The University’s Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships will be contacting Oregon Opportunity Grant recipients via e-mail this week to inform them of reductions in their awards for winter and spring terms.
Because of legislative cuts, the anticipated grants of $418 per term will be reduced to $304 per term, a 27 percent reduction.
The affected students will be sent a link to an explanatory letter from Kathleen Hynes, director of grants and scholarships for the Oregon Student Assistance Commission. The letter can be viewed online at http://www.osac.state. or.us/schools.html.
Hynes said the reductions are primarily the result of cuts in state appropriations and an accompanying loss of federal matching funds. The federal government provides money to states for student assistance, she said, but only if the state maintains a consistent level of funding.
“We’re not the only state this is happening to,” she said.
Student Financial Aid Director Elizabeth Bickford said the cuts are significant for students who are barely scraping by.
“That’s a big deal to students,” she said. “It’s a big deal to anyone.”
Bickford said the financial aid office wants to notify students as early as possible of the reductions so they can find ways to make up for lost funding.
Some students may opt to work over winter break, but there are other options, including applying for additional scholarships. The application process for scholarships, she said, can sometime be arduous.
Bickford said the financial aid office can help students locate and apply for additional scholarships. A scholarship workshop will be held today from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. in B13 Klamath.
Bickford emphasized that the decision to reduce the grants was beyond the control of the University and the financial aid office, and she said the University is trying to find ways to help compensate for the loss of funds.
“It’s one of those years when things are not going well for the state financially,” she said.
University Senior Vice President and Provost John Moseley said the University’s ability to make up for the lost funding depends largely on whether voters approve Measure 28 in January. The measure, if passed, will temporarily raise income taxes to close gaps in the state budget.
“It won’t be known until February or March whether we will be able to do that,” he said.
Currently, Moseley said, the University plans to commit $500,000 in financial aid for low-income students.
“We can do that only in the context of not taking further budget cuts,” he said.