YSU starts ‘F’ grade to lessen aid losses

By Harold Gwin

Federal grants and loans to students failing to complete courses must be returned.

YOUNGSTOWN — Youngstown State University had to return $500,000 in unused federal student aid in fall semester 2007.

It’s a number the university would like to see reduced, and a newly created “F” grade for those students who fail to complete a class could help.

The university isn’t required to return any funds for students who attend an entire course but “earn” an “F” grade, said Donna Wainio, technology and training specialist with YSU’s office of human resources.

The YSU Academic Senate approved creation of the “F” grade for nonattendance last week.

YSU received more than $74 million in federal student aid in the form of grants, loans and work study employment in fiscal 2007-08, said Elaine Ruse, director of financial aid and scholarships.

University officials say that more than 90 percent of YSU’s 13,700 students receive some form of federal assistance.

Just over $500,000 of that $74 million was repaid to the federal funding programs in the fall 2007 semester alone, money that had been allocated to students who failed to complete courses, said Beth Yeatts, director of student accounts and university receivables.

The number fluctuates each semester, Yeatts said.

The amount to be repaid depends on when a student leaves the course, said Wainio. It’s pro-rated based on the time the student participated, she said.

Some students formally withdraw from a course within a specified time frame, and, if they are receiving federal aid, the amount of money allocated for that course to be returned to federal aid programs is figured from the official withdrawal date.

Some students, however, fail to formally withdraw and just stop showing up or participating in a class, Wainio said, making it difficult to pinpoint a specific withdrawal date.

The result is the university believes it has sometimes returned more money than necessary, she said.

If there is no formal withdrawal date, the university must use the course midpoint as that date, even though the student may have been participating in the class for a longer period, Yeatts said.

If the student completes 60 percent of the term, there is no requirement to return any of the funds, she said.

The new “F” grade for nonattendance allows course instructors to officially determine the withdrawal date for those students as the last day they participated in class or completed an assignment, she said.

It’s an accounting issue that could save the university some money, both Yeatts and Wainio said, although they had no estimate on how much that might be.