In today’s economy, money can be a touchy issue, especially when it comes to the seemingly endless bills that come from attending college.

At the University, such bills come from the Bursar’s Office.

“Bursar is Latin for keeper of the purse,” said Lynn Huber, assistant Bursar.

Bursar, which is a University term, is basically “the billing agents for the University,” she said.

“Almost every office on campus will interface with this office in some way, shape or form,” Huber said.

Huber said the Bursar’s Office, which is located in the Administration Building, has around 20 staff members, including cashiers, people who work specifically on refunds and a call center. In addition, the Bursar’s Office has on-staff full-time counselors who students can come in (without an appointment) and speak to about their account.

However, Huber said some students still do not know what the bursar is and what it does.

“We have no authority over awarding money or dispersing money,” Huber said. “We do get a lot of students who confuse us with that because they’ll call and be upset because ‘Why isn’t my financial aid on my account?’ Or ‘Why was part of my loan canceled?'”

The Bursar’s Office can call and find out that information for students, but does has no control over why those situations happen, Huber said.

“I think at many times, students confuse us with Financial Aid because there is such a close interaction between the Financial Aid Office and our office,” said Bursar Brenda Holderman.

Huber also said because Bursar is the University’s bill collector, many students and parents see the office as “the bad guy.”

“We’ve had students threaten us before,” Huber said.

Junior Bernadette Wiggin, a Bursar clerical worker, said some students don’t think the Bursar’s Office knows what it is doing.

“Everyone that I work with is genuinely trying to help the students,” she said. “Of course they want the bills paid, that’s the ultimate goal, because the school does need the money they’re charging the students for, but they genuinely want to help the students in the best way possible.”

“Many of us have college students of our own,” Huber said. “We understand the struggles students and families go through.”

But there are not just frustrated, angry students all the time.

“Someone actually took the time to write a letter to me, personally singing [an employee’s] praises,” Huber said.

Wiggin said most students do not know that many of the issues that they run into is because of the bursar’s new computer system.

“The system doesn’t allow them to do everything that they were able to do with the old system,” Wiggin said.

The new computer system, which has been slowly introduced throughout many offices on campus, was finally implemented in the Bursar’s Office in April of last year, Huber said.

“Any time you implement a new system, there’s going to be bugs, and this was something that’s been in development for Registration and Records, Financial Aid, and the Bursar’s Office for about three years now,” Huber said.

She said though there have been some issues, they have been worked out for the most part.

“There’s going to be an upgrade to the system for all the offices in October that’s going to offer some nice enhancements for us,” Huber said.

“There are thousands of students that the Bursar’s Office deals with,” Wiggin said. “All we do is bill; we don’t actually deal with the charges.”