By John Wong
The financial aid process for Columbia students will be drastically changed next year due to the restructuring of the Office of Financial Aid. Among the changes include the departure of Kimberly Steele and David Sheridan, both Associate Directors of Financial Aid. Three new administrators were appointed in their place: Karl Ufert, Kirsten Thien, and Wendy Clymer. The changes were made by Drusilla Blackman, Director of Financial Aid and Admissions, in an attempt to improve the services offered by the staff in the Office of Undergraduate Financial Aid.
The office aims to serve students better by offering more financial counseling to students. A greater emphasis is put on the staff to inform students about the numerous outside scholarships and grants available to undergraduate students.
Also, Dean Blackman feels that students and their families should be more familiar with the financial aid process itself: the mechanics of how financial aid packages are put together. With this goal in mind, there will be a new series of publications circulated by the office. The production of these publications will be headed by Wendy Clymer. New information packets will be mailed out along with the students' financial aid packages later this year.
Another avenue of educating students about financial aid is by installing software that students can use to simulate the methodology used by the financial aid officers to determine financial aid packages. Such computer services allow students to enter in financial variables and determine the expected contribution of their families.
The responsibilities of the new office were expanded, leading to the establishment of these new positions. The former associate directors were informed of the changes made to the office. They were encouraged to apply for these new positions, but did not do so, according to Dean Blackman, because they felt that their abilities were more suitable elsewhere.
When asked about the new philosophy of the "improved" office, Dean Blackman responded by saying that the financial aid office should change the attitudes in which students view the office. Instead of feeling that the office is where problems occur, students should feel that the office should be a place where problems are solved. Secondly, the office aims to create a more stringent policy regarding the responsibilities of the families and students. In the past, there were problems with students' late return of financial aid materials, leading to a long delay of the preparation of financial aid packages. This year, a greater emphasis is being placed on students' returning the materials on time, which is Mar. 15 for the FAF and FAFSA, April 3 for the Columbia financial aid application, and May 1 for students' and parents' tax returns.
For the 1994-95 academic year, financial aid packages for upperclassmen were prepared in July and sent out in August. Some students did not receive their packages until after the term started. This year, the new policy requires that the students submit the information on time. Failure to do so will result in the students' loss of the guarantee of institutional financial aid. They will receive aid only if institutional aid is available on a rolling basis.
Another issue that faces the financial aid office is the proposed cutting of state aid by Gov. George Pataki. Programs that may be cut include HEOP and TAP. However, Dean Blackman insists that Columbia is determined to fund economically disadvantaged students to fulfill their needs.