Daily Sundial

Plans for student financial aid for the summer semester under the Year-Round Operations systems were finalized, however, faculty pay was not resolved, said university officials.

Summer session tuition and fees will not go up, said Ron Clouse, director of Budget Planning and Management. Students will be able to enroll in the summer in the same way they enrolled in fall or spring semester, he said.

“Fees for Associated Student, health services, and University Student Union are actually going to be 60 percent of the preceding term,” Clouse said.

Government financial aid will not increase to compensate for the 12-month academic year, said Diane Ryan, director of financial aid and scholarships.

There are some limitations to what the Financial Aid Department could do for students, Ryan said.

She said the CSU system unsuccessfully tried to get an increase in money given by the government for Pell grants and the same amount of financial aid given for the nine-month academic year will be given for the 12-month year.

“But loans and the state university grants will increase for summer school for those eligible,” she said.

Under the current collective bargaining agreement, faculty teaching fall and spring, get additional pay if they teach the summer session, said Jerry Luedders, assistant provost and vice president of academic affairs.

Penelope Jennings, associate vice president for faculty, said the collective bargaining agreement applies for 2005 only and this year’s summer pay hasn’t been fully negotiated.

“I’m not sure what will happen, but we will be told by the Chancellor’s (office) when something does happen,” she said.

English Department faculty don’t know what will happen with negotiations. They are, however, prepared to staff the summer session, said Sandra Stanley, associate chair of the English Department.

“The true effects of YRO are still unknown for us. The English Department has set up a schedule and staffed classes that cover both 12-week and six-week schedules,” Stanley said.

Siatu Getz, a senior sociology major, said she is happy there are changes are being made.

“I hated it (taking summer session) because tuition was expensive and no financial aid was available at all,” Getz said. “But if I didn’t take it, it (would have) put me back for graduation, and my major is impacted, so its hard to get classes in the spring or fall semester.”

Ryan said the Financial Aid office is prepared to provide aid. She said a coordinated plan to cultivate awareness with students about the aid is underway and will be available to students in the summer.

“We plan to do media advertisements and e-mail students who receive financial aid,” Ryan said.

Ryan said financial aid will ask students to submit an academic plan so students could be funded accordingly.

“We are doing anything we can do to help students graduate quickly,” she said.

“We are expecting that over a long period of time that an increasing trend for students taking summer sessions will occur,” Luedder said.

OnTay Johnson can be reached at city@csun.edu.