Down the Higher One Rabbit Hole with Kyle Summerfield Note: Despite problems with the courts, the controversial financing practices of Higher One haven’t stopped hundreds of college administrations from hiring Higher One to disburse financial aid. Here, Merced College student Kyle Summerfield offers a graphic account of his own experience with the Higher One “Blue Card.” My name is Kyle Summerfield. I am currently a Merced College student. I am a […]
Higher One Merced College
Higher One: Busted Again?
On November 6, Inside Higher Education reported that Higher One, the provider of debit cards on hundreds of college campuses, including Modesto Junior College and Merced College, is in trouble again. As we reported here, Higher One paid $11 million last year as part of deal with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation to provide restitution to students who were wrongfully charged for overdraft fees. Now Higher One is in trouble […]
Merced College Students Study Outsourcing Financial Aid
Despite their popularity with college and university administrators, institutions that have been hired to disburse financial aid for students continue to come under scrutiny from federal and state government overseers. On September 6, California Governor Jerry Brown signed into law Senate Bill 595 (SB 595). The bill stipulates, among other things, b) (1) Each campus of the California Community Colleges and the California State University shall offer a student the option of […]
Higher One: Setting the Record Straight?
After The Valley Citizen published two articles about local colleges outsourcing financial aid disbursements to Higher One, we received a letter from Higher One’s Lauren Perry saying that Higher One wished to “set the record straight so students know the truth.” The Valley Citizen is pleased to publish the letter in its entirety. Incidentally, a recent report from Bloomberg claims Higher One is for sale. Does that mean Higher One […]
Higher One: Just Another Corporate Tentacle in Higher Education
When Fresno State student Jeremiah Henry received his Higher One card back in 2012, he tried to activate it immediately. He then got embroiled in a bureaucratic nightmare that lasted days. It was while trying to activate the Higher One card that Henry began wondering how Fresno State had come to the decision to outsource financial aid to a company that was at that time involved in a class action […]