A series of new regulations regarding college students affected by Hurricane Katrina were put into place last week by the Department of Education, according to the Chronicle of Higher Education.
The rules currently in place would make affected students ineligible for federal student financial aid when they enrolled in new institutions. They would be accepted as "provisional students" who did not go through a regular admissions process, which would prevent them from receiving federal student aid.
"It is too soon to say exactly how this will all work out," said Susan Aspey, the press representative for the Department of Education. "We are currently working on a plan to help all the students affected, and it will address all the questions. We are very encouraged by the support of the higher education community."
The new regulations allow higher education institutions to accept and enroll students from affected areas as if they had undergone the regular admission process, allowing them to receive federal aid. Colleges will also be able to give transferring students the federal aid they originally qualified for in their home school, even if that aid has already been distributed.
The Department of Education is allowing students living in the affected Gulf Coast areas to delay any payments on federal loans with the usual penalties. Many deadlines on higher education programs have been extended until at least Dec. 1. The Department of Education also encouraged higher education institutions to admit these students while allowing them to continue to receive federal student aid.
According to AU's Office of Admissions and Financial Aid, the university's policy is that if a student was admitted to AU and offered any financial aid, they can attend school here and take advantage of the aid for one year. Tuition is waived for upperclassmen who wish to attend AU for one semester while their affected school is closed, provided that they paid this semester's tuition for their original school.
"It's great that students are being offered financial aid from AU," said Sarah Wilson, a sophomore in the School of International Service. "However, it doesn't seem fair that students who want to transfer here after being admitted earlier can only get what they would have had anyway, while for others tuition has been waived. They've all already paid their home school's tuition for this semester."
Charlie Biscotto, a sophomore in the School of Public Affairs, said he thought AU was living up to its name as an American institution of higher education.
"I think this is a solid show of the dedication of our administration to being the 'American' University and to helping the country for which it was named in a time of crisis," he said.
