Creation of advisory board possible

By Dana Netzel

NIU’s Student Committee on Financial Aid wants to create a Financial Aid Advisory Board that would be activated by next semester.

The board would “overlook any budget needs” and provide input in the area of staffing and policies within the Financial Aid Office, said Student Association President Huda Scheidelman.

The board would also gather student-related information and give it to the FAO.

“It’s (FAO) the most complained-about office on campus,” Scheidelman said. Because of the office’s process, lines are long, phones are busy and forms are lost, she said.

SCOFA is proposing a board which will consist of a graduate student in law or business, a regular graduate student, two undergraduates, an SA faculty member, a financial aid counselor, a financial aid processor, a representative from student affairs and FAO director Jerry Augsburger.

Scheidelman has been pursuing the board since June, but has not met to talk with Augsburger and Barbara Henley, assistant vice president for Student Affairs about the board because Augsburger has not had the time, she said.

Augsburger declined comment because any advisory board discussion would be premature, but said he intends to meet with Scheidelman in the “near future.”