Hiccups in the roll out of the modified Free Application for Federal Student Aid program, or FAFSA are causing headaches for university budget officials. So says Eastern Kentucky University Budget Director Barry Poynter. He said school officials don’t yet know how many tuition dollars will be coming in.
“It’s really, really slowed us down and that causes a student not to make their decision because student make their decisions based upon often which school’s gonna look the best to them financially.”
A special-called EKU Finance Committee meeting was held last week. Poynter said it was held to get an early feel for the upcoming fiscal year 2025 budget. At this time, Poynter said there are no worries about a need for budget cutting.
Poynter said just about half of the Richmond school’s student body is Pell Grant eligible. So, not having more FAFSA information makes it difficult.
“Not students can still apply…we can still do the applying and admit, but they just don’t know what their finances are gonna look like and they rightfully so kind of wait,” said Poynter.
Poynter noted it’s too early to say what, if any, financial loss will be seen by students not enrolling or choosing another school. The EKU Board of Regents is expected to consider the upcoming budget at it’s mid-May meeting.
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