Financial aid cut off comes as a surprise to students

The 2011 deadline for the Oregon Opportunity Grant was reduced from Aug. 15 to Jan. 21. This resulted in a seven-month reduction in the appliable period. Not only has the deadline been condensed, but the amount awarded to those who were able to make the deadline in time has also be reduced from $2,600 to $1,800.

The decrease in the deadline was due to severe strain on the Oregon state financial aid system brought on by a dramatic increase in financial aid recipients. At UCC alone, the 2010 academic year saw a 66.9 percent increase in students receiving aid from the Oregon Opportunity Grant, and, according to Mellony Stratton, the financial aid coordinator, these numbers will continue to grow considerably.

The initial deadlines were by college class: Community College – Jan. 21, 2010 Oregon University System – Jan. 29, 2010 Private Nonprofit four-year Colleges and Universities – Feb. 24, 2010

The deadline reduction came as a shock to students dependent on financial aid resources, as little notification was given to students apart from a terse posting by the OSAC’s website, said Doug Miller, a UCC student. Miller wrote, in his letter to the editor, “Tax info doesn’t become available until the end of Jan.[,] so if you didn’t jump the gun on your tax facts and do an estimated file, you missed the deadline as well. I am a displaced worker, disabled and [a] disgruntled college student of 42 [years-of-age] that isn’t sure how I’ll be able to continue college next year. . .”

Miller is just one of many students adversely affected by the sudden drop in the cutoff date. Students who believe they will be receiving assistance will, in fact, not be.

“[There has been] some disappointment. But the decision to reduce the deadline came from the state,” Kelli Macha, a financial aid specialist, said.

According to the OSAC website, “Opportunity Grants are funded primarily by the state of Oregon and may also include grant money from two federal programs: the Federal Leveraging Educational Assistance Partnership (LEAP) and Federal Special Leveraging Educational Assistance Partnership (SLEAP). More than 38,000 students received OOG awards in 2008-09.”

The state budgets the Oregon Opportunity Grant in two-year increments, with the second year receiving what is left over from the first part of the biennium, explained Stratton.

In the 2008-09 academic years, 1,031 UCC students received $1,627,024 from the Oregon Opportunity Grant. The first year of the 2010-11 biennium saw a marked increase in the number of recipients for the Oregon Opportunity Grant, Stratton said. This year alone, 1,540 students have received $2,621,248 from the Oregon Opportunity Grant. This amount continues to grow, and the 2009-10 academic year hasn’t yet concluded.

The Oregon Student Assistant Commission’s website wrote: “due to a combination of cuts in state General Fund and lottery revenues and an increase in applicant demand, the Oregon Student Assistance Commission (OSAC) has set very early deadlines for the 2010-11 academic [years]. We anticipate making a second round of awards in late fall, after schools report total disbursements of fall funds.”

Students can apply for the Oregon Opportunity Grant by filling out a free application for Federal Student Aid at www.fafsa.ed.gov on or before the priority deadline.

The Mainstream is a student publication of Umpqua Community College.