Editors’ Note: This article is a continuation of City on a Hill Press’ coverage published throughout the 2024-25 school year regarding the FAFSA distribution delay. Many of the same sources were interviewed to follow updates on their aid distribution as well as conversations with administration surrounding the issue.
A line trailed out the door while students shuffled inside and searched for chairs to accommodate the rapidly growing audience. Around 55 students crammed into the Cervantes and Velasquez Conference Room, nearly reaching the room’s maximum capacity.
After months of advocacy and back-and-forth emails, student leaders organized a meeting on Feb. 4 with three administrators from the Financial Aid and Scholarships Office (FASO). Administrators had an hour to address students’ questions and demands to resolve the financial aid disbursement delay.
“I’m so happy that our community showed up and showed out,” said Stephanie Sanchez Toscano, a third-year UC Santa Cruz student and the lead coordinator for Chicanx and Latine Educandose (ChALE). ”I mean, oh my God, that room was packed with students because it’s not only myself and a couple of other students that are going through this, but it’s a whole group of people.”
The director of financial aid and scholarships Lorena Rodriguez shared in an email with City on a Hill Press that particular students are still in the process of receiving their financial aid package.
“Financial aid has been processed for all students who submitted their applications by January 31,” the email reads. “For those who applied in February, we are currently processing within our standard two-week timeline. Regarding student appeals, we have six currently in progress, averaging four days since submission, and we remain on track to complete them within the next few business days.”
The administrators that joined the meeting included director of financial aid and scholarships Lorena Rodriguez, associate vice chancellor of enrollment management Michelle Lyn Whittingham and the associate director of financial aid Kamil Shankar. They took the opportunity to present their action plan to improve the FASO and answer questions facilitated by the Student Union Assembly (SUA) and engaging education (e²). The SUA and e² met privately with FASO in January, but this meeting was a first of its kind — a public Q&A.
“This is a win. This is part of a win,” said Airielle Silva, the SUA president. “So I want us to take in this space to actually celebrate that, because there have been times, years, quarters, where people [have advocated] in the same way we have and sadly did not get any movements or results.”
Due to newly implemented FAFSA requirements and holdups in manual processing, many students did not receive aid by winter quarter’s enrollment date in November 2024, and some students still have yet to receive aid from the 2024 fall quarter. In response, e² and the SUA requested direct communication with FASO. The organizations and FASO met on Jan. 8, where both parties agreed upon terms to improve financial aid disbursements for students.
A week before the meeting, the members of e² and vice presidents in the SUA came together to create a written resolution titled “Demands for the Improved Operation and Communication of Financial Aid.” The primary sponsors were four students, two from SUA, one from Kuya-Ate Mentorship Program (KAMP) and one from Community Unified Student Network (CUSN). In addition to these organizations, there were 10 other student organizations endorsing the proposition.
Some demands included:
- Progress reports on the disbursement delays
- More communication, including timely replies and feedback opportunities for students
- More efficient and easier appointment scheduling process
- Building genuine, non-transactional connections between FASO and students
- Hiring more staff to fill empty positions
The written resolution was presented to the SUA on Jan. 28, giving student leaders a week to decide whether to pass the resolution or not. Then, a couple days before the meeting, the SUA vice presidents sent the written resolution to the FASO administrators, in preparation for the meeting.
The first portion of the meeting on Feb. 4 consisted of SUA and e² discussing and asking questions about the written resolution. Before administrators joined the meeting, the collective held a vote, and the resolution passed with a unanimous consensus.
SUA’s resolution passed with unanimous approval prior to the presentation by FASO staff.
As of the publication date of this story, the FASO administrators did not officially accept nor deny the written demands.
Both Rodriguez and Shankar attended the meeting in person, while Whittingham and over 35 students attended over Zoom. During this meeting, FASO administrators presented their action plan to the assembled students, reviewed changes they had begun to implement based on students’ demands from January as well as future plans.
Some changes included:
- Aligning and collaborating with students and their demands
- Extended Zoom and in-person office hours for students
- Increased communication with the student body through emails, releases to City on a Hill Press, Dean of Students Newsletter and “Tuesday Newsday”
- Beginning the aid verification process as early as mid-May to make sure a delay does not occur again
“I think we really have shared goals. We don’t ever want to see a student leave because of either academic or financial constraints,” said Whittingham in an interview with City on a Hill Press. ”So how can we work together to ensure that we’re doing the best that we can? We’re accountable for that. We appreciate that student advocacy and we will leverage that to the best of our ability as well.”
Khalia Fitzhugh-Crenshaw directs a question to the administrators in attendance.
Administrators stayed well past the planned end of the meeting to continue answering student’s questions.
Elsie Vizcarra, the e² chair who attended both meetings, shared her thoughts about the administrators’ plans.
“There’s still a lot more that needs to be done. I’m thankful that they’re having a lot more communication. I’m glad that they apologized for all of the harm that this has caused students,” said Vizcarra in an interview with City on a Hill Press. “I expect to see more, especially under the Trump administration. I think under the context of that, there are so many students that are at risk, and we can’t be here if we don’t have the financial aid.”
Since the meeting, FASO has sent two emails to the student body: one updating students on FAFSA data privacy and security on Feb. 7 and another on Feb. 11, inviting students to a financial aid workshop.
“Transparently, I feel like I’m not satisfied. I don’t really think that we should be satisfied just on the sole fact that there already have been students that have dropped out,” Vizcarra said. “So now there’s a reaction from the FASO office to kind of scramble to get students the resources they need. So, for me, that presentation was just more of the ‘same old, same old.’”
Vizcarra speaks to the frustration and huge impact that the delays have caused for students of color in particular.
As the quarter continues, FASO plans to continue collaborating with students to meet their demands and improve the department.
“I don’t think [the meeting] is a conclusion. I hope it’s the beginning of continued collaboration and partnership,” Whittingham said. “There will always be continued changes and I think it’s an opportunity to open the door. We see you, we hear you and we want to walk with you. I think that that’s something that’s really important to me.”
Though the FASO has begun to resolve student demands, Stephanie Sanchez Toscano maintains a message: The fight is not over.
“We’re gonna continue to hold them accountable and we’re going to continue to fight for the student body and the basic needs that we deserve because, without the financial aid office, a lot of us would not be here,” Sanchez Toscano said. “It’s our money and we deserve to have proper communication from them.”
Following the end of the administrators visit, Silva reminds the room that meetings like these are only the first step towards change.