Santa Fe College President Addresses Financial Aid Fiasco
Issues with financial aid disbursements have been affecting Santa Fe College (SFC) students throughout the Fall 2024 and Spring 2025 semesters.
SFC President Dr. Paul Broadie held a meet-and-greet event today at the SFC Blount Center. Ten students attended the event.
The first thing Broadie did was go around the room and ask each student their name, year at SFC, and the status of their financial aid.
Broadie instructed one of his employees to meet with the students affected by financial aid issues and promised they would receive answers.
Some students told Broadie they had received their aid, while others said that it had not been disbursed.
One student said the SFC Financial Aid Office blames technical issues instead of saying upfront what the status of the aid is. The student expressed that SFC has not been properly communicating with students about financial aid.
Broadie responded by offering resources, saying, “There’s a book award if you don’t have your book. There’s an emergency aid of up to $1,000 if you’re in a challenging situation. If you’re in a situation with your landlord or what-have-you, we’ll reach out, call, and have a conversation with them. The newest thing is we’ve set aside $1.5 million, and any student that is negatively impacted and received a D, F, or [has to withdraw], you can retake the course at no charge. There are things that we’re doing, and I want to make sure that our students know about it and that they’re able to take advantage of it.”
Broadie went on to address the financial aid issues at hand, saying, “We were faced with two things…. We have a system that’s a homegrown, written system. It was written in 1985…. The code is an uncommon code that only, like, three people know, whatever it is. The federal government changed the FAFSA, so we were faced with two things: either spend time rewriting the system that was developed in 1985 or bring in a new system that is up to date and keeps pace with changing technology and changing federal requirements…. We brought in the new system, and the biggest challenge that we ran into was the new system communicating with the legacy (old) system. Even though it was tested and tested and tested, once it went live, there were unforeseen things that happened, obviously. They’re rewriting the legacy system to speak to the new system. They’re close…. [With] the communication I’m going to sit here and say I personally apologize because no student deserves that. I will say that there is great stress in the financial aid office and IT office. I’m not making excuses, but you will have an answer.”
After hearing from another student concerned about their aid disbursements, Broadie said, “What the team is working on now are the most complex cases. The majority of aid is out, but there are some complex cases that they’re working on…. Financial aid is complicated. Some students are experiencing what’s not an IT issue or financial aid issue, but they actually got selected for verification by the federal government.”
Broadie said, “Each case is different, so there’s no blanket answer. Each individual student has a different situation.”
GnvInfo asked Broadie what the biggest problem of communication was between the financial aid office and students.
Broadie responded, “I wouldn’t say it’s a problem.... Every case is so individual, and they’re trying to fix the system at the same time they’re trying to deal with each individual case. I don’t think it’s that; I think it’s just generalized communication. Sometimes you have to generalize communication because if you sit with every single student, guess what you’re not doing? Working on those cases and getting that money out the door. I don’t want to classify it as a problem, but I always say we can get better. What we’ve done is we’ve given them the space, and we’ve hired more people to come in and work on this financial aid challenge. We’ve given them the space to really get the money out the door. You may not be talking to a financial aid person because we have our contact system to deal with questions from students, which precipitates more generalized answers because they’re not experts in each and every case.”
GnvInfo asked Broadie if there were any communication problems between the cashier's office and the financial aid office.
Broadie responded, “No, they work very closely together…. What you don’t see is the team is working day and night. No one wants this. The IT staff, the cashier's office, and the financial aid office are working non-stop, and that includes weekends. They worked all through spring break. They haven’t let off the gas. Everyone wants to address the needs of our students. That’s also why we see so many measures put in place to help support the students. The emergency aid grants, the book awards, and the [free] course retake. We don’t want our students impacted.”
GnvInfo asked Broadie if there were any emergency aid grants that put money directly in students’ bank accounts or if they all had to be accepted from a third party like a landlord or utility company.
Broadie said, “At the moment there has to be a justification, and that justification is not being able to pay rent or a utility bill so that money is sent to the third party. Are you making a recommendation?”
GnvInfo responded that some students may find the option beneficial amid the current situation if they’re still in financial need after paying rent and utilities.
Broadie had one of his employees write down the suggestion.
Broadie will be at the Northwest campus tomorrow for a similar meet-and-greet event in room 329 of the S building at 11:00 a.m.
