As 20,000 students get ready to start classes at the University of Texas at El Paso three weeks from now, university officials want to make two things clear: All students should apply for financial aid, whether they think they will qualify or not; and never let a lack of financial resources stand in the way of getting a college education.
“UTEP is committed to access, and that means ensuring that our tuition is as affordable as possible,” said Cynthia Vizcaino Villa, UTEP’s vice president for business affairs. “And the gateway is financial aid.”
For the fall semester, UTEP has expanded its innovative financial aid program called the UTEP Promise. Plus there are scholarships, grants and loans available to help students finish their education.
“Students need to understand that loans are also forms of financial aid and if students used them to take more credit hours they could graduate on time,” said Raul Lerma, director of UTEP’s Office of Student Financial Aid.
These efforts come as tuition at UT System institutions continues to rise and state funding for higher education remains flat. Even with the scheduled increases for this fall, UTEP is the fifth least-expensive of the nine UT academic institutions. UT Dallas and Austin lead the pack, followed by Arlington and San Antonio. UTEP is next, right in the middle, followed by UT institutions in Tyler, Brownsville, Permian Basin and Pan American.
Lerma is a native El Pasoan and graduate of Austin High School who earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from UTEP. Villa is from Marfa, and attended UTEP’s College of Business and earned a master’s degree in educational administration.
They sat down with El Paso Inc. to talk about what every student – and every parent of a student – needs to know about financial aid.
Q: With tuition increasing across the state, how does that affect UTEP students? Villa: We at UTEP have tried really hard to maintain affordability for our students because we are aware of the fact that we serve a community that is more price-sensitive than others.
This fall, tuition is going up $150 dollars for a 15-hour course load, and $150 again in fall of 2009. That is a 5.2 percent increase for the fall of 2008 and a 4.95 percent increase in the fall of 2009.
Tuition has been increasing across the state because legislative appropriations have been relatively stable. But the cost of running the institution continues to escalate.
The combination of tuition and state appropriations supports the university’s base operations. That includes faculty salaries, staff benefits, staff support and other operating expenses.
Q: What is the cost for 15 credit hours for this fall? Villa: For the fall of 2008, the average cost for a full course load will be $3,034.
Q: How many UTEP students receive financial aid? Lerma: For the 2006-2007 school year, 14,000 students received a form of financial aid. That means that 60 percent of our students received financial aid, and it has increased.
More and more students are applying for financial aid, and applying early, which is important. Students have noticed the increase in tuition and know that our office is there to help them. We also offer the UTEP Promise and Guaranteed Tuition programs.
Q: What is the UTEP Promise? Lerma: The UTEP Promise is for incoming freshman and new this year, we are extending it to first-time transfer students. If they report a family income of $30,000 or less, we essentially promise to award them enough free money to cover tuition up to 15 hours per semester. The requirement is to take at least 30 hours a year at UTEP.
Then we use various programs starting with the Pell grant and other state programs to help give students free money. It’s another way to encourage on-time graduation, it’s for four years, and it’s another way to make students follow their degree plans.
Even if students do not graduate in four years but still make or report an income of $30,000 or less, they still qualify for the program. The amount of financial aid may be enough to cover the cost of tuition and fees. The UTEP Promise is in its third year and there are 680 students in the program.
Q: What’s the Guaranteed Tuition Plan? Villa: The Guaranteed Tuition Plan guarantees the same rate of tuition for four years. That means first-time, full-time freshmen will pay the same rate of tuition to complete a bachelor’s degree in four years. If that degree requires more time, it can go into five years. It requires students to take 30 semester credit hours per year.
In its first year, 81 students signed up for the Guaranteed Tuition Plan, 17 in its second year and currently, there are 19 students signed up. However, there will be more as we approach the beginning of the fall semester.
Q: Can students who are not freshmen qualify? Lerma: At this time, Guaranteed Tuition is only available for incoming freshmen. These programs are great for parents and students because it allows them to plan ahead. With these programs there aren’t any surprises because while tuition rises, your rate is locked in.
Q: What about students who don’t qualify for any kind of aid? Lerma: Everybody qualifies for something. As long as you are a U.S. citizen or even a permanent resident, you are still guaranteed some kind of financial aid.
We’ll consider you for scholarships, if you apply for scholarships. We’ll consider you for grants and there are lots of grants out there. We’ll consider you for work-study, if you apply early enough, and, of course, student loans.
The worst-case scenario, if you didn’t qualify, maybe you weren’t meeting academic requirements or defaulted on a student loan. Or you didn’t fill out the form correctly. In our UTEP Success program, we encourage students and families to come in and we’ll explain all the options to them.
Villa: We also have an employment program, the Student Employment Opportunities program, where monies have been set aside to provide students opportunities to work on campus. It’s not need based, so it doesn’t matter if they qualify for grants or not. Working on campus helps students in terms of staying on track in school, and provides them opportunities in areas that will enhance their skills when they graduate.
Lerma: It’s more than just work-study; these jobs are at a higher level. In this area, we have some students who are undocumented and we try to help them. They come by and fill out a special application, they don’t qualify for federal financial aid but we can consider them for state financial aid. We do encourage them to come talk to us.
Q: What’s the difference between federal and state financial aid? Lerma: If you are undocumented and are not a U.S. citizen or permanent resident, you can’t qualify for federal financial aid. Texas is one of seven states that offers undocumented students in-state tuition and allows them to be considered for state financial aid.
Q: Do payment plans help students? Villa: The Easypay is our installment program and it does help the students quite a bit. Recently, our plan has changed from 50 percent down and two payments per semester. Now it’s five equal installments over the course of the semester, which really helps students bear the burden of the cost of the semester. I think it can make a big difference of whether a student can enroll in some cases. Fifty percent down was huge. I think the installment plan really makes funding their higher education more manageable.
Lerma: So a student only has to pay 20 percent up front for the first payment. And even if they don’t have 20 percent, we offer emergency tuition loans.
Q: Are tuition increases affecting scholarship programs, limiting their funds? Lerma: Our Scholarship Office tries to give enough money to cover a full course load. The scholarship program is growing and is trying to obtain more funds. A lot of our scholarship recipients receive other forms of financial aid, which is good.
Q: Do you think tuition increases mean some students are taking longer to graduate? Villa: It may be affecting some students, however, if they avail themselves to all the resources available to them through the Financial Aid office they should be able to get assistance in some shape or fashion.
Lerma: Sometimes it depends on the students. Some students have to work, some students might have families and some might take breaks, while other students might just go right through.
But it’s also about utilizing financial aid, including loans. Students need to understand that loans are also forms of financial aid and if students used them to take more credit hours they could graduate on time.
Villa: Historically, our student population has been very loan-adverse, they’re more inclined to take a semester off to work and then come back. But putting off semester only delays a student’s graduation date and it can create more obstacles preventing a student from coming back to school. We try to encourage students to take out a loan to finish their education and to get on track with their careers.
Q: Is there a limit to the amount of financial aid a student can receive? Lerma: The FAFSA determines the need so we’ll try to fill that need as soon as possible, and as close as we can. There are certain grant programs that have a cap, like the Pell grant – our largest grant program that’s going to increase this year to $4,731 a year.
But that’s not to say that’s all a student is going to get. If they apply early enough they can get even more financial aid. The earlier you apply, the more free money you will be able to obtain.
Q: What’s the FAFSA? Villa: The FAFSA or Free Application for Federal Student Aid is the standard federal form used by institutions across the country. It’s required to apply for all federal financial aid. It’s become the standard for determining need and family status. If students are applying at multiple institutions, it’s the same application for them all.
Lerma: We need to make sure parents and students understand that the FAFSA is free. It’s online at
fafsa.ed.gov. Some students go to another Web site that looks the same but it charges to apply.
The FAFSA essentially gives a picture of the student’s financial situation.
It looks at various factors, not just income. How many students are in college? How many are in the household?
It does provide an accurate picture of how needy a student is. With that said, everyone qualifies for financial aid. Even if you win the lottery, you still can qualify for some sort of financial aid.
Q: Is the FAFSA complicated to fill out? Lerma: You have to fill it out every year, and every year the government’s trying to simplify it. It’s a little difficult and that’s why some families don’t complete it, because it looks a little challenging.
We have workshops at high schools every year, and we’re available throughout the year if parents want to come in, we’ll walk through it with them. They can also do it online, 95 percent of applications are done online.
Q: What advice do you have for high school seniors who are interested in going to college but fear that they cannot afford it? Lerma: Our message is that you can afford it. Everybody qualifies for some kind of financial aid. Check with your high school counselors for other resources. We work with the school districts to help train counselors, so that they know about all the kinds of financial aid available to students. Education pays off in some many different ways, it just makes you a better person.
Villa: If there’s any message to students either starting their higher education or returning, it is that cost should never be the reason you stay away. Go to the financial aid office and look at the resources available to you, and you might be surprised at how affordable it might be.
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