The Gothic Times

Issue date: 2/22/07 Section: News

Media Credit: Cristina Villaflor

Each semester, eligible students receive a letter from the Financial Aid office informing them that they have up to $300 excess money from their grants that can be transferred to their Gothic Cards and spent on books. According to the fall 2005 student enrollment management report presented to The Gothic Times by Dr. John Melendez, Associate VP of Student Affairs and the chair for the Student Enrollment Management Committee, 588 of these award letters were sent out, of which only 252 students took advantage and sent the applications back. However, this spring semester, a number of students who were
previously qualified for the book vouchers did not receive an award letter and application.

One student, who preferred to remain anonymous, said, "I've gotten the letter every semester, but this semester, for some reason, I never got it. So I waited three weeks into classes to buy my books."

Another student, who also declined to give her name, stated, "I thought I'd get a letter in the mail, but it never came. And when I went to Financial Aid, they said there was nothing they can do - the deadline passed."

To address this issue, Dr. Melendez, in an interview, laid out and explained the steps in the process of determining the eligibility of students who will receive book vouchers. According to the first step, the student must have completed and submitted his or her FAFSA and registered for classes in a timely manner. Only after this is accomplished can Financial Aid deduct the tuition, fees, and room and board charges and decide if the student has sufficient grant money to use on books. The last step describes that "a final reconciliation is done to identify all students who have had their monies transferred to their Gothic Cards that may no longer be eligible for their FA grant money." In other words, if the student either does not have money (at least $300) left from their funds or is a late enrollee, he or she will not be sent any letter regardless of his or her financial standing in the past; as a student's financial situation changes each year, so does his or her eligibility for the program.

"We did as much as we could to try to accommodate students," attests Peter Ljutic, Director of Student Financial Services.

An alternative solution, which is on the process of being put into effect by the Dean of Students with the University Management, is a program called the Emergency Book Fund, a separate entity from the Financial Aid Book Voucher System. The idea of how it works, according to Dr. Melendez, is if a student does not receive financial aid or applies late, or if some unavoidable circumstances inhibit the student from purchasing books, this program, implemented through the Dean of Students office, will assist students who still require financial help.

To learn more about book vouchers, contact: Peter Ljutic, Bursar Controllers Office at 201-200-3045 or email him at: pljutic@njcu.edu.

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