IU tries to mend aid decrease

IU will contribute $900,000 to compensate for an unexpected change in a financial aid grant from the State Student Assistance Commission of Indiana, said Larry MacIntyre, director of media relations for IU. \nOn March 31, SSACI stated the maximum grant for a student would be $6,756. Last week, however, SSACI announced the maximum grant had been reduced to $5,692. The change was made after the majority of freshmen applicants had made their college decision, MacIntyre said. \nA total of 1,137 incoming freshmen were offered financial aid packages in March. Of those students, 400 were offered the expected maximum SSACI grant of $6,756 but the commission will now offer them more than $1000 less than that amount. MacIntyre added that financial aid offers were made based on the initial numbers provided by SSACI. \nIU sends financial aid packages to incoming freshmen in March to allow time for the students to make their college choice. Many schools require students to make their decision by the May 1 deadline. \nMacIntyre said IU wants to ensure families who were promised money that they will receive aid. He added that the University wants to live up to its commitment. \n"President Herbert is very concerned that some of these families might think we are trying to pull a switch," MacIntyre said. "President Herbert has directed that we find some other way to cover the difference, in the form of some kind of one-time grant." \nThis one-time grant could total $900,000 and will force IU to make cuts elsewhere. The University could not possibly compensate for a similar situation every year, MacIntyre said. \nThe initial grant was an estimate, said Dennis Obergfell, SSACI's deputy director. Changes to federal regulations and state budgets resulted in a cap that is lower than the initial estimate. \nBecause reasons for the grant cap change were not made clear, IU plans to ask the Indiana legislature that the system be changed to ensure that reliable information is available when financial aid packages are offered. \nAlthough the cap was changed, it still represents a 10 percent increase since last year. \n"Indiana is still one of the top states in terms of offering aid," Obergfell said. "We didn't want to make the awards really high and then not be able to sustain them." \nThe IU Office of Admissions offers information about financial aid on its Web site, www.indiana.edu/~iuadmit/freshmen/cf_types.shtml, including lists of IU scholarships and aid programs for Indiana residents and federal funding programs.