Ohio State Commits to Helping Students in Financial Turmoil
The largest university in the nation, Ohio State University, has taken steps to ensure that its students who rely on financial aid will still be able to complete their degree program in spite of the economic recession, the school announced in a press release this week (“Ohio State Assisting Students Facing Economic Difficulties,” Dec. 22, 2008).
The initiative, called “Students First,” is aimed at ensuring that currently enrolled students, as well as those admitted for the upcoming 2009 academic year, will have access to additional financial aid, as well as short-term emergency loans, if they or their families experience economic hardship.
The university will also be personally contacting all first-year students who didn’t re-enroll for classes this winter quarter to check whether financial hardship was the reason.
“Now more than ever, we must assure that young people are able to pursue their dreams, earn a degree, and use their talents to enhance our economy, our state, and our world,” said university president E. Gordon Gee.
The Students First plan proposes an array of measures designed to protect student’s access to financial aid funds during any budget cuts and to insulate the school’s financial aid system from changes in the economy:
- Doubling the existing short-term emergency loan fund by $1 million
- Providing short-term loans of up to $500 for students with temporary cash-flow problems
- Guaranteeing to increase financial aid proportionally to correspond with any tuition increases
- Offering students assistance in securing financial at any point throughout the academic year if their financial situation worsens
- Encouraging donors to give toward financial aid, student loans, and scholarships
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