COLUMBUS, Ga. (WRBL) — A local university says it's prepared to pay thousands of dollars to help military students make it through a potential extended government shutdown.
On Tuesday, Columbus State University officials put the word out, telling military students the school has their backs. A Facebook post reads, "The CSU Foundation will cover tuition costs for students relying on the Military Tuition Assistance Program until government funding is restored."
The U.S. government entered the first day of the shutdown Oct. 1. School officials say they're ready to cover approximately $31,000 in tuition fees, if the shutdown lasts through the end of the semester in early December.
"It's very important that we're keeping open communications with our students who are using the military tuition assistance," CSU Director of Military Connected Student Services Susan Lovell said. "A lot of times, people forget that they are using that funding to pay for school."
One of the roughly 25 students at CSU using that funding is ROTC cadet Maria Daza, who is studying business management and human resources.
"I use [the Military Tuition Assistance Program] for two classes each semester to cover that tuition," Daza said.
Daza wants to become an active-duty human resources officer once she graduates in spring of 2027.
Like many others, if the university did not offer help, Daza would face paying for her classes out of pocket—or worse, dropping her courses for the semester—in the event of a long-term shutdown.
The longest government shutdown in the history of the country happened under President Donald Trump during his first term. It lasted 35 days, from Dec. 21, 2018 to Jan. 25, 2019, according to the governmental website for U.S. Congress.
"I definitely made a good choice to come to CSU," Daza said. "Knowing they're willing to support…in that financial way, they lift up a burden from us, especially in times of uncertainty when we didn't know this was going to happen."
According to Lovell the tuition coverage will come out of the CSU Foundation, a donor fund.
"If it wasn't an option, I would probably go active duty. …Either active duty or go back home to my reserve unit," said ROTC cadet Joshua Glass, who enlisted in the Army after graduating in 2022 and now serves as a reservist with a combat engineer company based in Tallahassee, Fla.
Without CSU's help, Glass would have to pause his efforts to become the first person in his family to graduate from college and commission as an officer. He's grateful to be staying on-track.
Without knowing how long the shutdown could last, the cadet is also encouraging military students who may be impacted to find out what resources are available at their schools.
"Do the research," said Glass. "Reach out to people that are on campus, or even family members, anyone that you trust. Really, that will help in just going the right direction."
With a school population that is 20% military-connected—meaning students are active-duty military, reservists, national guard members, dependents or children of servicemembers—Lovell says it's important to offer support.
Lovell's team started talks about ensuring financial assistance for military students in the event of a shutdown as far back as January.
"We know that's important," Lovell said. "We look at this as an opportunity to help them so it keeps them enrolled in classes so they're not having to start back over."
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