most of these students are probably using their residual check from their
loans to buy extra things and while doing this is as smart as using your
credit card to buy a new car, it is still their money and their prerogative.
----- Original Message -----
From: Linda Hobart <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Thursday, May 17, 2001 8:39 AM
Subject: Re: [UTCSTAFF] Failure to attend classes form


> Jonathan,
>
> I've heard some very disturbing stories from "financial aid" students.
> Such as:  they get so much money "over and above" what their education
> costs them each semester that they use the excess (sometimes excesses of
> more than a thousand dollars!!) to buy furniture for their apartments or
> new tires for their cars, etc.).  I've heard this from 'several' students
> now who were receiving financial aid, and they were bragging about how
much
> money they get just to go to school!  Isn't there some way the university
> could just pay the university for their expenses, or require receipts for
> expenses, instead of just handing these checks over to the students who
> then use the excess for what it wasn't intended for?
>
>
>
> At 05:20 PM 5/16/01 -0400, Jonathan Looney wrote:
> >At 03:45 PM 5/16/01 -0400, you wrote:
> >>Via campus mail I received a form to fill out regarding students on
> >>financial aid who failed all their courses, including mine. There is no
> >>return address. If you need this information, please let me know.
> >>
> >>
> >>Ed Rozema
> >>Mathematics Department/Dept 6956
> >>
> >I won't speak for Sandy Zitkus, but these have gone to her in the RECORDS
> >Office in the past.
> >
> >I'd like to thank the faculty for completing these forms. This is a
federal
> >requirement that schools prove their students attended class (at least
one
> >day) in order to qualify for the financial aid they received. The
> >assumption is that students who made all "F's" maybe never attended, or
> >just walked away during the semester.
> >
> >When these forms are not filled out, we have to assume the students never
> >attended and set them up to repay their financial aid in full. The
Bursar's
> >Office ends up turning these students over to collection when they don't
> >pay. This entire process is costly to the university, as I haven't seen
> >many of these students paying off the money they owe UTC. If the students
> >attended at least one day, then we get to keep at least haf of the
tuition
> >and/or dorm charges that were paid with their financial aid.
> >
> >Students who do this also lose their eligibility for future financial aid
> >so they are not allowed to abuse the system and all our taxpayer dollars.
> >
> >Sincerely,
> >
> >
> >Jonathan Looney
> >Director - Student Financial Aid
> >University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
> >
> Linda Hobart, Administrative Secretary
> Dept. of Sociology, Anthropology, & Geography
> [log in to unmask]
> Phone: 423-755-4411
> Fax: 423-785-2251