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New payment plan makes students more proactive
Paying tuition has become a lot easier, thanks to the college’s new payment plan.
In December, SPC partnered with the National Education Loan Network, a third-party education planning and financing company based in Lincoln, Neb., that offers tuition payment processing and student loans at colleges and universities nationwide.
For a small enrollment fee, NelNet allows students to pay their spring tuition in three or four interest-free installments.
Doug Duncan, Vice President of Administrative and Business Services at SPC, said the payment plan will save students time during peak registration periods.
“It can all be done online without them ever coming to campus,” Duncan said.
The college implemented the payment plan as a method of offering students an interest-free alternative to standard student loans. To qualify, students must pay up to 50 percent up front and an enrollment fee of $25 or $35 depending on when they apply. Duncan said more than 1,000 students utilized the outsourced financier for the spring term.
“We were pleased with the overall turnout,” said Mike Meigs, Director of Student Accounting and Business Services. “As students get used to it and word spreads, I would foresee continued growth.”
Meigs said the new outsourced payment plan has been a more efficient process than its college predecessor.
"The old plan was a paper promissory note that required staff time and resources to fill out,” he said. “It also required the student to get a co-signer, which usually resulted in them leaving and coming back.”
Meigs said the online payment plan allows students to be more proactive in the payment process.
“Students can go through MySPC, click on the tuition payment plan link and follow the directions to start the process,” he said. “Last term, we were having some serious bottleneck issues in the student service areas. Students were having to wait up to three hours in the MAP centers.”
Pat Rinard, Associate Vice President of Enrollment Management, said the internal payment system also was more costly.
“The new NelNet payment plan does not involve our staff at all, and that saved us about 160 man hours.” Rinard said.
Whether the new payment system will help lower the number of students purged during registration for non-payment has yet to be determined.
“We dropped fewer students for non-payment than we have in the past, but I am not sure I would attribute that to the NelNet plan,” he said.
Direct deposit to replace all payroll checks as of March 1
As of March 1, the college no longer will issue paper payroll checks except in cases of demonstrated hardship. As of that date, employee pay will be distributed only through direct deposit.
The Board of Trustees voted at its December meeting to adopt revised payroll procedures requiring employees to have their payroll checks deposited through the college’s Direct Deposit Program. Employees must fill out a Direct Deposit Authorization Form identifying where their payroll checks are to be direct deposited.
Employees who close their accounts, or who move their accounts to other institutions, must notify the college by filling out a new authorization form.
Employees who fail to promptly complete the form may experience delays in receiving their checks.
Employees who can demonstrate a hardship may be exempted from the Direct Deposit Program. Requests for exemption must contain clear explanations of the reasons why, and include supporting documentation.
Link to the Direct Deposit Authorization Form (pdf) and Direct Deposit Hardship Form (pdf) here or from the Human Resource Web site.
For Bev Grundset, weight loss helps her gain control of her life
Losing weight is rarely an easy task. But with some support from her family and fellow Weight Watchers community members, Beverly Grundset is determined to do just that.
 Beverly Grundset in August 2002, with Jett, her poodle. |
 Beverly Grundset now, after losing 65 pounds and dropping three medications and cutting back on a fourth. |
“I was a dedicated couch potato,” said Grundset, academic chair of Biological Science and Wellness at St. Petersburg/Gibbs. Two years ago, the then 56-year-old was struggling with cholesterol, pre-hypertension and diabetes but was not motivated to change her lifestyle.
Then her niece, Michelle, and Michelle's mother began a diet program prescribed by Michelle's cardiologist.
When news about their weight loss plan reached Grundset, she decided to make a change and joined a local Weight Watchers group.
“I didn’t want to be the only fat person left in my family,” Grundset said with a laugh.
“Weight Watchers has really been the way I have decreased my weight,” said Grundset. She lost 58 pounds the first year and another seven the next. Because of the weight loss, she no longer needs her cholesterol and diabetes medications, and she was able to stop taking one of her pre-hypertension medications and cut back the other.
“I have lost three medications and another one has been decreased,” Grundset said. “And that’s just from 65 pounds. My goal is to decrease these medications to the minimum amount so that I don’t have to be taking as many.”
By the time SPC started its Wellness Challenge in the fall, Grundset said she was already ahead of the game.
“I actually started my Wellness Challenge before the college decided we should do it,” she said. “By the time we started the Wellness Challenge, everything they were telling me to do, I had already done.”
Grundset said the key to losing weight is to know your individual serving size.
“Once you can understand what a serving size is and how much you are supposed to be eating, then you can appropriately address the calories that you put in your mouth,” Grundset said.
“Now I know that the first time I hear that little voice saying, ‘Beverly, you’re full,’ I start turning off,” Grundset said. “When I go into a restaurant now, if I’m eating a full portion by myself, I immediately take half of it off my plate and put it into a to-go box."
Before dieting, her eating habits included a lot of drive-thrus and French fries.
“It’s a lot easier to go out and eat off the dollar menu in McDonald's and have junk than it is to eat good stuff because fruits and vegetables cost more money,” she said.
Motivating co-workers to get fit
She said her co-workers in the Natural Science office encourage her healthy lifestyle and keep her in line.
Marcia Castle, a Staff Assistant in the office, said Grundset has been a motivator for her to lose weight.
“She has been very supportive of me and has given me ideas,” said Castle, who joined Weight Watchers in October and plans to continue her healthier lifestyle.
Financial benefits of healthy living
Although the Wellness Challenge is a way for people to save money on their health insurance premiums, Grundset hopes other SPC employees will be motivated to make a change to a healthier lifestyle for themselves and not just for the discount.
Not only can employees save money by earning the employee discount for their wellness efforts, but because SPC's health insurance is a self-insured plan, the college saves money when it pays out less in claims. In spite of rising health care costs, St. Petersburg College saw a decrease in claims paid out in December 2009 in comparison to the same time period in 2008.
Onward and Upward
SPC faculty publish article on Nurisng faculty job satisfaction
Kathleen A. Lane, Joni Esser, and Marie Anne McCusker, associate degree Nursing faculty, along with former SPC faculty member Betty Holte, published an article in the January 2010 issue of Teaching and Learning in Nursing, the official publication of the National Organization for associate degree Nursing.
The article, A study of nurse faculty job satisfaction in community colleges in Florida, represents a qualitative study of data sampled from 23 Florida community colleges that offer a nursing program.
The data offers insight into the relationship between job satisfaction and intent to stay, and could provide information for administrators to address the faculty shortage.
Seminole Campus named Business of the Year
The Seminole Campus has been named 2009 Seminole Business of the Year by the Greater Seminole Area Chamber of Commerce.
Provost Jim Olliver accepted a plaque at a recent Chamber banquet. The plaque read, “Presented in recognition of excellent business practices, customer service, and community advocacy.”
The Seminole Campus also was the recipient of a second Chamber award, the Education Partner President’s Award. Olliver accepted that certificate, which read: “Supporting Entrepreneurship and Small Business – St. Petersburg College.”
Meeting Notices
The St. Petersburg College Board of Trustees will hold a public meeting on Feb. 12 at 9 a.m. at the EpiCenter, Room 1-153, 13805 58th St. N., Largo, FL.
The St. Petersburg College Foundation, Inc. will have a Planned Giving Committee Meeting on Feb. 16 at Noon, in the President's Dining Room at the District Office of St. Petersburg College, 6021 142nd Ave. N., Largo. These meeting will be to consider routine business.
The St. Petersburg Alumni Association, Inc. will have a Board of Directors Meeting on Feb. 16 at 6 p.m., in the President's Dining Room at the District Office of St. Petersburg College, 6021 142nd Ave. N., Largo. These meeting will be to consider routine business.