Flood of SRJC, SSU aid applications
SRJC students line up for financial aid applications and advice on Wednesday morning in Santa Rosa.
JOHN BURGESS / THE PRESS DEMOCRATPublished: Wednesday, July 28, 2010 at 8:27 p.m.
Last Modified: Wednesday, July 28, 2010 at 8:27 p.m.
Two years ago, Toby Moore was happily employed as a customer-service coordinator at a call center near Modesto with no thoughts of returning to the classroom.
What a difference a recession makes. Moore, laid off in 2008, is now in his second year at Santa Rosa Junior College, nearing an associate's degree in human resources administration, and, he hopes, a new career.
It's a silver-lining the 34-year-old could only afford because of financial aid. He's hardly the only one.
SRJC has been so bombarded with aid applications that next week the financial aid office is closing to students to allow staff to process paperwork.
“We are seeing unprecedented growth in applications,” said Kristin Shear, SRJC's director of student financial services.
The trend has coincided with the ongoing economic crisis. From the 2006-2007 school year to 2009-2010, aid applications spiked from 7,878 to 12,685 — a 61 percent increase.
But the high-water mark appears yet to come. As of last week, the school had received 9,631 aid applications, 59 percent more than at the same time last year, Shear said.
“This is about the economy, the extended recession and unemployment,” Shear said. “What I see is people who need retraining, who need help with the cost of going to college, and that need is expanding just exponentially.”
Tera Hruby, a 39-year-old single mother, is among the many students who've come to SRJC because of the recession. After nearly 20 years providing day care, she saw her clientele evaporate as customers' jobs dried up.
So, three years ago she headed back to school, first to get her GED and then her associate's degree and certificate in administrative medical assisting, which she'll receive in the fall.
“Without financial aid, there's no way I could be doing it at all,” said Hruby, who has a 7-year-old.
The rise in financial aid applicants has occurred as SJRC has put a temporary halt on its Doyle Scholarship, which provided $76 million to 112,000 students over 60 years before its suspension in 2009. The scholarship is funded by dividends from Exchange Bank, which ceased paying the dividend in recent hard times.
But Shear said the scholarship's suspension doesn't account for the huge increase in applications.
“The demand for financial aid far exceeds what we're not doing in scholarships at this point in time,” Shear said.
Sonoma State University also has seen a striking increase in financial aid applications, although not on the same magnitude as SRJC.
In 2006-2007, SSU received 10,613 applications for financial aid. In 2009-2010, there were 12,578 — an 18 percent increase. The numbers show applications only. Many who apply do not get into SSU or choose not to attend.
Susan Kashack, SSU's associate vice president for marketing and communication, said the university's increase in applications may trail SRJC's because it's easier to enroll in a community college.
Someone who's suddenly looking for job training is more likely to go to a two-year institution than a four-year one, she said.
Other local community colleges also reported jumps in aid applications. Mendocino Community College has closed its financial aid office to students for two weeks on Monday to give workers time to process applications.
The College of Marin reported it provided students with $4.9 million in federal Pell grants last year, up from $3.3 million in 2008-2009 — a 46 percent jump.
Such reports are echoed across the state's 112 community colleges, said Paige Marlatt Dorr, spokeswoman for California Community Colleges.
It will likely increase further, she said. Not only was this year's high school graduating class the largest in history, but many four-year public colleges have capped enrollment, she said. At the same time many military veterans and unemployed people are looking to colleges for new job skills.
“The entire state is a hotbed,” she said.
Despite the deluge, Shear encouraged students to apply for aid. The federal government funds financial aid as an entitlement, meaning qualified students receive the funds no matter how many applicants got in line before them, she said.
It just may take a little longer than normal to process them this year, she said.
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