Not going to class could cost some students more than just their grade. The consequences may come directly from their pockets.
A federal regulation made in the last year requires MSU’s Office of Financial Aid to monitor class attendance of students who receive federal funding.
“We are looking for students who have failed all their courses,” said Val Meyers, assistant director of the Office of Financial Aid. “That basically tells us that students probably were not there.”
Financial aid recipients not attending a class, dropping after a certain date or receiving an incomplete grade on their report card may be faced with paying federal funds back immediately or not being able to use the service again.
Meyers said precautions are taken to ensure students receiving financial aid are following rules associated with it. Because attendance is not taken during many classes at MSU, further investigation is necessary, such as contact with professors who can verify class participation with class assignment and exam grades, Meyers said. Though it is now federally regulated, MSU already had the policy in place.
“The reason this became news is because the federal regulations are requiring this now,” she said. “I think a lot of schools are now thinking ‘We better get our act together.’”
For some schools, requiring students to pay back federal funds is a new procedure.
Larry Ridgeway, financial aid director at the University of Mississippi, said although students have always had to repay aid, the school will now employ new methods to enforce the new regulation.
“If students are unable to document that (they) went to any classes, we expect (them) to repay their aid,” he said. “Relatively few students will be impacted, but if you are one of them, it is a huge deal.”
Ridgeway said there were about 100 students on financial aid who received mostly failing or incomplete grades last semester. But that does not mean they stopped going to class.
“The faculty will have records of who took the exams,” he said. “Some may have been there and will have completed and just did poorly.”
Some MSU students feel there is justification in students paying back financial aid as a consequence for violating the regulations.
“If the state is going to give an opportunity for those who can’t afford it on their own, they should put that money to better use,” said Elizabeth Friedman, a merchandise management and apparel and textile design junior who receives financial aid. “They should give that money to students who will actually attend class.”
But some students say class attendance is not the most important factor. Kinesiology junior Stephen Sanders said his friends on financial aid who do not go to class usually have acceptable reasons.
“Their biggest reason for skipping classes would be working to pay off loans,” he said. “After, they’re just so exhausted from doing all that stuff that classes can become secondhand.
“If a student is giving an effort, getting help and are still failing - they should not have to pay back the money.”
MSU financial aid officials like Meyers consider the possible reasons for poor student performance before any drastic measures are taken, she said. But students should be aware of the ramifications before they choose not to attend class, she said.
If students officially disenroll from classes they will still have to repay the money, but financial consequences will be less severe.
“Sometimes life gets so overwhelming that (students) walk away from us,” Meyers said. “Having them be aware of (the policy) may mean that if something comes up where they have to leave school, they would come in and officially withdraw.”
