NZ Wins computers still giving problems

greenspun.com : LUSENET : Grassroots Information Coordination Center (GICC) : One Thread

This problem was reported on in January. With the new categories I do not know where to find it.

MONDAY, MAR 13, 2000:

Student stress over late loans

WELLINGTON -- Loan delays at Victoria University are proving so stressful for students forced to beg for hardship grants that staff fear many are cracking under the strain.

Student finance adviser Barbara Scelly said an average of 80 students a week were needing grants from the hardship fund. Often, they were "beside themselves" with stress.

Confusion over paperwork was causing students to be bounced back and forth between the university and Work and Income New Zealand's 0800 phone line to try to find out why their loans had not gone through.

"It is kind of dangerous to annoy people to that extent. That total frustration ... having to beggar around the place, it's really humiliating," Ms Scelly said. She said there had been one instance when a person was so mentally distressed she feared for the student's safety.

Victoria's student fees co-ordinator Heather Ussher said she was facing a "steady stream" of students complaining they couldn't get their money because of paperwork problems. It had worsened over the last two weeks.

The university was sending confirmation to Winz that students were enrolled for study to allow the loan to go ahead, but the confirmations did not appear to be reaching Winz.

A spokesman for Winz student services manager Lorraine Williams said that often the confirmation had to be sent out several times to students as more information was needed.

But extra staff - recruited quickly within Winz to help an overworked student services team - did not always understand the information needed.

There was also a computer "interface issue" between Victoria and Winz. It was the same one which caused problems for about 100 summer school students, some of whom still had not received their allowances.

About 1300 students at Victoria and 14,544 nationwide were waiting for their enrolment to be confirmed before Winz would pay them their loans.

Victoria's director of student administration Penny Fenwick said Victoria was "pleased" with Winz's progress.

http://www.press.co.nz/2000/11/000313n01.htm

-- Martin Thompson (mthom1927@aol.com), March 12, 2000

Answers

Hi Martin - we are categorizing everything "education" related (schools, school districts, higher education) to "Education - kids."

Hope that helps! JB

-- Jen Bunker (jen@bunkergroup.com), March 12, 2000.


The previous article on WINZ is at:

http://greenspun.com/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg.tcl?msg_id=002WkV

-- Martin Thompson (mthom1927@aol.com), March 13, 2000.


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