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Department Profile - Student Finance

and Placement

Front row, | to r. Financial Aid Clerks Marie Lino-Marin and Lisa Barone, and Student Finance & Placement Officer Patty Lewis.

Back row, | to r. Financial Aid Assessor Marie Anweiler, Student Placement Clerk Connie Doherty, and Financial Aid Assessors Anne Dijk and Joyce Hunter.

If you’ ve attended college or university, chances are good that you needed financial help to do it. At Douglas College, students short of cash for books, tuition, and living expenses go to the Student Finance and Placement Office. That’s also where students go to find on- campus and off-campus jobs to help make ends meet, and to get work experience.

As Douglas College has grown, so has the number of students served by Student Finance and Placement. In 1992-93, the Office disbursed over $9 million in student loans; in 1985, the total was $2 million. There are 35 Work-Study projects on campus now; in 1985, there were five. It’s a busy office; at certain times of the academic year, they will serve hundreds of students per day. Some of those students are in financial trouble, some are angry, some are just happy to get help with the bills. Here’s a look at the people in the Student Finance and Placement Office and what they do.

Marie Lino-Marin and Lisa Barone, Financial Aid Clerks

Marie and Lisa are the front counter staff

in the office. They answer students’ questions about loans, bursaries, scholarships, ABESAP and PTSAP. They confirm eligibility before disbursing loan documents and grant cheques to the students. They keep tabs on students’ full-time or part-time status as it affects eligibility for financial aid, and liaise with the Ministry of Skills, Training and Labour. Marie and Lisa also help students from other provinces figure out all the different provincial loan policies across Canada. Lisa’s local is 5107, Marie is at 5576.

Marie Anweiler, Joyce Hunter and Anne Dijk, Financial Aid Assessors

Marie and Anne (who is filling in for Joyce Hunter during a leave of absence) advise students on a variety of financial issues. Students who have reached their maximum debt loads, who have withdrawn from classes and are over- awarded, or who are in loan default situations can get advice from them. They also help students appeal for financial aid when the student has unusual or extenuating circumstances not covered by

the normal policy. They interview students for emergency loans, sit on bursary committees, conduct financial aid workshops, and refer students to various government ministries when necessary. Marie, Joyce and Anne also record changes to program costs, which affect the amount of financial aid students can apply for. Marie’s local is 5106. The local for Joyce/Anne is 5104.

Connie Doherty, Student Placement Clerk

Connie is responsible for the operation of on-campus employment programs that provide work experience and income for Douglas College students. These programs include Student Assistants, Work-Study, Challenge Summer Employment Program, and the B.C. 21 Summer Employment Program. She also handles off-campus postings for part-time and summer employment and determines if students are eligible to work on campus. She acts as a contact with outside employers, and internally she helps departments when they want to hire students. Connie can be reached at local 5101.

Patty Lewis, Student Finance & Placement Officer

Patty administers financial aid and student placement programs at Douglas College. She sets policy and develops strategies for the disbursement of the student financial aid budget and for the ABESAP, PTSAP, and Work-Study programs. She helps develop and update the computer systems to handle all the financial aid programs, and reports to the Ministry of Skills, Training and Labour on expenditures for ABESAP, PTSAP and Work-Study. As well, she chairs the Work-Study Adjudication Committee and the Selection Committee for Scholarships, Awards and Bursaries. She advises students with special circumstances, assists students with appeals, reassessments and applications, and referrals for special funding. She deals with students who are angry or upset at the front counter, and acts as an advocate for students in terms of policy changes. Her local is 5105.4