Amid changing protocols for COVID-19 ahead of UNC’s fall semester, some changes are also set to occur for graduate students. Beginning in August, payments to graduate students will be distributed per semester.
Prior to this change graduate students were paid monthly. The total amount received will not be affected, but students will now receive the funds sooner.
Aesha Greene, a senior assistant director within the Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid, said the “student payment project” began in 2019. She said her office met with the Graduate School and found some inconsistencies on how payments should be made to students in compliance to the U.S. Department of Education.
“If the university is not compliant, nobody wins,” Greene said. “If the university is at risk, students don’t win. Faculty doesn’t win. Staff does not win, so we want to ensure that the university is compliant.”
Chad Lloyd is the vice president of communications for the Graduate and Professional Student Government. He said some students are feeling apprehensive about navigating the new payment process.
“It’s going to be just financially harder because they’re going to have to spend additional time thinking about how they manage their money when they get paid in a giant lump sum,” Lloyd said.
To help graduate students transition to the new system, Lloyd said the graduate school put together resources for financial planning on the graduate school website.
Not all students will be impacted by the change. Graduate students in teaching assistant and research assistant positions will continue to be paid monthly through UNC payroll.
Another exception to the semester payments includes reimbursement for expenses which primarily benefit the university. Expenses like attending university recruiting events or purchasing supplies for academic departments will continue to be reimbursed monthly.
Greene said all other payments are considered financial aid.
“This is going to include your training grants or fellowships,” Greene said. “Your research awards, travel awards, internships awards scholarship grants, tuition and fee payments. Any money paid to students that’s basically not compensation for employment is financial aid.”
Payments for graduate students start at the beginning of each semester. For the fall, this date is set for August 18.
To learn more on the changes to payments, click here.
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