SHEFA suspends incentive awards for incoming college students

The Saipan Higher Education Financial Assistance yesterday suspended incentive grants to incoming college students to generate savings for its scholarship programs.

Incentive grants is one of three financial awards offered by SHEFA which provides funds to high school graduates and current students who achieve a 3.5 or higher grade point average. For eligible off-island students, SHEFA incentive awards total $1,500 per academic term, while it awards $1,000 for on-island scholars per semester. The suspension is effective for the 2011 Fall semester.

In a regular meeting yesterday, board chair Jose Mafnas said the action was taken in line with the current financial shortfall being experienced by the scholarship program. The board members agreed that since high school graduates have yet to start college, it is appropriate to stop providing the “generous” assistance from the cash-strapped government.

However, SHEFA administrator Henry Hofschneider pointed out that ongoing students will continue to receive the same incentive awards provided they comply with the requirements: that they have taken 12 or more credits in college, have no repeat courses, and achieved a 3.5 or higher GPA.

On top of incentive awards, these students also are provided grant-in-aid assistance from SHEFA. The field-of-study award was also being provided by SHEFA on the same manner, in which students who are taking specific courses classified under the field of study automatically get additional assistance.

Hofschneider also pointed out that a freshman college student who garners a 3.5 or higher GPA is eligible for the incentive for the second academic term.

The administrator has yet to determine how many high school students in the past benefited from the incentive awards, but he believes that a substantial amount was given out in past years.

SHEFA was established by law in 2004 and its funding comes from poker license fees collected by the government. Each fiscal year, it receives a $3-million budget. Since the program’s inception, the government has invested $17.7 million for SHEFA programs: grant-in-aid, field of study, and incentive awards.

House Speaker Eli Cabrera (R-Saipan) and Rep. Joe Palacios (R-Saipan) yesterday expressed their support to the board’s reduction of some programs. The two lawmakers were among the spectators in yesterday’s board meeting held at the Saipan Mayor’s Office.

“We [the government] are too accommodating. We accommodate too much. Money is scarce right now and we have to face the reality,” Cabrera said yesterday, describing the financial awards as “luxury” from the government.

The speaker said that CNMI is alone, among U.S. states and territories, in providing “generous” help to its students. In other states, he revealed that scholars were assisted by governments only in securing student loans.

“In the 50 states, no government offers scholarship programs such ours. They assisted them in securing student loans and they are required to pay back. But here, we just allow them to work for two years and they’re done,” said Cabrera.

He mentioned the Pell grant being provided to students which also requires repayment.

Palacios, for his part, commended the board when it first implemented the reduction in awards last 2011 Spring semester. He expressed full support to the board’s future actions that will ensure the continuity of the program.

Palacios, however, asked the SHEFA board to fully inform the students and their parents on the true fiscal state of the program to avoid “misunderstanding.”