Higher One Brings New Mastercard to Students

Be on the lookout for something new to arrive by mail this summer. Students at SCC will be receiving Mastercard debit cards; a brand new way to manage your refund. The college is teaming up with Higher One, a company who services campuses all over Missouri and Illinois, to bring these new cards to the students.

Kathy Brockgreitens, Dean of Enrollment Services, describes Higher One and their services to the campus. "Higher One is a third party refund management company. […] they will manage all our student refunds for us whether it's a refund from financial aide, or if it's a refund from dropping a class."

The card is designed to give students the choice of an easier way to receive their refund money.

"Student's will have a choice of obtaining a debit card from Higher One," Brockgreitens says, "and it is a Mastercard secured debit card that is accepted anywhere Mastercard is accepted."

The idea is to give students a more accessible way to deal with their refund money, including money from the Pell Grant, A+, or other FAFSA programs. The cards are usable at any store or restaurant that Mastercard is accepted, and according to Kathy the college will have an ATM in the administration building for students to withdraw cash from their accounts without worrying about ATM fees.

"ATM fees do apply. We will have an ATM on campus at the administration building for students by the welcome center where students can go withdraw money, free of charge."

The other choice for students is to use a bank account you already have to receive the money. In this case, students can direct deposit their refunds. "If a student chooses too, they can have their refund ACH to a current bank account of their choice; one they're currently using."

The initial cards will be sent without cost to the students, but be warned: there is a fine for replacing your card if it's lost or, as might often be the case, it gets carelessly thrown away. "If the student happens to lose their card, there's a $20 fee for the student to replace the card."

Using Higher One will also help save the college a bit of money, aside from the obvious of saving the environment a little bit. "It does save a bit of money. […] we no longer have the printing costs, we no longer have the paper costs, we no longer have the postage costs."

Students can expect to see these cards arriving in the mail this summer, just as classes begin. For more information, you can talk to the admissions department on campus, or email Kathy Brockgreitens at kbrockgreitens@stchas.edu.