 "Photo: JOEL KUTAKA")
Financial aid disbursements have hit a record high at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa.
On the first day of the Fall 2009 semester, students from all 10 campuses in the UH system received $27 million in funds, reflecting a 50 percent increase from 2008, when students were awarded $18 million on the first day.
Director of Financial Aid Services Jodie Kuba credits much of this to this year’s record-high enrollment, with 54,426 students registered for fall.
“We’ve seen an increase of over 2,000 more FAFSA applications this year compared to the same time last year, which is an 18 percent increase,” Kuba said.
Financial aid in the form of scholarships, grants, loans, waivers and awards comes from many different sources. Luckily for many students, financial aid funds are not affected by the economic problems causing budget cuts in many other educational sectors.
The largest increase has been in federal aid, according to Karen Lee, associate vice president for student affairs. “We’ve actually seen our Federal Pell Grant disbursements double this year,” she said.
In addition, the University of Hawai‘i Foundation recently completed an annual campaign that raised $280 million in private donations. “A huge portion of that goes to scholarship and award funds,” said Lee.
This comes as a relief to students already facing difficulties finding the classes they need and dealing with an overcrowded campus.
“It’s nice that I don’t have to worry about tuition, since I already work so hard with classes and supporting myself,” said senior Leilani Peña, who is majoring in economics. “It would have been a lot more complicated without financial aid.”
Students are still able to apply for and receive funds, according to Jodie Kuba. “We continue to process students’ requests for financial aid throughout the semester,” she said. “So, this is only the beginning.”
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