The University Bookstore is accepting students’ financial aid as a payment option for the 2010 spring semester.
According to Course Materials Manager Steve Overholt, the Bookstore is accepting excess financial aid before refund checks are issued through its Opt-In program, for purchases of textbooks and other course-related supplies up to $700.
The new system is the derivative of a trial process that was run in August among selected students for a two week period, Overholt said. The program has now expanded because of the new PeopleSoft system and is offered to all students with available funds until Dec. 30.
Students who wish to partake in the program must sign-up through the self-service portal on the left column of their MyBGSU account, Overholt said. He said students can then pay at the bookstore with their BG1 Card or conveniently order their materials online by selecting the option to use financial aid. To use their Opt-In funds, they just need to type that they are participating in the program in the comment field, he said.
The books will then be shipped to the University by Jan. 8 for spring semester.
‘There really is no downside to this,’ Overholt said. ‘But there was some confusion among students when it first began.’
Overholt said some students are not aware of the stipulations which can prevent them from participating in Opt-In. His advice was for students to pay attention to their bursar account and to read the program’s details on the Bookstore’s Web site.
‘They must have at least $50 leftover after purchases, and they must opt-in early and place their order 24 hours in advance,’ Overholt said. ‘If they don’t check their funds beforehand to be sure some are available, it can delay the process.’
Sophomore Brittany Mamphey said she is using Opt-In for the first time to purchase one of her books for spring semester.
‘I couldn’t find that book anywhere else,’ she said. ‘I usually just use my refund check to buy books at other places anyway, so I decided to use [Opt-In] after I read about it in an e-mail.’
Mamphey said she viewed her Bursar bill early and found she had enough money to purchase her book and receive a leftover amount of $475 to spend elsewhere. She said a positive of Opt-In is she is able to choose which books she wants to purchase at the Bookstore and is not obligated to purchase all of them there.
‘It also helps for budgeting money,’ Mamphey said. ‘This way, I know the money is already out, and I don’t have to worry about financing my check for books as much.’
Dawn Stolte, a junior nontraditional student, also said Opt-In is very helpful. She said she used the trial program last fall and will use it for spring semester as well.
Stolte said she did not have any trouble finding her books at the Bookstore because she was able to access her funds early last fall.
‘I usually have a few hundred dollars leftover to buy books,’ Stolte said. ‘And I wouldn’t be able to go on with my career if I didn’t have that financial aid. It’s important to me to go on and educate myself further, and without this program, I may not have been able to pay to get into a different field of work.’
Overholt said overall the program is a win for both the students and the Bookstore.
‘It helps the student and us,’ he said. ‘We get to sell books because students are still spending their money at the University. Students get a five percent discount if they order online, and [the program] spreads out purchases and gives us more time to get used books in for students to buy. It took a lot of coordination to get this program to work, and we’re working on improving it further, but I think it’s a win-win for all of us.”
