CSUN University News Clippings

Ventura College financial aid office’s backlog frustrates students

(September 23, 2009)

By Jean Cowden Moore
Published: 09/22/09

Hundreds of Ventura College students still have not received their financial aid this semester, even though classes started more than five weeks ago.

The financial aid office is now reviewing applications filed in May and is “severely backlogged,” said Ray Di Guilio, interim financial aid officer.

The office is short-staffed because two key employees have been put on paid administrative leave, and another worker recently resigned, Di Guilio said. A fourth person was not hired after their probationary period. That leaves the office with five workers, down from nine.

“It’s quite a backlog, and unfortunately this is a labor-intensive process,” Di Guilio said. “There couldn’t be a worse time for people to be out. … We’re doing whatever we can to help the most needy students.”

Ventura County Community College District officials would not comment Tuesday on why Dora Washington, the college’s chief financial aid officer, and Gerri Cantu, a financial aid specialist, were both put on paid leave, saying it’s a personnel matter. The two have been on leave for less than a month, said Robin Calote, president of Ventura College.

The financial aid office has processed about 1,000 applications so far, but college officials could not specify how many more students are still waiting.

Eli-ane Phillips-Minks applied for financial aid in June but still has not received the $5,300 federal grant she qualifies for because of her income. Without that grant, Phillips-Minks, 55, has not been able to afford her textbooks, so she has been copying pages from books in the library. Now she’s worried about upcoming mid-term exams.

“They can’t just sit on grant funds until they decide to pass them out,” said Phillips-Minks. “People are going to be dropping classes because they can’t afford books.”

After meeting with her Tuesday morning, Di Guilio told Phillips-Minks he’d try to help her get books. Some professors also have offered to lend her books. But as of late Tuesday, the office hadn’t processed her financial aid application.

Another student received an eviction notice because she couldn’t pay her rent until she got financial aid. On Tuesday, Di Guilio wrote her landlord a letter, saying she’d get aid by Oct. 15 and asking that the eviction be delayed.

Generally, the financial aid office reviews applications in the order it receives them, Di Guilio said. “But in the most egregious situations, we try to make an exception,” he said.

The office is short-staffed at the same time it’s dealing with significantly more applications — a 26 percent increase over last year, according to an e-mail sent to students in August. The e-mail asks students to not call or come by the office to check the status of their applications because that would cause further delays.

Moorpark and Oxnard colleges also had more applications this year but are not as backlogged as Ventura. Oxnard had a 57 percent increase and is now reviewing applications submitted by Aug. 10, said President Richard Duran.

Moorpark College had a 20 percent increase and does not have a major backlog, said Clare Geisen, spokeswoman for the college district.

Ventura College’s financial aid office is temporarily filling some of its vacancies with two staff members from other departments trained to process applications. They, along with existing staff members, are working overtime, including Saturdays, Di Guilio said.

Di Guilio, the former vice president of business services, is filling in as financial aid director for two weeks, and the college expects to have an interim chief officer in place by Monday. Still, it will take a while for the office to catch up, he said.

“The backlog developed over the past few months,” Di Guilio said. “It will take significant time to get to that work load.”

Publication: Ventura County Star