Financial aid will be available to transfer and Resumed Undergraduate Education students starting in Fall 2005 if President Ruth Simmons and the Corporation approve the latest budget proposed by the University Resources Committee, officials said Thursday.
Simmons first announced the provision of funds for transfer and RUE students at her Spring Semester Opening Address on Tuesday.
Provost Robert Zimmer, who chairs the URC, confirmed to The Herald that the URC's budget recommendation to Simmons and the Corporation includes an allocation for transfer and RUE financial aid, though he declined to provide any details, including the amount of the allocation or how it will be distributed.
The budget, which must be approved by the Corporation at its meeting this month, is for the University's fiscal year 2006, which covers the 2005-2006 academic year. The funds would be available for transfer and RUE students starting in Fall 2005, Zimmer said.
"We currently don't have any financial aid for transfer students, and we are trying to make that better," said Director of Financial Aid Michael Bartini.
Some financial aid is currently available for RUE students, he said.
"The URC has to look at all the priorities of the University. In making budget recommendations, they really look at everything. The fact that the URC did recommend an allocation of funds to help support transfer and RUE students is an indication of how seriously the URC took the issue," Zimmer said.
"I personally was very happy, as the president was, that the URC would make this recommendation," he said.
Bartini called the addition an important step toward the University's goal of improving financial aid for all - culminating in need-blind admission for all students.
Zimmer said the University does not normally release any details about the budget until it is approved by the Corporation.
"In this case, (because) we felt very confident about it and we know it has been a general concern, we felt comfortable talking about this (before the Corporation approved the budget). We knew the community would be very interested to hear it," Zimmer said.
The budget must first be approved by Simmons, who presents it to the Corporation for official action.
"I think we feel confident" that the Corporation will approve the financial aid provision, Zimmer said, adding that he thought Simmons "had a generally positive reaction" to the URC report.
"We took this issue very seriously. We knew that there was considerable concern on the part of the community. Both the president and I were concerned about it. There are a lot of competing priorities, so I think it is particularly significant that we were able to do this," Zimmer said.
