Questions arise about popular student refund option

Photo+courtesy%3A+Tarleton+Business+Services

Photo courtesy: Tarleton Business Services

Molly Stewart/ Staff Writer

In 2014, Tarleton State University students received news of plans to introduce Higher One’s refund management options at Tarleton. The news was emailed to students in Vice President for Finance and Administration, Dr. Tye Minkler’s spring newsletter, under a bullet point, which read: “Lisa Lewis and her team are excited to introduce Higher One’s Refund Management options beginning summer 2014. We will provide more information about this effort to provide faster refunds to students and improve operational efficiency soon.” Shortly thereafter, students began receiving additional emails explaining Tarleton’s partnership with Higher One in order to “bring a new method for receiving your refunds and managing money to all Tarleton State University students—the Tarleton Choice Card.” Higher One’s Tarleton Choice Card was presented as a more efficient and effective way of delivering refund money to students more quickly as well as offering “smarter ways to manage that money.” 

According to their website, Higher One is a Connecticut based company founded in 2000 by three undergraduate students attending Yale University who recognized a frustration by both students and university faculty surrounding the distribution of financial aid refunds. Higher One proposed a solution to this issue by allowing students to receive their refunds faster as well as offering an affordable and effective to colleges, saving both parties time and money. Now Higher One proudly offers a “comprehensive collection of products and services that aim to improve the lives and promote the success of more than 11 million students across the country.” 

Students who previously waited in long lines outside of the cashier’s office to collect refund checks initially viewed this option as beneficial, however, as many news outlets across the country began reporting, Higher One’s policies and fees associated with common card use soon faced scrutiny. 

Media outlets like the Huffington Post, CBS News, and Business Insider reported investigations by U.S. banking regulators into potentially deceptive practices by Higher One and the Federal Reserve ordered Higher One Holdings, Inc. to pay millions in fines and restitution to students. Later, the FDIC brought additional action against WEX Bank, which partners with Higher One, and both WEX Bank and Higher One were ordered to pay $31 million in fines and restitution to roughly 900,000 consumers. 

Fast forward to today, and students across the Tarleton campus report mixed feelings about Higher One and the service it provides. 

Shandi Holland, a sophomore at Tarleton, supports the University’s decision to partner with Higher One and states, “I like Higher One. I’ve never had a problem with it. I use it for my refund options and my mom sends money there, too. I use it like a bank account. I know I have $.50 charges, but usually I make it a credit so I don’t have to pay the debit charges.” 

Ethan Smart, a junior at Tarleton, disagrees. Ethan prefers the old system saying, “Before [Higher One] you could pick up your [refund] check and do whatever you want with it. Now it has to go to Higher One first and now it’s another step you have to go to if you don’t want to leave the money on that account. I didn’t take a class for a semester and then Higher One contacted me saying they were going to charge me wto use that account. I didn’t have a choice. Tarleton didn’t say you could opt out. It has to go there first. If there was another option, if I could pick up a check like you used to be able to, I’d absolutely use that instead.” 

A transfer student and senior at Tarleton, Erica Russo admits that Higher One is both convenient and commonly used by many universities, but states that she dislikes all of the fees that come along with using the card. 

“There’s all kinds of transaction fees and PIN fees, but it’s convenient to use your card the day the refund hits the bank account. I used to use my bank account at [another University] but it was a hassle and took longer so I went back to just using Higher One. I do think they need to realize we’re college kids and we use that money to live on. It may just be a few cents here and there but we need that money and it’s essential that they have all those fees—especially for college students who typically don’t have much money, anyway. But I think convenience is such a big deal that people will put up with it until there’s another option that is just as quick,” said Russo. Erica is not alone. Students across the nation are raising questions about the costs associated with the use of this service and ethical questions pertaining to exactly how much choice is in the use of the Tarleton Choice Card. 

JTAC News reached out to Mr. Tye Minkler as well as Higher One about this issue and will report further on the Higher One card and the services the company provides to students in the future.