Student-workers hit with pre-break pay delay
By Jake Tiger
With one more day of classes between them from their sweet spring break, Rider’s student workers awoke expecting a payday just in time for the seasonal recess. What they were faced with instead was a moment of panic, annoyance and frustration.
Despite pay stubs being sent out as usual, Rider’s direct deposit paychecks did not process for students on Friday, March 8, again fanning the flames of Rider’s months-long payroll problems.
Chief Financial Officer James Hartman sent out an email to Rider students at 12:06 p.m. stating that the university had been in contact with the bank, and students should receive their direct deposit by 6 p.m.
Multiple students expressed an annoyance with payroll still not being streamlined after a fall-semester fiasco that Hartman called “totally unacceptable.”
Senior sports media major Jay Johnson, who is a community assistant in Gee Hall and did not get paid via direct deposit, said, “They keep doing all this back and forth and they still can’t figure out how to pay us on time. … It’s frustrating. … It makes it hard for me to tell people to go get a campus job if they’re not going to pay you on time.”
According to Hartman, the March 8 issue was a result of a banking error, and was not a fault in Banner Web Time Entry – a new payroll system the university implemented specifically for students after issues last fall.
Rider’s payroll was processed as usual earlier in the week with seemingly no issues, Hartman said.
The CFO’s email reads, “We have been communicating with the bank all morning to find out what happened on their end, and when you can expect to receive your direct deposit. … We understand the importance of paying all of our students on time, and sincerely apologize for this banking error.”
Students who did not have direct deposit set up reported having no problems picking up their checks in person at the Disbursements Office on the bottom floor of the Franklin F. Moore Library.
Johnson said he was looking forward to his regular biweekly check of $340, hoping to unwind and treat himself over spring break.
“I got the notification last night that the money is coming in from disbursements. … When I went in, the money wasn’t there,” said Johnson. “Not having it sucks, but hopefully they can figure it out.”
Junior psychology major Jasmine Paredes, a student worker for Rider’s Educational Opportunity Program, was also not paid on March 8, describing her financial situation without the expected paycheck as “pretty rough.”
“I have no money,” said Paredes, who was due $252. “I was depending on that money for spring break. … I also use the money to pay my tuition.”
The pay delay comes after the university specifically switched student payroll to Banner WTE after reported issues with submitting timesheets in ADP – Rider’s previous payroll service.
The university’s staff and faculty still use ADP for timesheets, while students have migrated to circumvent issues for those with multiple jobs and supervisors.
During the Student Government Association’s student town hall on Feb. 29, Hartman said, “Totally unacceptable situation in the fall. We all know that. … We actually moved on from two folks. … I think we’re in a really good spot within payroll to make sure that never happens again.”
