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Ryan address financial aid error
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“Personally, my sense was the university had an ethical and legal responsibility to make those corrections.”
Michael Ryan, vice provost and dean for undergraduate education, spoke to the Faculty Senate Executive Committee yesterday about an error that resulted in some students, including some student veterans, receiving too much financial aid and being asked to repay overpayments.
Ryan told senators that as part of the ongoing process to overhaul UB’s student systems, including student academic records and financial services, the university learned in August that student income from such sources as veteran’s benefits, stipends, salaries and room and board had not been taken into account in calculating a student’s maximum eligible amount for federal financial aid.
“These had to be factored in and an adjustment had to be made to their financial aid packages,” said Ryan. “When this was brought to our attention, we had no choice except to make those adjustments and corrections. Otherwise, we would not be in compliance with federal law.
“Personally,” he added, “my sense was the university had an ethical and legal responsibility to make those corrections.”
An estimated 64 student veterans and 70 residence assistants received too much financial aid due to the error, Ryan said. Of those students, he said outstanding balances of $19,000 remain for a total of 11 veterans, and $14,000 for a total of 11 residence assistants.
Although UB is offering a “very forgiving” repayment plan to students to ensure they’re able to remain enrolled this semester, Ryan said several have not responded to the university’s attempts to contact them to arrange repayment.
“We’re trying to work with all our students to address their needs,” said Ryan. “It wasn’t a question or an option for us [to] simply provide the money for the students because [that] just exacerbates the impact,” he added. “If we’re giving them the grant, it still has an impact.”
The money owed by students does not return to UB, he said, noting that the excess funds allotted to students were federal dollars and must be returned to the government. The need to return the funds is not related to the state’s budget crisis, he added.
“These are not monies the students were entitled to,” Ryan noted, “but they had an expectation that they would have a certain level of financial aid.”
In other business, Ryan reported that this semester’s incoming freshman class is the most academically accomplished in UB’s history. Since 1999, the average freshman SAT score has risen from 1137 to 1199—despite an overall national decline in SAT scores.
He also said the total number of incoming out-of-state students has risen from 2 percent to more than 7 percent in the past 10 years. Total incoming international student enrollment has also risen to more than7 percent.
“There are all very good vectors,” said Ryan. “We’ve made remarkable progress in relatively little time.”
Also at yesterday’s meeting, Satish K. Tripathi, provost and executive vice president for academic affairs, brought senators up to date on Tuesday’s meeting in Albany of the SUNY Board of Trustees.
Among the measures approved by trustees was a tuition increase of $310 for the upcoming spring semester and $620 for the 2009-10 academic year, amounts slightly higher than those proposed by the governor, as well as a proposal for a rational tuition policy.
“They also actually talked about [a] post-audit as opposed to pre-approval of many of the things that we do on this campus,” said Tripathi, “and the possibility of leasing and selling things on the campus.”
He also noted that trustees requested that their proposed tuition increases include a provision to ensure that the money be used benefit the SUNY campuses, not the state directly.
“There’s definitely a concern that a tuition increase would basically offset any new cuts that might come,” said Tripathi, “which is the same thing as taking it away.”
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