Financial aid process to be quicker
By William Lauer
Staff Reporter
Students who apply for financial
aid for the 1989-90 school year will
not suffer the same anguish from
delayed award notification thev did
this year , according to John Beacon,
interim director of the Office of
Scholarships and Financial Aid.
“If they (students) do what they
need to do, they should have their
award notices around the time the
spring semester (this year) ends,”
Beacon said.
Students need to complete their
financial aid applications by March 1
to be considered4 ‘priority” students,
Beacon said.
Priority students are considered
for all forms of financial aid includ
ing Pell grants, scholarships and stu
dent loans.
Processing of some students’ aid
applications for the 1988 -89 school
year was not completed until Novem
ber.
Delays were caused by a new
computer system with flawed pro
gramming that required a lot of test
ing to correct, Beacon said. That
problem, coupled with major
changes in federal laws regulating
financial aid, had the office bogged
down for months, he said.
There will be few regulation
changes this year, he said, and with
the new system fully operating, the
time to process aid applications will
be reduced greatly.
“I’m really optimistic about next
(i989-90) year,” he said. “Last year
was a learning process for the office.
We understand the system now.
“My biggest concern is getting
the award letters out much earlier
than last year. We’ve got what we
need to do it.”
But not all the delays of award
notification arc the fault of the office,
Beacon said. If students do not com
plete their applications properly, give
incorrect information or do not an
swer all the questions, the application
could be processed incorrectly, he
said.
A question that is left unanswered
by a student can cause months of
delay, Beacon said.
“We find that a number of the
problems we see and deal with... are
simply because students don’t know
how to fill out the forms correctly or
(they) make mistakes,’ ’ he said. “We
think we can help them to avoid those
problems.”
Students who have questions
about filling out financial aid appli
cations can get answers at the Ne
braska Union. Graduate assistants
will be located at the north entrance
of the union from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.,
Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednes
days, Jan. 16 through Feb. 22.
“We want to make this process as
clean and as simple as possible,” he
said. Students sometimes make the
form more complicated than it actu
ally is, Beacon said.
Beacon said students can com
plete their applications with the help
of the assistants or can ask questions
and finish them on their own. A video
explaining the application, section by
section, also will be shown.
‘ ‘I think it (the assistance) is going
to help tremendously to avoid some
of the most common kinds of prob
lems that ultimately cause delays for
students,” he said.
The financial aid office is a serv- j
ice, he said. The students are the *
customers.
‘‘We want to help them,” he said. |
Drop!add draws high turnout
By Larry Peirce
Senior Reporter
About 7,700 University of Ne
braska Lincoln students used free
drop/add in December - one of the
highest turnouts the Office of Regis
tration and Records has ever had,
Director Ted Pfeifer said.
Many classes were filled during
early registration, Pfeifer said, leav
ing some students scrambling
through free drop/add for classes.
Pfeifer said some classes were
filled when students were given alter
nate classes which they put on their
registration forms but didn’t want.
Since students will drop some of
these, openings may appear during
drop/add, he said. Students may drop
classes Monday or Tuesday, but the
openings might not appear until
Thursday, he said.
Some of the classes most in de
mand during December drop/add
were business administration, art,
economics and English. Classes in
volving writing were among those
filled in early registration. Several
business and agriculture communica
tion classes were filled, with many
students unable to get in. For ex
ample, 14 sections of Agriculture
Communication 200 were filled,
excluding 36 students.
Economics 210 and 211 were also
in high demand. Four sections of
Economics 210 were full, with 98
students left out. Economics 211 had
eight full sections, which denied en
try for 59 students.
Pfeifer said there were a few seats
left in freshman English classes such
as English 102, 118 and 150. One
surprise in the English department
was the increase in students taking
200 and 300 level courses, Pfeifer
said. The only section of English 303,
a short story class, was filled with 35
students trying to get in. English 332,
a class about Mark Twain literature,
filied one section with 33 left out.
Students who have trouble getting
into a class should first consult the
instructor or the dean of the depart
ment in charge of the class, Pfeifer
said.
Pfeifer said he didn’t expect class
availability to be a problem for new
freshman and transfer students, since
most of those students enter UNL in
the fall.
Join the Lincoln Chapter of
Nebraskans for Peace in
celebrating...
Martin Luther King
Day
January 17, 1989 7:30 p.m.
Trinity United Methodist Churcl
16lh & A Street
‘Lincoln Community Gospel Choir
‘Readings by Andrea Kim Walker
‘Reminiscences of Civil Rights
Struggles by Lela Shanks and
Leola Bullock
SPrIncTbREAK^SS^
Acapulco tram $349
Puartu V altar U Irani 1340
Mualan tram 0310
BAHAMAS
Fraaport from |460
CARNIVAL CRUISE
A Ft Laodardaia Combo from 1600
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occupancy.
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1-60G-PASSAQE
The solution to your
New Year’s Resolution,.
You promised yourself, “This year I’m going to stay in
shape. * But you don’t want to pay high prices for facilities. The
Lincoln YMCA has the answer.
You can swim, run, play basketball, life weights, play racquet
ball, enjoy aerobic classes and much more.
$17.00 A MONTH
Nautilus facility now included
NOTE: Student Membership excludes the hours of
11 a.m.-l p.m. and 5 p.m. -7 p.m. weekdays.
2 BLOCKS FROM CAMPUS
.. .the
Downtown Shdpinj^ the Student body. Northeast
11th & Street 2601 No. 70th
476*9622 •<** . 464 /461 '
NOTICE TO STUDENTS
All students are eligible to apply for a refund of their “A’ ’ portion of student fees during a period
beginning January 16, 1989 and ending February 17, 1989. Students claiming a refund will lose
benefits provided by Fund “A” users during the Spring semester 1989.
Application forms are available at the Student Activities Financial Service Office, City Union;
ASuN Office, 115 Nebraska Union; or the East CAP Office, Nebraska East Union and should be
returned by the applicant in person to 222 Nebraska Union or 300 Nebraska East Union. Students must
bring their student I.D. cards at the time of application. Students who are unable to personally return
their application to the Student Activities Financial Services Office should contact Kim Underdahl,
Room 222 (phone 472-5667) before February 10,1989 to make arrangements.
Students who have completed a refund application and returned it on or before February 17,1989
will be mailed a check for the amount of the refund claimed. Refund checks will be mailed between
the dates of February 20 and March 3,1989.
.... .'■■■■■■ fv." .. ... ""-n
Fund *%** refund amounts art as follows:
Jt * * ******** * * *•.■» •».»«********** * **«♦ * $9*2$ •
Daily Nebraskan...94
University Program Council..$3.72
Total Refund $7.$!
Students claiming a refund will lose certain benefits provided by the above listed Fund “A” users.
For details on which benefits may be lost, please refer to the cover sheet on the refund application.
1 13
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Stock up on art and drafting supplies for the semester! ,
0 BLUE DOT.20% off!
O WHITE DOT.30% off!
O
O RED DOT.40% off!
0 YELLOW DOT.50% off!
Dot Sale discounts good off regular retail price; not valid with other offers.
skndadblue
tworid G«<xf“ o
— . ■ 1 1. " w
i
Including 15 types of sandwiches and
a variety of salads.
Bring in this ad for a FREE large drink
with purchase of any sandwich. Expires
February 28, 1989.
13th & "O"
Lincoln Square We Deliver! 474-DELI
(Below Dillards)
