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Comments on notecards line the wall outside of the financial aid offices. On the cards, students sing the praises of changes made by the office staff. They extol greater efficiency, shorter lines, and amiable counselors. A significant factor in generating all of this good will is Barbara Hubler, the new acting director of Student Financial Aid. Throughout her career at San Francisco State, Hubler has strived to improve student services and inspire others around her to do the same. Her goals, she declares, are to "humanize the bureaucracy" and "get to the students the money that they need and deserve."Return to top
Hubler has been with SFSU's Office of Financial Aid for 18 years and she says that the office is better now than ever. She notes that many recent changes to the financial aid system have provided quicker and easier service for students. Two significant developments are the disbursement of aid checks by mail and the creation of a telephone voice response system. Instead of waiting in enormous lines, students now receive their funds in the mail. Additionally, a new telephone system allows students to check their aid status from home, a precursor to a Web-based system, Hubler says.
The key to the office's success, Hubler is quick to acknowledge, is her indefatigable staff. Hubler oversees an office of 22 staff members, all but one of whom can double as a financial aid counselor when needed. This means that nearly everyone in the office can advise concerned students directly about how to best navigate the system. Hubler praises the flexibility of her staff because they can assume counseling duties during periods of intensified demand. She commends them as dedicated and loyal student advocates who are also "great cooks for office potlucks."
Hubler arrived at SFSU through a quintessentially California experience. Following her undergraduate work at the College of Wooster in Ohio, and after earning a master's degree in college administration at Ball State in Indiana, Hubler worked as assistant director of financial aid at Albion College in Michigan for two years. During a vacation break, she and her sister visited California and rode bicycles throughout the state. Hubler fell in love with the Bay Area, and applied for a position at SFSU six months later. She's been with the University ever since.
Hubler and the other members of the office have big plans for the future. Financial Aid will be part of the new student services center proposed for construction in the Old Corporation Yard. At that site, students will be able to quickly and easily find information to take care of their University business. Also, Hubler looks forward to changes in federal policy that will award Pell Grants to students working on their teaching credential. Finally, Hubler is investigating ways that her office can help students caught in recent federal welfare changes that have set cut-off dates for benefits. Hubler wants to make the transition from welfare easier and to offer those students the opportunity to continue their studies and receive their degrees. These plans and others demonstrate that the past successes of the Office of Student Financial Aid will be duplicated in the future under the stewardship of Barbara Hubler.
--Edward Wilkinson
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