Glitches in Polk State’s transition to new online portal create problems for faculty and students

Shakia Riggins was shocked when she learned her bank account had suddenly gone into the red in June.

Riggins, professor Polk State CollegeShe soon learned that her employer had not withheld federal payroll taxes from her earnings since January. He said the university’s attempt to resolve the issue negatively impacted Riggins’ bank account.

Riggins’ situation exemplifies the problems Polk State College faced a transition to a new computer system to manage payroll, student registration and other records.

Spokesperson Madison Fantozzi said Polk State began using the Ellucian Banner system in late June. Polk said the Portal-branded system replaces a technology developed in the 1990s and that the purpose of the change is to increase efficiency and data security.

Fantozzi said students began using the Polk Portal when fall semester registration opened on June 25, and all employees, including full-time faculty, have been using the system to enter time and leave since August.

Faculty use the system for class rosters, attendance and grade entry, as well as payroll records. Fantozzi said students use the Polk Portal for course registration, financial aid and payment.

The transition to the new system caused various disruptions for students and staff.

To ensure the system was ready, the college delayed general registration for the fall semester by two weeks, video tutorials were provided, counselors were on hand to manually enroll students who needed extra help, and a technology help desk with extended hours was established to provide support. Technical assistance,” Fantozzi said in an email.

He said that the delay in the start of registration did not affect the duration of the course.

Fantozzi said Riggins was one of five employees out of more than 850 who had problems with federal tax deductions. The college discovered in August that employees had not had Social Security withheld from their paychecks from January through June.

This required Polk State to close the gap.

“To minimize the financial impact on affected employees, the College covered the cost of the missed deductions,” Fantozzi wrote. “However, this resulted in a temporary increase in their taxable income, which was reflected in increased withholding on their September paychecks.”

He said Polk State apologized for the late notice and offered to cover any overdraft fees or late fees that employees might incur.

Riggins, the computer science professor, described the response from the university’s human resources offices as “a simple apology without any meaningful help.”

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Riggins, who has taught at Polk State since 2019, said he resigned from his position as director of computer science for other reasons and now serves as an adjunct professor at the university.

Fantozzi said via email that Polk State pays its employees monthly, and July paychecks were delayed one to three days for about 120 employees “due in whole or in part to challenges with the new system.”

Half of the employees were issued paper checks as of July 31, but they were not delivered until the end of the month due to “logistical challenges,” Fantozzi said.

He said other staff members arranged for funds to be deposited into multiple bank accounts. Fantozzi said these employees received partial payment electronically through July 31, with the balance provided through paper checks that may have been delayed.

He said that the problems were resolved and did not occur in subsequent payment periods.

Fantozzi said Polk State faced challenges processing scholarship and financial aid awards due to the transition to the new system, as well as delays in federal processing related to changes to the Free Application for Federal Student Aid form. Issues with the FAFSA system rollout have caused disruptions and delays across the country.

“To ensure that financial aid and scholarship awards are applied correctly and to give students more time to close their accounts, the College has made the decision not to drop students for nonpayment during the Fall 2024 Term,” Fantozzi wrote. “Instead, students were billed for any remaining balances in their accounts after financial aid was applied.”

Gary White can be reached at [email protected] or 863-802-7518. follow x @garywhite13.

This article was first published on The Ledger: Polk State’s transition to new online portal suffered hiccups