Several members of the Associated Students
Legislative Council proposed a new lock-in fee this
quarter to increase support for A.S.’s current Emergency
Student Loan program.
Known as the UCSB Community Financial Fund,
the referendum asks undergraduates to contribute $3.00
each quarter — $2.10 for the CFF, $0.75 for return toaid-
efforts, $0.13 for finance non-capital expenditures
and $0.02 for the A.S. recharge fee. In total, the new fee
is projected to raise about $160,000 per year.
Stanley Tzankov, Associated Students Office of the
President Commissioner of Academic Services, and
Fabian Gallardo, A.S. Business Services Committee
Chair, say the new fee will address students’ growing
demand for financial aid by increasing student access to
grants and loans.
Tzankov, a third-year political science major, said the
referendum was proposed as a response to high demand
for A.S.’s emergency loan service. The Emergency Student Loan program allocated
$146,400 for 2009-10, nearly three times
the $59,600 distributed to students for
the 2005-06 school year.
“There’s such a huge increase in
the need for emergency loans. There’s
empirical data that shows students need
financial services that aren’t provided,”
Tzankov said. “We discovered that there
wasn’t a place where students could
readily get loans that covered some of
their basic expenses. We want to create
the opportunity for more students not
only to take out larger amounts, but also
ensure that it’s done so in a financially
responsible way.”
Gallardo, a fourth-year environmental
studies major, said revenue would
contribute to regular financial literacy
workshops, personalized money
management counseling and financial
guidance for students who wish to invest
in sustainable enterprises.
According to Tzankov, the CFF will
eventually strive to reinvest any revenue
back into the student body.
“We wanted something that
embodied some of the principles of
a credit union,” Tzankov said. “Two
of those principles are that any such
services be provided to a specific
membership — in this case students —
but also that the profits of it come back
directly into that fund.”
Tzankov said the program allows
students to establish financial stability
before graduating by enabling them to
take out relatively sizable loans and make
payments punctually.
“A lot of times, students graduate
with no financial skills,” Tzankov said.
“This credit building program provides
real-world, hands on experience so that
when they leave UCSB they will manage
money wisely.”
Students can vote on the UCSB
Community Financial Fund on GOLD
from April 18 to 21.
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