Direct deposit smooths payroll wrinkles

Students and staff can contribute to eco-friendly campus on pay day

By: Gail Cole

Posted: 10/31/08

Student employees interested in helping the environment can make a difference through something as simple as using direct deposit.

Currently, approximately 90 percent of OSU staff use direct deposit, while only about half of student employees are signed up for the service.

Direct deposit has been offered for several years, but employees have also been able to opt out of receiving printed earnings statements since last fall.

The savings in paper products is enormous.

"If everyone were to participate in opting out, we would save about $3,000 a year just in envelopes. We would probably save about $2,100 in check stock … and about 75,000 sheets of paper," said Steve Nash, payroll manager at OSU.

Signing up for direct deposit and opting out of paper earnings statements can be done on the Student Online Services page.

After logging in with an OSU ID and GAP, students and staff can click "employee information," followed by "pay information."

On this page, participants can sign up for direct deposit, access earning statements and sign up for electronic statements.

"Anybody who's an employee can opt out of the printed statements," Nash said.

According to Nash, worries about using direct deposit are not necessary, as problems can occur more often with paper checks.

"It's not only a convenience for the employee, but it's also safer," Nash said. "[Earnings are] deposited into your bank account and you're ready to start spending your money."

Using direct deposit and electronic billing statements will continue to help OSU be a leader in sustainability.

The campus has received several awards, including one of the top 25 universities from the Sustainable Endowment Institute; top 25 environmentally responsible colleges from the Kaplan College Guide; and named a Green Power Partner by the Environmental Protection Agency.

The sustainability office's website offers information on how students can further get involved in environmental matters.

"There's not a lot of awareness about the website," said Brandon Trelstad, sustainability coordinator at OSU. He encourages students to see the ways OSU has been making an impact on the environment.

Students who are interested in the idea of conserving resources can do so by choosing to use direct deposit instead of printed statements.

"I just started working on campus, and I have every intention of setting up direct deposit, but I haven't yet," said Kate Clark, a junior in merchandising management. She believes direct deposit will also influence employees to use online bill-pay services to continue to cut down on using resources. Christina Blanchard, a junior in English, also does not have direct deposit, but sees how taking this small step can make an impact.

"If you think about it, you usually have to drive to the bank," she said.

Gail Cole, senior reporter

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