The University of West Florida Selects OneDisburse Refund Management to Better Serve Students

West Florida becomes 83rd College or University to Partner with Higher One

New Haven, CT – October 8, 2007 - Higher One, a financial services company focused solely on higher education, announced today that the University of West Florida has become a Higher One client. The University, a school of about 8,200 students located in Pensacola, is the 11th institution of higher education in Florida to partner with Higher One in an attempt to better deliver refunds to its students. Higher One is the fastest growing financial services provider in higher education; servicing approximately 1,000,000 students at colleges and universities across the country.

OneDisburse Refund Management will enable West Florida to cease production of paper check refunds from the school by offering students multiple electronic methods of receiving their refunds. With OneDisburse Refund Management the student can elect to have his or her refund direct deposited into their OneAccount, Higher One's FDIC-insured checking account tied to a Debit MasterCard®, sent via ACH to the student's third party bank account, or have a paper check mailed to the address on file.

Ultimately the decision was made to benefit the students at West Florida.

"College is stressful. We feel we have a responsibility to our students to take advantage of the most up-to-date technology available to make their lives a little easier and their participation in our administrative processes more efficient," explained Colleen Asmus, Controller at the University of West Florida.

This change and the reasons for it are not lost on the students at the University.

"The Higher One card will provide the students with a much more efficient way of receiving their financial aid as well as other University reimbursements," said April Jardine, Student Body President at West Florida. "The funds are also available for immediate use so students no longer have to go to the bank to cash checks."

Part of the appeal of OneDisburse Refund Management is that it will also help to reduce costs for the University, who will no longer have to pay for the expensive process of producing and distributing paper checks. Instead West Florida simply has to put together a list of student names and refund amounts and wire Higher One the total amount of the refunds that will be issued. Higher One distributes each payment based on the preference of the student and handles all customer service associated with the distribution.

"We appreciate the fact that Higher One is not just another way to disburse student refunds, but a complete student refund management system," explained Asmus. "It's a win/win situation for both our students and our support services."

West Florida will issue the University's first refunds through Higher One in November of 2007.

About Higher One

Founded in 2000, Higher One provides higher education institutions and their students with efficient, convenient and easy-to-use solutions to handle financial disbursements. These include: student refunds, on-campus and community purchases, payroll and employee expenses, as well as the collection of payments from students, parents, and sponsors.

Higher One offers a suite of online banking services including the OneAccount, an FDIC-insured checking account, and OneCard, a Debit MasterCard^®. To date, Higher One has disbursed over $4 billion dollars in refunds for its clients to more than 1,000,000 students, faculty, and staff at distinguished public and private higher education institutions throughout the country.

Higher One recently ranked # 85 on the 2007 Inc. List of the 500 Fastest Growing Companies in the United States. Higher One is based in New Haven, CT.

University of West Florida

The University of West Florida is one of an eleven member State University System in Florida. As a regional comprehensive university, UWF provides expertise in teaching, research, and service throughout Northwest Florida. The University of West Florida is a creative, student-centered, SACS accredited institution focused on excellence. With approximately 10,000 students, UWF has expanded to offer undergraduate degrees in 49 different areas with 109 specializations, master's degrees in 23 different areas with 56 specializations, two specialist degrees and a doctorate in education with seven specializations. The main campus of 1,600 acres of rolling hills and natural woodland along the Escambia River is 10 miles north of downtown Pensacola. The University of West Florida also shares a joint 156-acre campus in Fort Walton Beach with Okaloosa-Walton College and operates the Eglin Air Force Base Center, and offices at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Hurlburt Field and Whiting Field. In addition to our convenient locations throughout Northwest Florida, bachelor and master's degree programs are delivered via UWF's highly successful on-line campus providing support to our non-traditional and military-related student population.