Students can now access their financial aid information using a new link on the Panther Access to Web Services system.

Students can access financial aid information by entering their social security and pin numbers the same way they would get their grades through PAWS. Once they enter the financial aid site, which has been available since mid-March, the link leads to two sections that show students which awards they have and whatever further information they may need to provide the finacial aid office, Jone Zieren, director of financial aid, said Monday.

In the status section, she said students can find what documents the financial aid office has requested, which financial aid forms are complete or incomplete and the first and last date the information was requested. The link also includes a description of needed information.

The awards section displays the name of awards funded through work study, institutional scholarships, loans or any other type of financial aid offered to a student each semester, she said.

The system will be more convenient for students and lead to less confusion about financial aid because students can access their information any time, Zieren said. Students will not have to call the financial aid office and can access the information on the weekends or after financial aid office hours.

“If someone says they never got their aid information or can’t find it, they can look it up in the system,” she said. “Anytime the system is up and running they can view this information.”

All financial aid information will still be sent out through the mail, but Zieren said the Internet access will “enhance the PAWS system.”

Zieren said that the site could turn from an inquiry screen to an interactive screen where students could accept or reject their financial aid offers over the Internet in the future, but no plans were underway so far.

“I really see it as benefit to the students because of the ease and (the ability to) have more control over their own information,” she said.