Students who transfer a portion of their Financial Aid to their tartan card will no longer have that option, due to new policy changes at Sinclair.
Financial aid transfers to a students tartan card has been an option for a long time, as of summer semester 2014 a new policy removes that option. Before the policy change, a student could add $100 to their tartan card, directly from their Financial Aid.
Every student on campus receives a Tartan card when they enroll at Sinclair. The Card is used as an ID along with the ability to purchase items on campus. A student can use the funds for food, parking and buying items at the bookstore.
For students who rely on Financial Aid to pay for their schooling, the ability to transfer funds directly to their tartan card can be helpful to cover these costs.
“I didn’t know they had stopped,” Anna Knipp, English major at Sinclair, said in response to the news.
Knipp said that she used the financial aid funds to pay for parking and to grab something to eat on campus.
“I won’t be buying food on campus anymore,”Knipp said. “I’ll still have to pay for parking, but personally, I can’t afford to use my own money for food on campus.”
The policy change does not directly affect students who do not rely on financial aid to pay for school.
Jessie Eakle, modern languages major, said although she doesn’t accept financial aid, she has friends who are worried about the change.
“[My friends] are upset because they think it is going to be harder to gets books and get money when they need it,” Eakle said. “A lot of people need help, some more than others.”
She said she knew the change had occurred because her friends had informed her of the switch. Eakle said she had not seen any information about the policy change from college sources.
The Financial Aid department sent a mass email on April 18 briefly explaining that they were changing the process to students that have transferred funds in the past.
The email stated, “This is part of Sinclair’s ongoing review of various systems and processes.”
The email did not explain the reasoning behind the switch or if the change was permanent.
There is no other, easily accessible, mention of the switch on the Sinclair website or in any other Sinclair publication.
Justin Fiske, Criminal justice major, said that he was unaware of the switch to the policy.
“I don’t receive much financial aid so I don’t transfer funds,” Fiske said. He said that for students that do transfer funds it could be a big deal and the lack of information is concerning.
After repeated attempts to contact the Financial Aid department the Clarion was able to contact Carol Glaser-Atkins, Compliance administrator, who was unable to answer my questions at the time and said Matthew Moore, Director of Financial Aid, department would contact the Clarion.
“We posted this information in April concerning the change in posting federal student aid funds to the Tartan card. There is not any more information that we can provide,” Moore said in an email responding to questions about the change.
The email contained the original information the Financial Aid department released. There was no response to the questions as to why the change had occurred.
If you have questions or comments about the policy change you can contact the Financial Aid department (937) 512-3000.