Local Schools to Take Advantage of Katrina Relief Bill Aimed at Students
WASHINGTON, Sept. 28 – Local colleges that have taken in students displaced by the hurricanes in the Gulf Coast region may be eligible for more federal aid.
A bill the House passed Tuesday would allow the Secretary of Education to reallocate unused federal education funds for use by students displaced by the hurricanes.
Eligible schools – those in the Gulf region or those that have enrolled students from schools unable to operate because of the storms – also could apply for aid under this bill and would not have to match the federal funds, as they would under the current law. The bill now goes to the Senate for consideration.
Several school representatives around the North Shore area expressed willingness to accept students affected by the hurricanes and a few schools already have such students enrolled.
Nancy Sabin, the assistant dean of enrollment services at Northern Essex Community College, said there are already several students from the hurricane-affected areas enrolled in online courses at the school, and a potential student will be visiting the campus this week.
Sabin said she thought that more federal aid for the displaced students was a good idea.
“They’re not residents of the states they’re attending, which makes their bill considerably higher,” she said.
Tina Lemoi, the director of e-learning at North Shore Community College, said her school has 10 students enrolled in its distance learning program. The college has an agreement with the Sloan Consortium, which is offering free online courses for those displaced by Katrina.
“The [Alfred P. Sloan Foundation is picking up the tab except for their books and materials,” said Lemoi, adding that the college will be paying for what the Sloan Consortium does not cover.
“We already had these online courses in place. We’re just opening up more sections,” specifically for the hurricane victims, she said.
Northern Essex Community College’s online courses also are offered through the Sloan Consortium, Sabin said.
Salem State College has enrolled one graduate student from Tulane University, and two other students from the Gulf region are interested, according to Jim Glynn, assistant director of media relations at the college.
Sylvio Vazquez, vice president for enrollment and marketing at Gordon College in Wenham, said that “unfortunately” they don’t have any students currently enrolled from the Gulf Coast areas affected by the hurricanes. He said the school is still accepting applications from those students and that those students would be able to start at the second “quad” of the year – halfway through the first semester.
Vazquez said a Framingham native who had been attending school in the affected region is interested in Gordon College.
“I don’t assume that we would be applying for any federal aid ourselves,” Vazquez said, but he added that while the school would provide free tuition for displaced students, room and board would probably have to be covered by financial aid.
Vazquez said he could understand why there weren’t a large number of students relocating to Massachusetts from the areas affected by the hurricanes. “That’s quite a considerable geographic gap – and cultural gap, too,” he said.
###
