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No award cuts expected for NMI Scholarship recipients
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Posted on Jan 03 2012
By Moneth Deposa
Reporter
Reporter
CNMI Scholarship Office administrator Jackie Che does not expect the financial awards of scholars to increase or decrease, at least for recipients of the spring 2012 grants.
“I do not foresee any reductions for Spring 2012 amounts, but do hope that our appropriation remains as it is, if not more, for the coming term,” she told Saipan Tribune.
The NMI Scholarship Office has been allocated $2 million under the 2012 budget law, of which $1.1 million will go to scholars of Northern Marianas College while the remaining balance will pay for the financial awards of off-island recipients.
The NMI Scholarship Office is tasked to provide financial assistance to eligible CNMI students pursuing postsecondary education. It has two scholarship programs: the Honors program, which awards grants to honor students, and the Educational Assistance Program.
Che earlier described the $2 million budget as “not enough” but vowed to work within the allocation. She said her office is heading in the direction of giving money to students who really need it.
The scholarship board reduced the financial grants to scholars in the fall 2011 semester, resulting in a 42-percent decline in the amount of EAP awards. From previous years’ $1,200 financial awards under this program, the amount was slashed to $700 per student per semester. The reduction was due to the high number of applications received for the awards.
Meantime, Che said that fall awards for off-island students remain “up to” $700.
“Award amounts are based on level of funding and number of applications we receive,” she told Saipan Tribune.
The administrator added that with the economic climate, “we are considering many options for the coming year that will stretch our scholarship awards to its fullest extent.” She did not elaborate.
For the spring 2012 semester, the scholarship office received a total of 1,692 applications-slightly higher than the spring 2011 semester with 1,558 applications. Even with the current economic crunch and increasing number of applicants, Che said CNMI scholars still see the value of applying for the scholarship.
