Veterans across campus received news Wednesday that their student accounts had been placed on hold as the Student Response Center re-evaluated financial aid packages that had been incorrectly calculated.
"We inadvertently did not consider your monthly education benefits from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) when we determined your financial aid eligibility," said the Student Response Center via e-mail.
Upon further investigation, veterans learned that they would be responsible for paying back aid incorrectly distributed by the SRC at the start of the semester. Those who failed to return the money would face a reduction or possible elimination of their spring semester aid, according to Connie Cooke, director of the Student Response Center.
"Did someone just flip a page and find out this regulation was due or did someone know all along? We should have had advanced notice so we could appeal it," said Erik Mikos, a senior finance major and a disabled Iraq War veteran.
The school has not been in compliance with this particular regulation for some time, Cooke said. Violated regulations were reported to the SRC after a voluntary evaluation in August, but the information took some sorting through. The SRC's highest priority at that time was helping students who had zero financial aid and consequently, veterans were disbursed fall semester refund checks without notification that most would be asked to return the funds.
"We were never properly notified of [the readjustment]. The e-mail that we received was cold and pretty much made us feel it was our fault," said James Raymond, a senior communication major, a veteran disabled in Afghanistan and a former managing editor of The Spectrum.
Cooke approached the Office of Veteran Affairs for a list of veterans on campus and the amount of money they were each receiving from the GI Bill in order to adjust financial aid awards.
"We identified a list of areas in which we want to be in compliance. You [the veterans] are not being chosen or picked on in anyway," Cooke said. "If we know an error has occurred, we're under federal mandate to rectify error."
Michael Ryan, vice provost of undergraduate education, issued an apology to veterans in attendance at a meeting clarifying the issue Thursday.
"I apologize and empathize with your situation. We appreciate your service to the country. This is a functional issue for us. We're the functional deficiency and I make a commitment to improve communication," Ryan said.
Ryan said that if the school did not comply and was audited, it could be forced to pay penalties or fines and possibly lose federal funding for students.
"It's not a conscience choice for us to say we won't comply with it," Ryan said.
Despite insistence by Ryan that the university cannot choose to refuse compliance, Director of Student Academic Records and Financial Services Cheryl Taplin said that it did refuse to comply with paying the government back for mistakes made before this school year.
"Why can't they stand up for veterans on campus and refuse to comply for one more semester?" Raymond said.
Five weeks into the semester, many veterans have spent their refund checks and depend on future refund checks for tuition, books and living expenses, according to Mikos.
"We were blindsided," Mikos said. "Nobody knows what's going on. This was just dropped in our laps. You guys [the SRC] barely understand what's going on."
According to Cooke, student veterans who chose not to take their GI Bill every month, as is common practice, would have to provide documents to the SRC on a monthly basis, making it difficult to receive loans at the start of the semester.
"People who did everything right, filled out every form right, are being punished," said Glenn Hall, a junior computer science major and a veteran Air Force staff sergeant. "The school should take a hit, not pass accountability onto students."
Taplin promises to work with students on a case-by-case basis to find available funds or avenues for paying back the already disbursed funds and also to clarify the situation to veterans whom had only received the original e-mail.
Regardless of who's at fault, students are left with little help to clean up the mess that will ensue in the spring, according to Kris Hammerick, an undergraduate psychology major and sergeant of the United States Marine Corps Reserves.
"The financial aid that I was granted [this semester] barely covered my tuition. If they take that away, I'm not sure if I can go to school. If I have to pay back money, my account will be on hold and there's no way I'll be able to go back to school," Hammerick said.
Cooke said that re-packaging of financial aid awards would occur by next week.
