Get to know Gina Costa

March 31, 2022

Gina Costa joined Yale in November 2021 as university bursar. In this role, she and her team manage student accounts—ensuring that tuition, fees, and payments are properly recorded on the student account, handling billing and collection of payments for student account-related activity, and student loan administration once in repayment. They focus heavily on customer service for students and their families. In this capacity, her team works closely with the offices of Financial Aid and Registrar in all of the colleges.

Before working at Yale, Gina spent eight years at Fairfield University – first as assistant bursar, but ultimately transitioning into the bursar role. Here, she learned about the world of Higher Education, which would benefit her in her role at Yale. 

Tell us a bit about your background.

My career history includes banking, financial data analysis, and insurance roles. All of my prior positions involved some level of financial and customer service skills, which are vital to the Bursar’s Office.    

I took a hiatus from work for just over ten years to raise my two children. When I returned to the workforce, I spent a few years back in the familiar financial services world but realized how much I wanted to be in education. My younger self wanted to be a teacher, but I became interested in business through an intro to accounting class I took in college. After spending over ten years in the corporate world, I decided to move over to the education environment and see if there was a place for me and my skills. I’ve never been happier with a career choice.

What has your team been working on that you are especially proud of?

I have only been part of this team for a short time. Still, I am proud of how quickly the team was able to complete the project, which moved the delivery of the 1098-T Tuition Statement forms* from the Student Information System, now Yale Hub platform to the student billing and payment platform. This transition allows students and their proxies to access the form on the same platform on which they view their student account billing and payment activity. It has also eliminated the need for customized processes within the Student Information System, now Yale Hub to produce the forms.

*(The 1098-T is a tax form required to be sent annually by the University to all students who have assessed qualified tuition and fees during the calendar year, which is useful in determining eligibility for education tax benefits.) 

What do you like most about working at Yale and with your team?

Number one is the people. Everyone has been so helpful and inviting. The best advice I was ever given about career success was to make sure I build solid relationships across the workplace. So, the people, to me, are what make the workplace enjoyable. 

My team is tremendously dedicated to excellent customer service. Each of us is committed to delivering the best service to our students and families when it comes to the student account.

I think coming in at the time I did, when all of Yale was just beginning to return to on-campus work, was an excellent transition and bonding experience for me. The team had been almost totally remote since March 2020, and they had just started back in the office in a limited capacity in October 2021. While working remotely, the team’s office space was moved to another location within the building. So, one month after I joined in November, everyone (not just me) was getting used to the new office environment. This helped us bond as we all set up our workspaces, got used to the floor’s layout, and searched for things like supplies. We are still settling in and making our new space our home.

Fun facts

I have two children, who are now grown and living on their own, so my husband and I are getting used to the “empty nest.” I enjoy cooking and baking, especially when my children come home for a visit.