By: Daniel Johnson, Staff Reporter
Financial aid check disbursement takes place three weeks into each term, which is a problem for students enrolled in programs such as Welding, Paramedic, Art, or Culinary Arts, said Culinary Arts major Josh Davilla.
The classes for these programs require equipment which is unavailable at the bookstore and must be purchased in time for the second week of classes, said Davilla. Often, students must produce this money out of pocket, said Davilla. Other students in Davilla’s class also said that they were unhappy with the disbursement process, but did not want to be included in the article by name.
“I think that it is wrong for disbursement to be done four weeks into the semester when we need our equipment by week two,” he said. “I think something needs to change.”
Senior Director of Financial Aid, Scholarships and Veteran Services Lee Carrillo said that while students do not receive financial aid checks until the fourth week of the term, all textbooks and equipment for courses can be ordered through the bookstore.
“A student can always order whatever they need. All they have to do is go in and say ‘I need this, charge it to my financial aid,’” said Carrillo.
However, Bookstore Manager Ann Heaton said that only equipment and textbooks are normally stocked, but currently sold out, can be ordered through the bookstore and that not all required for purchase through the campus bookstore. equipment is available
Davilla said that another problem is that disbursement checks are used for more than just equipment. Financial aid checks are often used for rent, transportation, food and other survival needs in addition to school supplies, he said.
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