Financial aid could be restored within weeks to students in Pima Community College’s aviation technology program, who were cut off abruptly in May, the school’s top executive says.
Chancellor Lee Lambert said in a blog post Friday that he’s hopeful aid will be restored in time for fall semester.
“We are optimistic that this will occur before the fall financial aid disbursement date of Sept. 9,” his blog post said.
Aviation students were stunned to learn in mid-May — just as many were about to start summer semester — that their federal aid was frozen because PCC neglected years ago to obtain accreditor approval to offer the program off-campus at Tucson International Airport.
The error, which PCC discovered around January, had a domino effect once federal aid officials were notified. Because the TIA site wasn’t properly accredited, students attending classes there no longer qualified for aid.
Since then, the college has been using donated money to cover the costs of affected students. Lambert said the school is “working to have contingency plans in place” if aid isn’t flowing again by Sept. 9.
PCC’s accreditor approved the TIA location in late June. The college then applied to the federal government to reinstate student aid and is awaiting final approval.
Lambert said aviation program leaders met with students Thursday to update them on progress to date. Some affected students complained of poor communication when they were initially notified.
