2008 Woodie Awards
Changes in financial aid strip students of loan money
U-Wire
Issue date: 11/2/07 Section: Features
(U-WIRE) CARBONDALE, Ill. - A mid-semester change in Southern Illinois University's financial aid procedures has left 19 graduate students with thousands of dollars of unexpected debt.
The university informed the students earlier this month they needed to return money dispersed to them at the beginning of the semester, said Associate Dean and Graduate School Director David Wilson.
A new method of figuring eligibility for federal student loans is to blame for the sudden change, which affects students with graduate fellowships, he said.
The university plans to work with students to resolve the issue, and the Nov. 15 deadline for them to register for classes has been pushed back for the affected students, he said.
But for now, the students still owe the money they were billed, he said.
Billie Jo Hamilton, director of the Financial Aid office, said the change was made to bring the university into compliance with a federal regulation that requires graduate students with fellowships to report their stipends as available resources.
Before this semester, the stipends have not been counted, making students eligible for more money in federal student loans, she said.
The university informed the students earlier this month they needed to return money dispersed to them at the beginning of the semester, said Associate Dean and Graduate School Director David Wilson.
A new method of figuring eligibility for federal student loans is to blame for the sudden change, which affects students with graduate fellowships, he said.
The university plans to work with students to resolve the issue, and the Nov. 15 deadline for them to register for classes has been pushed back for the affected students, he said.
But for now, the students still owe the money they were billed, he said.
Billie Jo Hamilton, director of the Financial Aid office, said the change was made to bring the university into compliance with a federal regulation that requires graduate students with fellowships to report their stipends as available resources.
Before this semester, the stipends have not been counted, making students eligible for more money in federal student loans, she said.
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