Atlanta Paper Bans 2020 Student Debt Relief Program From Funding Itself

Atlanta Paper Bans 2020 Student Debt Relief Program From Funding ItselfThis year's author of the Times Higher Education's (THE) Academic Essay Topic of the Year, Georgia State University, released a statement yesterday saying that it will not consider an Institute of Marriage and Family (IMF) Program application for its student debt relief program. Specifically, one of the topics of the program is 'spousal and child support.' As noted by the Times Higher Education, 'parents are much less likely to be able to meet their financial obligations to their children as a result of their inability to have enough income.' It seems that because the state of Georgia has instituted a law which clearly states that it is not financially feasible for divorced parents to provide financial support to their children, to many universities are turning away from these types of applications.In order to provide financial support for children, spouses must be working. They must also pay for the child's tuiti on and books. If they are unable to work because of a serious illness or injury, their wages are taken by their spouse as court ordered spousal support. This simply cannot continue.What is a college to do when the very program that they propose to assist people in achieving financial freedom is turned down? Well, apparently, there are two courses of action. One is to follow the same old rhetoric that is spouted by their speaker, or the administration, during the same semester, or the year. The other is to change the topic completely, and focus on something that doesn't require them to fully embrace the financial freedoms that are required by the Financial Aid office.Yesterday at the University of Indianapolis, the president, Dr. Thad Carpenter, appeared before the Board of Trustees and proceeded to start the day with a speech that sounded like he was writing his own obituary. For example, he said that; 'The current debt crisis cannot be solved by government action alone'. However, h e went on to tell the trustees that he was going to require them to approve the IMBA Student Assistance Programs Application (SAAP) application. The application is specifically geared toward assisting students who are in need of financial aid for the IMBA.Thad Carpenter told the trustees that they needed to vote on the application by a certain date, so he could make changes. The trustees voted and Carpenter promptly sent out the news release that said the application was approved. He even had a section in the release that clearly stated that there would be no more financial assistance to any student who applied for this program.The article goes on to say that students who are currently attending classes will be eligible for financial aid; however, those who do not need to attend classes in order to be eligible for the program. Also, they can continue to receive academic assistance while they are enrolled in an IMBA program. The important thing to remember is that they need to comple te the program to continue to receive this assistance. The administration knows that the scholarships and grants will continue to run out at some point so they're willing to turn this down to preserve it for the students.But wait! The most interesting part of the release is where they claim that they 'have never funded a student for a grant or scholarship'. However, they also do not offer the fact that they did fund six non-profit organizations (Concerned Women for America, Students for Conceivable Education, Students for Student Debt Relief, the Alumni Association and the American Opportunity Foundation) who promoted the IMBA program.So, with regards to what this student financial aid program was intended to accomplish, it should have been a huge success. Instead, it turned into a financial disaster for millions of students who were seeking the same educational opportunities that were offered. Only now, they're being denied assistance, and the administration is trying to make the s tudents feel guilty.