Financial Aid office seeks its own aid
Increasing work load boosts need for help

By Carrie Woodall
Staff Reporter

The staff of the Office of Scholarships and Student Financial Aid is receiving no additional help though enrollment, financial aid programs and increased federal regulations are making them work harder, said Michael Scott, director of scholarships and financial aid.

The financial aid office receives about 6,000 applications each year, including those from incoming and returning students, Scott said. This high number is what gives the financial aid office such a high work load, he said.

“We do think we need more staff,” Scott said. “Although financial aid is more automated now, we process more applications than the admissions department but have less staff members.”

Ray Brown, dean of admissions, said financial aid and recruitment are two components that very rarely go without each other.

“About one-third of the students at TCU don’t require financial aid, and that number is diminishing rapidly,” Brown said.

Scott said the financial aid office here is much more efficient than at other universities, but students do not see that because of the frustrations they may face with financial aid.

Virginia Peterson, a junior elementary education major, said she had problems with the financial aid office when her grant was canceled.

“Evidently, some of the information had been lost, and they could not find where my grant was recorded,” Peterson said. “After a few days, it ended well because I got my grant back.”

Kenneth Stogdill, financial aid advisor, said the office handles 200 to 300 students daily including phone calls. To advise the students, there are four counselors who divide up student enrollment alphabetically and are involved in certain programs concerning financial aid.

“In certain areas, we could use some restructuring of people,” Stogdill said. “The graduate advisor Debbie Mar definitely could use assistance because she handles all financial information and verifications for graduate students alone.”

Scott said the financial aid department has a hard time keeping people on the support staff because of the volume of work they are required to do. He said it is not uncommon for the department to hire someone who will later find work in another office for the same amount of pay but a lower level of stress.

“We are dealing with people and money, and what we’re able to do and what they need just don’t always work out,” Scott said.

The staffing issue was addressed two years ago when an additional advisor was added to help out the department while PeopleSoft, a kind of network software, was being installed, Scott said.

Stogdill said without the additional advisor and PeopleSoft, the department would be facing an avalanche because the staff would not be able to handle the amount of work. The organization and support of the staff makes the difference in the office.

“Although the department is facing an increase in the volume of work, we are doing an excellent job of streamlining student information,” Stogdill said. “Our department is also keeping accessibility at an extraordinary level for the students,” Stogdill said.

Although the financial aid department needs more staff, Scott said they did not ask the Board of Trustees for additional help because there is not enough space in the office for more workers.

“Everything at TCU has to be prioritized according to what is most important concerning the students, and financial aid is just one of the things on that list,” Scott said.

Carrie Woodall
c.d.woodall@student.tcu.edu