Members approved the budget for the 2008-09 academic year and had an opportunity to question dean of enrollment Fred Pfursich about the recent decision to lower GPA requirements for maintaining merit scholarships at the April 30 meeting.
Pfursich said 87 percent of Whitworth students currently hold one of four merit scholarships, also referred to as academic scholarships. The scholarships are awarded based on high school performance, Pfursich said.
According to an article in the April 15 issue of The Whitworthian, the financial aid office, along with Pfursich, decided to reduce the minimum GPA requirement to maintain the academic scholarships to a 2.0 at the beginning of the semester.
Pfursich said one of the main reasons for lowering the requirement was the concern that students who were still considered to be in good standing at Whitworth would lose their scholarships.
To remain in good standing, a student must maintain at least a 2.0 GPA, according to the 2007-09 Whitworth course catalog.
The requirements for earning a merit scholarship have not changed, Pfursich said.
Pfursich said a key factor of this change is self-motivation. The financial aid office does not expect students will become lazy as a result of the change, he said.
After Pfursich’s presentation, sophomore Tyler Hamilton, who works in the admissions office, said many people in admissions had no knowledge of the change prior to the decision.
Members discussed whether the requirement was adequate and whether the issue was important. ASWU President Scott Donnell said a constituency report will be done regarding this issue. After the results are in, the body may or may not form a committee to review the issue next week.
Finances
Members unanimously passed the proposed ASWU budget for the 2008-09 academic year.
Financial vice president Kendra Hamilton said the finance committee passed several requisitions, including a requisition of $78 for flowers for the family of freshman Dan Burtness, a student who died April 28 as a result of injuries sustained in a car accident.
The Whitworth Running Club received $320, while senior Mandi Curtin received $191 for a research project on campus and sophomore Blair Daly received $80 to cover a trip to a Republican convention.
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