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Part-time students appeal for financial aid
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Posted on Nov 18 1999
Amid declining scholarship funds, the Northern Marianas College has been swamped with requests from part-time students for financial assistance to allow them to graduate in the coming spring semester.
But as much as they would like to accommodate them, the college officials’ hands are tied since the Scholarship Office under the Office of the Governor implemented a new policy that limits educational assistance to full-time students.
Such policy is inconsistent, and undermines the main mission of the college to reach out to the community, according to George Pangelinan, NMC Dean of Student Services.
“This is a community college and we should try as much as possible to meet the needs of the people. We hope the Scholarship Office would evaluate its policy,” he said.
According to Pangelinan, almost 200 students who failed to enroll at NMC in the 1999 are part-time students.
While most of them are academically qualified to be included in the Educational Assistance Program, they cannot afford to lose their jobs and become full-time students because they have to support their families. Due to a low turnout in enrollment, NMC had to cancel several classes in the college.
NMC has strongly criticized what it claimed inconsistent policy in the government’s scholarship program particularly at a time when an order was imposed for the scrapping of EAP and replacing it with a loan program was eventually junked.
College officials maintain that slashing back financial aid would imperil the marketing strategy of NMC in attracting students into enrolling at the island’s lone higher learning institution.
The absence of a consistent scholarship policy can be traced back to the failure of the Scholarship Office to consult NMC in developing a relevant program, he added.
“We are appealing to the leadership to support us in getting financial assistance for the students,” Pangelinan said. Despite the limited budget, he added, NMC has been able to meet the needs of the students within the amount given to the College.
