A large number of students are still waiting for their first Studylink payment to come through, despite a month passing since classes began.
One student called it “a fucking stitch up”, another student suggested “maybe Studylink needs to employ a few more people so that they can stay operating at least standard business hours?”
Jason Dwen from Studylink, who has a very long job title but ultimately manages client service support, said that Studylink has “finalised 90% of all applications” received before the deadline of 16 December 2019. For the slack cunts who were late, only 70% have been processed, and 7% still require study verification from their respective tertiary institutions.
Dwen said that Studylink are currently experiencing “a higher number of calls than expected” and that additional staff have been put in place to help meet this demand.
Many students told Critic they were waiting 45 to 180 minutes on the phone to talk to someone at Studylink.
Students affected said that the University of Otago is responding well to their concerns, and have reassured individuals that they will not lose access to lectures or Blackboard. One student said “Shoutout to the uni finance department for calming my nerves”.
Studylink asked anyone experiencing financial hardship to get in touch. While you are on hold for an hour, consider contacting Sage at OUSA Student Support, who may be able to help too.