About 500 low-income students at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point may be unable to attend classes this fall because of the uncertainty of a state financial aid program.

The Higher Education Aids Board has imposed a waiting list for applicants to the Wisconsin Higher Education Grant program, which last year awarded about $3.3 million to 1,923 UWSP students.

Officials at UWSP estimate about 485 students did not enter their applications for the program before the June 27 deadline. Normally, the date is set in November, when it usually only affects students planning on starting school in January.

The WHEA program is the second largest at UWSP and grants between $674 and $2,730 per student per year.

“They are not going to be able to take an additional loan to offset that dollar loss,” said financial aid director Paul Watson. “They are probably already taking a maximum loan as a needy student already.”

The Higher Education Aids Board has said it set the early date because of uncertainty with the state budget, which might not be signed into law until October.

Students are awarded the need-based grants from a University of Wisconsin System central pool of money. Gov. Jim Doyle and the Democrat-controlled Senate have proposed $50 million for the program, up from the $43 million of the current year which would be enough to support 24,500 students. Republicans in the Assembly have reportedly said they would cut the amount down to as low as $39 million.

Bob Tomlinson, vice chancellor of student affairs at UWSP, said the grants make college accessible to students who wouldn’t otherwise be able to attend.

“As you continue to increase tuition, if you don’t keep up with financial aid support, (low-income students) get left behind,” he said.

The Wisconsin Technical College System has a similar situation, as its request for a 8.1 percent increase next year and 5.8 percent increase the following year made it through the Senate but may not pass the Assembly.

An estimated 90 eligible students at Mid-State Technical College’s three campuses were left out of a grant last year. Less than 880 students at MSTC receive $200 to $500 in WHEA grants per semester.

“That money doesn’t come to the college, it comes to the student,” said MSTC financial aid supervisor Mary Jo Green. “It hits the student directly.”

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This entry was posted by Taman Siswa on Saturday, July 7, 2007 at 9:55 pm and is filed under Education News, Financial Aid. Tags: College, Education News, Financial Aid, Grant, Student, . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.