CU’s Campus Solutions (CS) application went live in 2009. As part of the implementation, UIS developed a self-service direct deposit refund system that automatically validated student routing numbers against their banking institution via the Federal Reserve Automated Clearing House (ACH). The file was updated manually and was not up-to-date with new and changed institutions. The student experience was greatly enhanced recently with a project UIS implemented that automatically updates bank information matched to routing numbers, regardless of the number of institution changes.

With the new project in place, CS automatically pulls updated routing number information from the Federal Reserve weekly. This ensures that no matter how small a bank or credit union, when a student enters their routing number, their entry is accepted and they can validate their correct institution. Emily Bell, Manager of Student Billing, CU Boulder, states that the automated weekly updates have had a positive impact for her students. “During the last few years, financial institutions have changed quite a bit. With the manual process, students would enter their routing number and it would come up invalid or they would see an incorrect institution. The new automated system keeps the information current, which has resulted in a lot less confusion for our students with banking issues.”  

Banking information is so up-to-date, the Finance (FIN) system now integrates with CS to pull routing numbers for employee Accounts Payable (AP) direct deposit expense processing. Employees can now also call to verify the name of the institution to which their funds were deposited, making it more efficient for them to validate their expense reimbursements. Integration with payroll direct deposit within the Human Capital Management (HCM) system is planned for the future.

The new ACH automated process is just one of the ways UIS is building efficiencies across our universitywide systems. Keep an eye on UIS News to learn about additional important efficiencies.