Difficulties among students emerge as the word around the Grossmont campus is students feel left in the dark when it comes to financial aid and disbursement this semester, especially as forms such as the FAFSA are stirring up confusion.
It seems FASFA delays and processing problems in the federal government, combined with the Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District transitioning to a new financial aid system this academic year, have created challenges for the Financial Aid offices at both Grossmont and Cuyamaca colleges. And that’s on top of Grossmont College undergoing a federal financial aid program review for the Department of Education for possibly overpaying financial aid to past students.
All of it has combined to leave some students unsure of their financial aid status as we approach the midterm of the fall semester.
Student Confusion
Let it be known that Financial Aid Workshops are conducted every Friday morning in Building 10, Room 172, to help students get a better understanding of FAFSA and other forms of financial aid. Other forms of help are also available, including counselors, the Financial Aid office and even fellow students; however, workshops seem to be the best bet as students can connect with staff who specialize in federal loans.
According to Mya Alexander, a Grossmont student in need of financial aid, the FAFSA form has gone through several changes in policy and information that may be confusing for students who are applying, including unclear disbursement dates and not knowing whether the information you entered is correct. Some students may not know just yet whether or not they are receiving financial aid at all.
“It’s a struggle because a lot of these college students like myself are already struggling,” Alexander said in an interview. “I had to literally get an extension on my phone bill.”
According to Alexander, the FAFSA seems to have adopted a new policy pertaining to distribution among students, first tending to and prioritizing students who take fewer classes or require less financial aid. With this arises the possibility that students are able to get financial aid further down the line; however, that possibility of financial aid would remain unclear to students unless they are explicitly informed.
That being if the student is notified of their eligibility in time.
Arianna Daugherty is a Grossmont student who received some disbursement at the very end of September and was then notified. “I barely found out that I got a check today and it’s telling me that if I don’t check it in… the money will go back to the school,” Daugherty said.
Alexander said she felt information sent to students regarding financial aid could be improved.
“I do feel like the communication could have been a lot better on their end, but I feel like they still have our best interests regardless,” Alexander said regarding federal student aid.
Financial Aid Firestorm
The Financial Aid office is responsible for dispersing funding to students through scholarships and grants, work-study programs, and federal loans, which must be paid back with interest.
According to its website, Grossmont’s Financial Aid office awards “low-interest loans” to eligible students enrolled in at least six units at Grossmont. The office helps students apply for these federal direct loans and helps disperse the funds once they are available. Students apply for loans by filling out the FAFSA: The Free Application for Federal Student Aid.
This year the process for applying for the FAFSA was simplified thanks to the FAFSA Simplification Act, with only one-third the amount of required questions. However, according to the Public Policy Institute of California, the implementation and rollout of the form was “complicated”: “Though the new form was intended to simplify the process, many students were unable to complete it due to software and identity confirmation issues.”
Bárbara Gallego, associate vice chancellor of Educational Support Services for the district, confirmed this in an Aug. 20 district-wide email: As you may know, the federal government’s delayed release of the new Federal Application for Financial Aid (FAFSA), as well as their continuing processing issues, have significantly impacted students across all colleges and universities nationwide. We understand the challenges this has caused for our students, faculty and staff, and we appreciate your patience during this process.”
The email was cosigned by Pam Fleming, the interim Financial Aid director at Grossmont, as well as Cuyamaca’s Financial Aid director.
In the same email, Gallego noted that the district’s shift to a new financial aid system also helped “add to the complexity,” adding that “despite these considerable hurdles” the district disbursed Pell grants to more than 2,000 students using the new system and provided eligible students with $200 in bookstore credit to assist with purchasing textbooks at the beginning of the semester.
About a week later, a memo was sent to all Grossmont faculty about “an urgent matter” that Grossmont College was currently undergoing a federal financial aid program review for the Department of Education, which “has identified a deficiency where we may have overpaid some students.” The memo was co-signed by Dr. Joan Ahrens, the senior Dean of College Planning and Institutional Effectiveness; Agustin Albarran, the interim vice-president of Academic Affairs, and Dr. Perla Lopez, the Academic Senate president.
The memo continued to say that students who are overpaid financial aid will “likely need to return the funds immediately,” and if they do not, the college has to pay: “Otherwise, the college is held liable and unreturned funds will come directly from the college budget.”
A Sept. 5 follow-up memo sent by the same people, and including the college president, instructed all Grossmont instructors who taught any classes over the last four semesters (Fall 2022 through Spring 2024) that they would need to verify “last date of academic engagement” for any identified students who received financial aid during this time. Over the past month, faculty have verified the statuses of thousands of former students.
Grossmont’s Financial Aid Office has recently been facing an influx of students seeking help and information about financial aid.
“Hopefully, before it hits mid-October, we get our first disbursements,” Alexander said.
The changes to federal student aid, exacerbated by the challenges faced by the district and the college, have caused students who require it to worry about their finances for this semester.
At the time issue went to print, Summit staff has not received responses to requests for comment sent to financial aid representatives at the college and the district.