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NMC acts to avoid tuition snafu
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Posted on Dec 10 1998
Beginning school year 1999-2000, students will be required to present their scholarship grants before admission at the Northern Marianas College to curb delays in payment.
The college was appropriated $575,000 this fiscal year for educational assistance grants. However, NMC is yet to receive the payment for the first semester.
In a move to resolve delays in collecting scholarship grants, the college would like to realize cash instead of incurring expenses for the entire semester.
In a recent meeting, President Agnes McPhetres pointed out to members of the Board of Regents that NMC was not appropriated for “All Others” since it generates revenue from educational grants.
She argued that the present set-up of collection requires NMC to subsidize education instead of such grants assisting the college in meeting its operational expenses.
For the first semester, the CNMI Scholarship Office is scheduled to pay $127,000 to NMC for students availing of the local grant. This is a reduced amount from its total billing since grants covering high school students enrolled at the college were temporarily removed.
Scholarship Director Hilaria K. Santos defended the delay in payment, saying her office and the finance department review the listing. She recommended for her office and the college to observe deadlines for billing and payment.
She also asked the NMC board to introduce the check requirement next school year instead of this coming semester since her office needs time to set up the procedure. Recipients will also need to be advised ahead of time.
