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Youth Congress seeks timely disbursement of SHEFA checks
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Posted on Jul 29 2011
The CNMI Youth Congress has passed a resolution encouraging the timely disbursement of scholarship checks to prevent the suffering of scholars here and off-island.
Youth Congress resolution 13-03 was unanimously approved by members during its July 16 session. It was authored by youth senator Audrey Joy Ada.
The legislation, which was also tackled during yesterday’s meeting of the Saipan Higher Education Financial Assistance board, wants SHEFA and the Finance Department to assure scholars of the timely disbursement of financial awards.
“Many Saipan students rely on financial aid, including SHEFA, which is essential to paying for costs associated with pursuing a higher education, including tuition and living expenses. The unfortunate delay in scholarship disbursements creates an unfortunate barrier to many of the Saipan students, including the inability to purchase books, to clear tuition fees, and to complete enrollment for the next term,” the resolution states.
SHEFA aided over 400 students in spring 2011 and has received hundreds of applications for the upcoming fall semester.
SHEFA administrator Henry Hofschneider and board chair Jose Mafnas told Saipan Tribune yesterday that Finance has yet to give them a schedule of the next disbursement of checks.
They disclosed that a total of $149,700 in financial assistance is still pending at Finance, mostly for spring 2011 recipients.
Hofschneider reported that $28,000 worth of checks was requested on April 20, followed by $15,200 worth of checks requested on May 24, both for spring 2011 scholars. Another $13,200 worth of checks are pending at Finance for fall 2010 recipients. On June 10, another list of $92,300 check assistance was requested, followed by a $1,000 check request submitted on June 16.
Hofschneider said that calls are still being received from scholars and parents, pleading for the immediate disbursement of these awards.
He also reported that SHEFA received a total of 710 applications as of yesterday. He estimates that close to 500 applicants may be found eligible for financial awards based on their initial assessment. Hofschneider said the number is still subject to change as review of the applications progresses.
