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SHEFA to run after default scholars and make them pay
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Posted on Sep 08 2011
To ensure the program’s continuity in this fiscally challenging time, the Saipan Higher Education Financial Assistance will be going after scholars who have defaulted on their promise to return to the CNMI after finishing college.
According to administrator Henry Hofschneider yesterday, his administration will make this its priority in the new fiscal year, which starts in October.
All SHEFA scholars sign a promissory note and memorandum of agreement that in the event they do not come back and fulfill their obligation to work on Saipan after their studies or if they did not finish the courses they were supposed to complete, all financial assistance they received from SHEFA will be converted to loans and must be repaid.
“Under the regulation, the grant can be converted into a loan with or without the recipient’s consent and this is clearly stipulated in the promissory note they signed with us. So if they don’t come back and fulfill that promise, we need to convert those grants to a loan that they need to pay SHEFA,” Hofschneider said.
He disclosed that since the program started in 2004, a total of $17.7 million has been invested in hundreds of scholars through grant-in-aid, field of study, and incentive awards. From May 2006 through December 2010, however, default scholars have only paid about $13,577, based on Finance Department records, Hofschneider said.
Regulations give scholars 90 days to inform SHEFA after the completion of their studies.
Hofschneider admits, however, that SHEFA has no way of tracking down default scholars but promised that his office will start looking for them in October.
