NEWS
About 12 undergraduate students from hurricane-struck universities have come to MSU, and faculty members say they are working to make this move as smooth as possible for the transfer students.
"The university, on many levels, has been on call to be of assistance to these students in really a time of need and transition," said Jim Cotter, MSU's senior associate director of admissions and scholarships.
Since Hurricane Katrina hit last week, MSU faculty members have received inquiries from about 50 undergraduate students who attended schools in the affected area.
There also are about a dozen graduate students who have shown interest in transferring, MSU Graduate School Dean Karen Klomparens said.
Cotter and members of the admissions staff are trying to collect high school transcripts from freshmen who want to transfer out of the hardest-hit areas.
Eight undergraduate students - seven from Tulane University and one from Loyola University New Orleans - with previous college credit from their respective universities are enrolled at MSU as lifelong education students, Cotter said.
"Lifelong to some degree is a guest status, to provide an opportunity while their school is not available, but then eventually help them transition back to their home university," he said.
An issue of concern to some students is getting financial aid for their new school and discontinuing loans for their previous ones, said Allesandra Lanza, marketing communications manager for American Student Assistance.
The Boston-based organization is a federally funded nonprofit group, which helps students with loans.
