Tuition remission seeks Cal Grants
Campus Times
March 15, 2002
To help pay for the many scholarships going to employees eligible for
tuition remission, University of La Verne administrators have begun asking
participating faculty members to fill out the Free Application For Student
Aid before accepting their benefit package.
Tuition remission, which is available to any person employed at ULV
on a full-time regular basis, includes 24 tuition-free credits during any
12-month period beginning August 15. Dependent family members of employees
can also receive tuition remission after the ULV employee has been on staff
two full years.
The benefits also include tuition exchange, which is a reciprocal tuition
exchange program with roughly 500 other private universities throughout
the United States. Dependents of the employees can attend these universities
for an equal exchange of tuition to ULV.
Faculty members of the University of La Verne, who currently receive
this benefit, are not required to apply for any additional funding but are
strongly encouraged to do so, said Pat Coleman, vice president of enrollment
management.
"One thing we asked employees to do is apply for the FAFSA by March
2," Coleman said. "It would be an honor for the person who gets
the grants, and it brings funds to the university. But there are no intentions
to make people do it."
In February Coleman hosted an informational meeting for faculty members.
At this gathering, employees were informed of how to apply for the FAFSA
for the 2002-2003 academic year. This process could permit faculty members
to be eligible to receive outside grants such as the Cal Grant, which is
based on need and academic merit.
Coleman said about 25 people attended this workshop, and everyone there
was informed that it would not to be tied to any individual's benefits.
"A lot of times people don't get the information," she said.
"It is my job to make sure people get it. My intentions on almost everything
I do are to help people get what they need."
Coleman acts largely as a liaison between the financial aid office and
student body, and through meetings and workshops, she passes along the necessary
information so that students and faculty have access to grants and scholarships.
She came up with the idea after she noticed that other colleges and universities
were asking their employees to apply for financial aid before receiving
remission. After Coleman spoke with other Human Resources employees, she
decided to test the idea with faculty and, in turn, hopes that it will provide
financial relief to the university.
"I asked if anyone had given out information about this,"
she said. "No one considered it as a plan, and no one ever looked at
it before. The university is finding that they can use this as a benefit.
"The (Cal Grant) funds coming in will help advance the financial
situation to help with any topic from the Law school to the graduate program,"
she said.
The tuition remission policy was put in place to support faculty and
staff's continuing education. If other resources are available to them,
such as Cal Grant, the university will still cover tuition costs that are
not covered. Oris Barber, director of Human Resources, supports the notion
for employees to apply for other grants, in order to decrease the university's
financial burden.
"The financial side is expensive, so we are interested in minimizing
it," Barber said. "If one of our employees qualifies for Cal Grant,
it makes sense to request they apply. It is money back to the University.
But there is no serious thought to requiring our employees to do this."
Barber stressed that this policy is only in the early stages of being
planned and that no one will be forced to apply for outside financial assistance.
Coleman added, "This is purely voluntary. We are not coming in
and changing ways."
She hopes that faculty members involved with the process support what
is best for the University of La Verne.
"When we are in a community, we choose how to participate,"
she said.