Operational Structure of the Financial Aid Office and Bursar Office

This policy addresses the protocols followed and the interactions between the Financial Aid Office and the Bursar Offices as student financial aid is processed.

Procedure:

1. Tuition charges are processed by the Bursar Office through the SonisWeb Software Program.
2. Scholarships and FA Awards are awarded through Sonis by the FA office
3. FA Awards are disbursed on Ed Express (Federal program) then notifies the Bursar office to disburse the funds onto the student accounts.
4. Scholarship and awards are posted to the student account by the Bursar office.
   1. The Financial Aid and Bursar offices reconcile charges and adjustments monthly. A paper copy of the monthly close out report from SonisWeb is provided to the Accounting Office for entry in the general ledger and verification of postings.
5. Payments received for the student account are processed thru SonisWeb by the 
   1. Bursar office on a daily basis. Each person posting payments to the student account creates a daily receipt batch and reconciles the batch at the end of each day. After reconciliation a “final run” is performed that closes the batch and prevents any changes to the payment.
6. Credit card payments are processed by the Bursar office and entered into SonisWeb the same as other payments. The credit card machine is closed-out and balanced each day at 5:00pm.
7. The Bursar will process the daily deposit using the pre-formatted deposit slips provided by Accounting. A copy of the deposit slip and credit card slips will be faxed to both Accounting and Patient Financial Services. Security is notified and the deposit picked up for delivery to the bank. A copy of the deposit slip and pick-up log is maintained in the Registrar’s Office.
8. If a refund is due the student, the Bursar Office initiates the refund request using a Check Request Form. A 3rd party – the Director or President of the
9. College reviews and signs the check request form. A copy of the request form is maintained in the Bursar Office and the original is forwarded to Accounts
10. Payable in the Accounting Office for processing.
11. The refund checks are posted in SonisWeb for the refund amount to properly document all accounts. The Bursar makes copies and then dispenses the checks to the students.
12. In addition, Accounting functions routinely performed by the Accounting Office include but may not be limited to: Deferred Income adjustments – performed quarterly; general journal entries – initiated by Financial Aid Office as necessary.

Approved:______________________________________________________________________
Monika Bissell, DBA
President