When the Communication Division posted scholarships to the accounts of their top-achieving students involved in media production, they never imagined any policy could prevent the students from receiving the funds they wished to award. This fall, that is exactly what happened.
Students awarded scholarships by academic divisions such as Communication and Fine Arts received emails from the Office of Financial Assistance detailing their “revised” financial aid packages after the addition or increase of their scholarships.
Although many had taken out loans this semester, Financial Assistance notified each student whose aid exceeded tuition that his or her other institutional aid (which might be Pepperdine Grant, Seaver Grant and other various academic or merit scholarships) had been reduced so that “institutional grants and scholarships do not exceed [the] tuition charge of $20,250 for the fall 2011 semester.”
According to Dean of Admission and Enrollment Management Michael Truschke, the rule of institutional grants and scholarships capping at the cost of tuition is not a “policy,” but rather a “guideline” applied on a case-to-case basis depending on an individual student’s financial “need” determined by a FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) application.
“The guideline was put in place for fairness and equity,” said Director of Financial Assistance Janet Lockhart. “We don’t have an unlimited amount of funds.”
However, Lockhart admitted that while state and federal grants are legally limited to use for tuition, applying institutional aid from within the University only to tuition is an internal decision.
Typically, state and federal grants are applied to tuition first. Institutional scholarships and grants can go toward the remainder of the tuition left over after government aid. Finally, loans and outside scholarships can assist with the cost of room and board.
A few rare exceptions to the institutional aid cap are athletes with full grant agreements that cover all expenses, some lab fees (which can range from $300 to $600 per year) and international program fees, according to Lockhart.
Esther O’Connor, Communication Division office manager who oversees scholarships, said that notification of financial aid “guidelines” and explanation of why students cannot apply department-awarded merit scholarships to housing fees has been vague. O’Connor has worked at Pepperdine for 25 years, 22 of which she has spent at the Communication Division. For 22 years, the rules and the reasons behind them have remained unclear.
“My question has always been, ‘Can it go to room and board?’” O’Connor said, adding that not knowing the whole policy has been frustrating, as a member of a division staff.
“It seemed unfair,” Communication Division Chair Ken Waters said, noting that while the division does not know the various federal, state and Pepperdine policies related to financial aid, it is frustrating to know funds that could potentially decrease student loan debt are available and, due to an unclear policy, cannot be awarded.
On Sept. 12, 13 and 14, the Graphic attempted to reach the Office of Financial Assistance for comment on treatment of departmental scholarships, expressing the dissatisfaction of students and division staff responsible for awarding departmental scholarships. More than a week later, on Sept. 21, the Graphic met with Lockhart to discuss the situation.
During the meeting, the Graphic mentioned inconsistencies uncovered while researching the matter. For example, the Communication Division struggles every year with talented students not being able to accept scholarships awarded to them for their merit. Meanwhile, Financial Assistance follows a policy in place under the principle that funds are limited and should be distributed among students as equitably as possible.
Lockhart expressed the willingness of the Office of Financial Assistance and the University to reconsider treatment of departmental merit scholarships.
“It is worth the effort to revisit our current policies about departmental scholarships only being toward tuition,” Lockhart said, considering the effects of loan debt on students. “We’re open to making things better for our students.”
Although it “won’t happen over night,” Lockhart said the Office of Financial Assistance would look into altering the policy for the upcoming academic year. According to Lockhart, the first steps toward revising the guideline include “a combination of discussing with Mike [Truschke], talking to divisions and any other areas that this may impact.
“It’s definitely time,” Lockhart said, noting that 25 years ago the cost of tuition was not $40,500.
“We don’t want policies in place that prevent us from helping students,” Lockhart said.
Lockhart also discussed how the misunderstanding of financial aid policies by students, faculty and staff can bring a negative impact on the office.
“We’re doing everything we can to help assist,” she said, “[even if] it doesn’t always seem that way.”
Dozens of students are employed by the Communication Division, receiving scholarships in return for their work in student groups like the debate team, the Graphic, Currents Magazine, KWVS Radio and NewsWaves. For many, the departmental scholarship policy resulted in working long hours with no compensation.
“I probably went into the financial aid office four or five times to meet with financial aid advisers to find some loophole to get the scholarship that I was actively earning working 30 hours a week in the [Currents Magazine] newsroom,” said senior Heather Manes, who was editor in chief of Currents last spring. “My financial aid adviser actively tried to find a way to get me my scholarship.
“Basically, in the end, they told me my financial aid was maxed out, even though I was taking out thousands in loans,” Manes said. “It was super disappointing because you’re told, ‘Work hard, and everything will work out.’ I took scholarship positions figuring it would help pay for school and help my mom financially. Instead, I basically worked for free while everyone around me was getting paid to be there.”
Lockhart encourages students and divisions to bring concerns to the Office’s attention, since helping students is its priority — even if it means reevaluating the validity of past policies.
“Sometimes that’s all it takes,” Lockhart said.