Students say that a change in the university's financial aid policy is an unfair blow to their wallets.
The new financial aid policy makes it harder for students to be eligible for federal aid. Students now need a 70 percent completion rate, as opposed to the previous rate of 65 percent, and must have within 150 percent of the institution's required credits for graduation, which is 180 hours attempted at UB.
While federal law mandates the 180 credit hour limit, how the university interprets an 'attempted credit' is up to its discretion. Under the old policy, UB defined an attempted credit as any completed class with a letter grade above an F.
In this new policy, an attempted credit is defined as a failure, withdrawal, resignation or military leave. If a student takes a class past the drop/add date, it counts as a credit in the eyes of financial aid.
Ryan claims that the 'attempted credit' is defined within the federal law.
'How we interpreted the law was that it defined an attempted hour as just that – any credit attempted by a student,' Ryan said.
Ryan also said that a committee is still looking into the situation to find the best solution for all students who lost aid under the policy change.
So far, students who were in compliance with the old policy but not the new one have received one year of financial aid probation, but after this academic year, if they are not in compliance with the new standards, they will lose their aid.
The main concern for Ryan and other UB officials is the students who were about to be in compliance with the old rules when the policy changed.
'We are tirelessly looking into a solution for those students who were working to improve their academic progress but lost their aid when the policy changed.' Ryan said.
Rashod Custon, a senior clinical psychology and social sciences and health and human services major, is one of those students.
'I worked hard to improve my grades and to pick a major that suited me and just as I was succeeding, I lost my aid,' Custon said.
Custon is only one of thousands of students in this situation, many of whom are less angry about losing their aid than they are about how the university handled it.
'We weren't even offered the opportunity to appeal or speak our case,' said Emmanuel Hudson, a senior psychology major. 'You are supposed to be able to appeal your financial aid decision and tell the university about extenuating circumstances, but we were denied that.'
Students are also angry about how UB handled the notification process. Though the university was audited in April and made the policy change in June, students weren't notified until late August, after it was too late to make other financial plans such as apply for loans or other scholarships, or even change schools.
'By the time I got the first notification e-mail, it was too late to do damage control,' Custon said. 'I was stuck.'
Students are hoping that UB will take the time to re-evaluate its reading of the federal law and take SBI Legal's findings into consideration.
Ryan hopes to have a decision for students by the end of the week, but he can't promise it's going to be one they want.
'I'm stuck between helping students and abiding by federal law,' Ryan said. 'I can stretch the rules, I can bend the rules, but I can't break the rules. But I hope to find some kind of solution for those students caught in the middle [of the old policy and the new policy].'
Solutions that Ryan and his committee are considering include a meaningful appeal process, payment plans, and perhaps a re-interpretation of the federal law – if it's deemed acceptable by the university.
'This is a tricky situation because if UB is found to not be in compliance with federal guidelines, then we could lose the ability to give out any financial aid at all,' Ryan said. 'These are not institutional funds, they are government funds.'
While Ryan does not yet have a decision and can't promise any certain outcome, he can promise that he will look into the functions of the university to be sure that every UB academic and financial aid adviser understands the new rules and can counsel students accordingly.
He also plans to find out why students weren't given ample notification time and why check stops were given out three weeks earlier this year, barring affected students from registering for classes.
If SBI Legal feels that the school does not grant the 2,000 students who are now lacking both funds to pay for school and the means to register for next semester's classes an acceptable solution, the organization will pursue legal action.
'I can say that SBI Legal is strongly considering bringing legal action to make the university undo their change and provide affected students with money as soon as possible,' Gilbert said. 'Federal guidelines only state general terms for [Satisfactory Academic Progress]. Students only need to be within 150 percent of the required credits to graduate and must comply with the institution's set percentage of credit completion. UB changed the financial aid policy on its own discretion. Nowhere in the federal guidelines are UB's new guidelines outlined.'
Student Association President Ernesto Alvarado also said that if necessary, SA would get involved.
'It affects a lot of undergraduate students,' Alvarado said. 'If we need to step in, we will.'
Email: news@ubspectrum.com
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
