Financial aid for the spring 2019 semester at UTM will not be halted or delayed because of the partial federal government shutdown.
According to StudentLoan-Hero.com, financial aid is safe because the U.S. Department of Education had already set and approved the budget for the year.
Financial aid for students is forward-funded from mandatory programs that do not operate on year-to-year appropriations. This means that as long as students filled out their paperwork before the shutdown began, they are OK to continue this semester and can expect any refund checks to be distributed on their regular schedule, three weeks from the start of classes, according to Amy Mistric, assistant director of financial aid and scholarships
Students who are currently applying for federal aid for the 2019-2020 award year should not expect delays in their processing, according to the National Association for Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA).
As of 10:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 9, tax refunds will be distributed on time, according to Time. This news has changed repeatedly during the government shutdown, but as of media time before print, all is standard at the moment.
People paying in for their federal income taxes are still required to do so and anyone with student loan payments should be continuing to make those as well.
For questions about your personal account or help with any other financial aid-related issues, call the Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships at 731-881-7040. For further information about Federal Student Aid during the partial government shutdown, refer to www.nasfaa.org/news-item/14174/1-19_Potential_Government_Closure_Federal_Student_Aid_Processing_and_Customer_Service_Guidance.
The shutdown began Dec. 22 as negotiations for the border wall fell apart. This shutdown is currently the second longest in American history; according to Time, it is following the shutdown of December 1995 during the Clinton administration. If this shutdown surpasses 21 days, it will be the longest partial government shutdown in U.S. history.
