By Nicole Matsen
Computer technicalities have prevented graduate students from registering online for BYU Health Insurance.
“There was a problem with the computer system, a computer glitch, and that”s why (graduate students) can”t do it through Route Y,” said Assistant Insurance Supervisor Jean Bath.
The problem was attributed to the computer system”s inability to recognize graduate students” status and their number of credit hours. As a result, the system immediately dropped students off the insurance system.
To ensure health insurance coverage graduate students had to go to the Health Center where their information would be entered into the system manually.
Though the Graduate Studies Office did send out bulk emails informing all graduate students that they must go to the Health Center themselves, many students overlooked the message and assumed they could register online.
Consequently, some graduate students were unaware that their insurance had been dropped, and since the deadline was Sept. 3, many graduate students are now uninsured and wishing they were better informed.
“I didn”t know what was going on. I just assumed I could do it online like I always had before,” said second year graduate student Barbara Scarfe, 23, from Hockessin, Del., mastering in speech language pathology.
Since so many students are accustomed to the traditional method of signing up for insurance online as they did as an undergrad, Scarfe is just one of the many graduate students confused over the issue.
“First year graduate students are so overwhelmed to begin with, being presented with information left and right, this just creates more anxiety for graduate students,” said Nathan Thompson, 27, a Communications graduate student from Manti, UT.
As a graduate student representative for the Communications Department, Thompson expressed his concern that many graduate student missed the fine print and are now realizing they are not insured.
“We have constantly been undermined by the undergraduate program. This is just one example of how graduate students are overlooked by the administration. They should be held accountable,” said Thompson.
Jean Bath assures that the Health Center is addressing the problem and is working on improving the system for the future.
“A new program should have been in place by this time that would have fixed the problem. It should not happen next year,” said Bath.
