Starting college comes with a lot of paperwork and bureaucratic hoops that students have to jump through. While at this point in their academic careers, our students were highly proficient in navigating their student portals and platforms like Blackboard and Canvas, they were still largely unfamiliar with some of the additional documentation they would need to start the semester.
Many students didn’t know that they would have to provide proof of health insurance in order to avoid getting charged for insurance through the university.
Obstacle 1: Finding the Submission Instructions and Requirements
The platform that universities use for student health information and services is often separate from the general student portal that they learn to use for course registration, transcripts, and personal information. As a result of difficulties in finding and logging into this health service portal, several students also were not aware of how and what they needed to submit as proof of immunizations.
Obstacle 2: Delays Obtaining Documents
The timing on insurance documentation is especially sensitive, because students who haven’t provided sufficient proof of existing insurance will be charged for university insurance on their tuition bill, which is due before the start of classes. Sometimes, even if a student seeks the necessary documents well in advance, delays from the insurance company can make the student miss the deadline for proof of insurance. Students should allow for at least a month to gather the necessary documents and get them approved by their school.
Obstacle 3: Frequent and Persistent Follow-Up
At least one of our students faced enough delays from their insurance company that they were charged for student health insurance. The student had taken all the necessary steps to request the appropriate documents, but through no fault of their own, did not receive the documents in time — despite regularly following up with the company. However, when the insurance company eventually did come through with satisfactory documentation, the student was then able to receive a refund from their school for the student health insurance charge.