today, and none were delayed for more than two weeks.

Heather Miller, a senior financial aid counselor, said students who are in dire need of cash can come to the department and speak with an adviser.

"We have been assisting students with temporary loans," she said.

The UA has been accommodating to students in immediate need, Nametz said.

"We gave students instant turnaround on money if they needed it," he said.

Patrons who applied late for their financial aid, or who underwent a records review, are affected by this delay, Miller said.

"There's been a little bit of delay on check disbursement," she said. "It has to do with the modifications of our new system."

But Miller said few students have complained about the delay, which is being advertised by an electric sign above the heads of the office clerks.

The sign warns students that "due to our software conversion, we are experiencing delays disbursing aid."

The computer update, designed to ready the system for the "millennium bug" problem and comply with congressional mandates, occurred three weeks ago.

During the shutdown, several UA offices were affected, including the Financial Aid, Registrar's and Bursar's offices.

Bursar's Office executives refused comment yesterday, referring inquiries to financial aid staffers, who also refused comment. They referred inquiries to their director, Phyllis Bolt Bannister, who was unavailable yesterday.

David J. Cieslak can be reached via e-mail at David.J.Cieslak@wildcat.arizona.edu.