Last week, the University unveiled its online account system to provide parental access to students’ financial information.

Students can now provide access to four different users who are allowed to have direct oversight of students’ finances.

The new changes to this online portal are extremely laudable, as it will allow the financial aid office to improve how it provides its services to students and families.

Oftentimes, students and parents were frustrated over having to contact the financial aid office and work through bureaucratic red tape to acquire information. This, in turn, forced the financial aid office to deal with irritated individuals rather than actually work on financial aid applications and requests.

But the additional access granted to parents will allow them to view important financial information independently, decreasing the need for families to contact the financial aid office in order to sort out small details. This will also benefit the financial aid office, as it will likely deal with fewer distractions, such as finding out basic online account information for families.

Students who have frustrating campus or residential experiences may often gain a negative view of the entire institution.

Taking simple steps like these to improve the way an office operates will improve these critical day-to-day interactions between students and the administration.

Ultimately, these types of improvements benefit students and the University. Improved efficiency means that the offices providing services are able to focus on substantial work, while students are happier with their experience at the institution.

This editorial was updated on April 5, 2012 to reflect the following:
The Hatchet originally said the University changed its system, but in fact it just unveiled intentions to change the policy.