Jan 22, 2004

West Valley College takes pro-active approach to help students seeking financial aid

By Patricia Ann Miller
Special to the Times

With economic downfalls in Silicon Valley, many institutions are taking a “lets wait and see what happens” approach to education. The opposite is true of the Outreach and Financial Aid departments of West Valley College which is attracting students of all ages who wish to “tool and retool” their futures.

With budget cuts an ever-threatening reality of this economy, many hi-tech workers are choosing to switch gears on their current career paths. Others who have been laid off, and have no immediate promise of gainful employment on the horizon in their respective fields, are looking toward new careers in fields that have more job opportunities.

West Valley College is enthusiastically opening its doors to help individuals onto a path of success. Because of increased tuition and a slump in the economy, more and more students need to apply for financial aid to fund their education. Workshops are being given by West Valley’s Outreach staff in area high schools and on the West Valley campus, preparing prospective students and their families for the necessary paperwork and online forms needed to initiate and follow up with the financial aid process.

Some students are actually “getting paid” to attend college, thanks to Federal and State funding, special programs, and scholarships. The college has beefed up staff in the Financial Aid and Outreach departments to ensure every student’s need is addressed.

West Valley College Financial Aid Director, Maureen Kent, says she is seeing more and more students with mitigating circumstances who are requesting “professional judgments” to obtain financial aid help. Kent says “…every effort is made by my staff to allocate all funds eligible to the student when preparing their financial aid package.”

West Valley will be holding a workshop entitled “Making College Work for You” that will include presentations on financial aid and other college programs on Thursday, Jan. 22 from noon to three. The free workshop is being held on campus in the Baltic Room and presentations will be made both in English and Spanish. West Valley staff will be on hand to provide individual assistance to attendees. Free parking during the event will be available in Lot 5. For more information, call West Valley College Outreach at (408) 741-4627.