Do you remember making the $100 deposit when you moved into the dorms? Well, neither did the university employee that was supposed to refund it to you.
Last Friday, students received a mass email notifying them that some did not receive a housing deposit refund check and stated that they will be contacted by the Controller’s Office individually if they were affected. According to the office, the students affected were the ones that left the dorms during the 2016-17 academic year.
Bradley’s chief financial officer and controller Pratima Gandhi said the mistake took place when several employees left their positions and the tasks were left undone. According to Gandhi, the office only realized the mistake about two weeks ago.
An event like this seems like a typical case of human error, but it should not be taken lightly. Some students can find an extra $100 in their pocket useful, and since all these eligible students are not living in the dorms, they are paying rent. Receiving a check of $100 could benefit anyone who is having a hard time keeping up with living expenses.
The Controller’s Office has started to process the forgotten checks and give Bradley students their due cash.
Additionally, Gandhi said on Tuesday that deposits would be processed within one to two days and some students had not been contacted by Thursday evening.
The email was triggered by students flooded the controller’s office for deposit refund after seeing a wide spread student Facebook post. It seems as though the housing deposit refund check is not an articulated point.
Moving forward, the Controller’s Office said they will change the system of processing these checks to avoid another error. They could have easily called it a simple mistake, but we commend them for fixing a system that failed.
It may be smart to educate students about the housing deposit check as another form of checks and balances to avoid a situation like this from happening again. Improving the current auditing system may also rule out the possibility of any human error.
