EvCC News
Release Date: October 27, 2009
Contact: Laurie Franklin, Dean of Enrollment and Student Financial Services, 425-388-9035; lfranklin@everettcc.edu
EvCC Financial Aid: Changing to Meet Demand
New Strategies, New Hours
EVERETT, WA – Everett Community College's Financial Aid office is changing its hours and its strategies to meet unprecedented demand for financial aid.
"Everett Community College has received a record number of financial aid applications this year. Staff has worked hard to respond, but we are worried about the number of students who need financial aid whose applications have not been evaluated yet," said EvCC President David Beyer.
EvCC's Financial Aid office is changing its hours starting Nov. 1 to allow staff to spend more time reviewing applications and getting aid to students, said Laurie Franklin, Dean of Enrollment and Student Financial Services.
The office will be open on Mondays, 9 a.m. – 6:30 p.m. and Tuesdays 9 a.m.- 4:30 p.m. On Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays the office will be focused on processing applications and will be unable to respond to phone calls, email or walk-in visits, Franklin explained.
"We hope the dedicated time at the end of the week will help significantly reduce the backlog of applications," Franklin said.
She noted that at Tacoma Community College, a similar strategy resulted in cutting the response time from 16 weeks to five weeks.
EvCC has struggled with the increase in applications, new financial aid software and statewide challenges in processing applications. EvCC has received more than 7,000 applications for Fall and Winter quarters – more than all of 2008-09.
In response, Financial Aid staff has worked more than 600 hours of overtime to process applications, added one full-time staff member and will be adding several part-time staff members and is seeking solutions with community and technical colleges statewide.
For more information, visit www.everettcc.edu/fa
