According to the financial aid office, between 1,000 and 1,100 students who were in good standing received the message.
“I would like to offer all the Del Mar students that were impacted by the warning status my sincerest apologies,” financial aid director Joseph Ruiz said. “I take full responsibility for this error.”
The financial aid office says they are actively working to fix the status of each student and that those who received the warning by mistake will not be at risk of losing their financial aid for the spring.
“There were several factors that contributed to this error but we are currently analyzing the process and are trying to put things in place so that this does not happen again,” Ruiz said.
The progress standards vary depending on how many credit hours a student is taking. If a student is full-time, the college requires them to pass 9 out of the 12 hours enrolled. The student must also have at least a 2.0 GPA on the minimum number of hours required to pass as well as an overall 2.0 GPA at the end of their fourth semester.
“I was very discouraged they were sent out.If I had questions about it, I was unable to get answers until after the break,” nursing major Michelle Smith said. “Many students who had gotten into the nursingprogram were unsure how it was going to affect them.It just caused a lot of unneededstress over the holidays.”
The first time a student does not meet the minimum standards they are immediately placed on financial aid warning. However, if a student fails to meet the standards a second time, they are placed on financial aid suspension, which is the cancellation of all financial aid and disbursements.
If students have questions or concerns about their status, they can visit the financial office upstairs in the Harvin Center or call 361-698-1293.
