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NMC Board adopts rules for aid
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Posted on May 03 1999
The Board of Regents adopted the new set of rules to govern the Spring 1999 Supplemental Grant designed to benefit qualified students of the Northern Marianas College, including recipients of Pell grant.
During a board meeting Friday, fiscal committee chairman Ramon Villagomez said students who are not getting Pell grant and are carrying less than 12 credits will receive $90 for each credit. Those students with 12 to 15 credits will be given $1,000 for the entire semester, while those carrying the load higher than 15 credits can expect $1,100 supplemental grant.
Students who are recipients of Pell grant will only get $40 per credit for that semester. Last school year, the Pell grant allocation for each student was $2,700 and was expected to increase to $3,000 in the following year.
The meager resources anticipated for the local financial aid called for the fair distribution of the grant. Earlier, the Health, Education and Welfare Committee explored fair distribution using the full-credit load and taking into considerations certain federal grants enjoyed by some students.
The fiscal committee then came up with this proposal to govern the distribution of the local financial aid to NMC students.
Using these financial aid regulations and with the number of qualified students in Spring, the total amount of supplemental money is estimated at $340,000 for that semester.
However, Board Chairman Manuel Sablan emphasized that the supplemental grant for Spring is dependent on the availability of government funding.
An official cautioned the Board from making financial aid commitment for Spring without the provision that it is subject to the availability of funds.
The CNMI government anticipated to save $300,000 by imposing the $15,000 cap for full scholars and help offset the deficit in financial aid for Spring.
However, this scholarship cap will take effect next school year and is not retroactive. The savings anticipated to cover Spring is probably not forthcoming and students are also reminded that financial aid for summer has been suspended.
