The Department of Intercollegiate Athletics (Athletics) has evaluated and selected a new software platform that will enhance the efficiency of internal processes between their department and the Office of Financial Aid & Scholarships (Financial Aid).
After an extensive market search by Athletics, the ARMS Software company surfaced as an organization that set itself apart from the competition. Since purchasing the platform last year, the ARMS application is proving to be a perfect fit for the department.
Athletics currently uses the ARMS software in many different ways including recruiting, calendars, and bulk messaging to student athletes. However, the advancements of the software are also going to benefit Athletics and Financial Aid in the scholarship request process.
Financial Aid regularly evaluates processes and procedures to improve efficiency and effectiveness. Over the last few years, it became apparent that one of the most resource-intensive practices is the processing and awarding of student athletes. As a result, a great deal of collaboration between Financial Aid and Athletics is required.
This manual process involves exchanging hundreds of emails with PDFs between the two offices which predictably results in miscommunications and delays with student records. However, in the near future, ARMS will help solve that problem with the completion of the current project.
In partnership with IT Services, the process has begun to better integrate ARMS and Banner by allowing award information in ARMS to be loaded directly into Banner and onto student records. Financial Aid representatives will save countless hours and will help student athletes avoid the stress of having their aid delayed due to failed business processes. ARMS will benefit Financial Aid, Athletics, and most importantly, students.