2 Monday, June 29, 2009 The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com SCHOLARSHIP From Page 1 arship and other college financial aid programs. During the 2007-2008 school year, 3,152 students at the Universi- ty received money from the Promise Scholarship. Numbers are not avail- able for the 2008-2009 school year because students have until Nov. 15 to certify the scholarship. Pamela Fowler, executive finan- cial aid director for the University, said the University will try to find additional funding for need-based students to compensate for the scholarship if the bill is passed. "The University of Michigan meets the full need of students," Fowler said. "If students need the $1,000, the University will find resources to meet that need." But Fowler said students receiv- ing the Promise Scholarship would lose all funding if they are not already eligible for financial aid. "We will cover the costs for stu- dents.who have need," Fowler said. "We have no intention to do other- wise.We willnot cover students who do not qualify for need-based aid." Michael Boulus, executive direc- tor of the Presidents' Council, a lob- bying group for the state's public universities, said cutting the Michi- gan Promise Scholarship would put a lot of financial strain on families who depend on the scholarship money. "It's going to unfortunately add pressure and debt to students' higher education costs," Boulus said."I know there are a lot of Michigan families quite concerned and counting onthat aid that's been already earned." Heather Quillen, a sophomore in the School of Music, Theatre & Dance, was awarded $2,500 from the Promise Scholarship. She said she depends on that money to help pay for her education. "If they decide to cut (the schol- arship) then it will make it very dif- ficult for me to go back to school in the fall," Quillen said. Quillen - who has not been able to find a job because of the state of Michigan's economy - said she doesn't know how she would come up with the extra money. "Hopefully I can find a job and work so I can get the money, and if not, my family will have to cut back on expenses a lot so we can pay the amount," she said. Lori Vedder, vice president of the Michigan Financial Aid Student Association and director of financial aid at the University of Michigan- Flint, said removing the Michigan Promise Scholarship could affect enrollment at the University and other schools in the state. "You could have a needy family that it's going to impact greaterthan a student whose family may have the potential to fund the tuition bill at an institution," Vedder said. LSA sophomore Katie Donald- son will have received $4,000 from the scholarship by graduation. She said she wouldn'tbe impacted if the money were taken away because her family pays for her tuition. But, she is aware that other students aren't so lucky. "Personally it wouldn't affect me that much, but I know I have friends who really depend on it who aren't as financially stable or have to pay for college on their own," she said. Boulus said Michigan universi- ties are trying to do whatever they can to protect students from the financial crisis. "Everysingleuniversity,asthey're setting their budget and tuition for next year, are also increasing their financial aid," Boulus said. On June 16, the University Board of Regents approved a budget that included $118 million in financial aid,which is an11.7-percent increase in undergraduate financial aid. Despite the increase in aid, Bou- lus said the government needs to find a source of revenue so that scholarships are not cut from the state budget. "It's called the promise grant for a reason, and the Senate's action would literally break the promise scholarship to about 100,000 stu- dents," Boulus said. "The fact of the matter is the state can'tcutits way through this budget mess it's in," he added. "Until they start addressing the tough issues on findingmore revenue and reforming Michigan's tax system, they're going to continue to play chicken with the budget to avoid hard choices." Boulus said he believes the gov- ernment may have no option but to pass the bill. "If they don't raise revenue, they have no choice but to make the cuts that the Senate (presented)," he said. Vedder said University officials must wait for the decision before taking action. "There is a lot of discussion going on, and we have to trust our lawmak- ers to make the right decision for our students here in Michigan," she said. "We're going to keep monitoring it, and as soon as we know something our students will know something." 420 Maynard St. Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1327 www.michigandaily.com JAMIE BLOCK DAN NEWMAN Edto n hif Busies an"ager 734-647-3336 734-764-0558,,ya..,e,.. jambock@umich.edu tmdbusiness@gmail.com CONTACT INFORMATION Newsroom ofce hours: Sun.-Thurs. la.- 2am News Tips news@michigandaily.com Corrections corrections@michigandai.com Letters to the Editor tothedaily@michigandaily com Photo Department photo@michigandaily com ArtsSection artsage@michiganye.com 734-763-0379 Editorial Page opinion@michigandaly com Sports Section sportsemichigandaily.com Sales dailydisplay@gma..com 734-764-Fnn4 Classified Sales daiycassified@gmaicom Finance tmdfnancemi. 734-763-3246 Campus Information Centers EDITORIAL STAFF Robert soave 'soave*"mich.ed" ManagingEditor c~P 734 764-INFO I www.umich.edu/info H,o. Y 1- 0 Ft 1 C3 M A L 512 E. 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