PSU offers helping hand to students from storm ravaged counties

Mother Nature has not been kind this summer to students enrolled at Pittsburg State University. A check this week of those enrolled for the fall semester shows that more than 3,800 (57 percent) live in counties designated as disaster areas because of storms and flooding in Kansas and Oklahoma.

Mindful that this summer’s storm losses could pose a hardship for some students preparing for the fall semester, Pittsburg State will offer students from the affected counties financial plans that will make the beginning of the semester easier.

“Families are dealing with the loss of homes and businesses. We don’t want them to worry that they won’t be able to come up with the fee and tuition payments that are normally due at the end of August,” said PSU President Tom Bryant.

Bill Ivy, dean of Enrollment Management and Student Success, said students from the affected counties in Kansas, Oklahoma and Missouri may request a deferred payment plan by calling the Cashier’s and Student Accounts Office at 620-235-4163. The university will waive the installment application fee that is normally charged, Ivy said. The deadline to apply for a deferred payment plan is Aug. 27. Students who receive financial aid equal to or greater than fees and tuition are not eligible.

Individual payment plans can be tailored for students whose circumstances do not allow them to make the payments outlined in the existing deferred payment plan, Ivy said.

“The university will make every effort to accommodate each student’s unique situation,” Ivy said. “Our goal is to find a solution that allows students to continue their education.”

Ivy added that a deferred payment option also exists for university housing, but that students who anticipate problems paying for their room and board charges should contact University Housing at 620-235-4245.

Bryant said the university’s efforts to help students in the storm and flood damaged counties are unusual only in their scale.

“PSU has always had low late fees, the deferred payment plan has been in effect for a long time and every semester we work with students whose unique situations make payment on the established dates difficult,” Bryant said. “This is not a new way of doing business for us. The numbers are just a little larger this year.”

Counties covered are:

In Kansas:
Allen, Anderson, Bourbon, Butler, Chautauqua, Cherokee, Coffey, Cowley, Crawford, Elk, Franklin, Greenwood, Labette, Linn, Miami, Montgomery, Neosho, Osage, Wilson, Woodson, Barton, Clay, Cloud, Comanche, Dickinson, Edwards, Ellsworth, Kiowa, Leavenworth, Lyon, McPherson, Osage, Osborne, Ottawa, Phillips, Pottawatomie, Pratt, Reno, Rice, Riley, Saline, Shawnee, Smith, and Stafford

In Oklahoma:
Nowata, Ottawa, and Washington

In Missouri:
Bates and Cass

For more information, call the Cashier’s and Student Accounts Office at 620-235-4163.

---Pitt State---