[nfbmi-talk] Current MRS College Policy

[Elizabeth]

Well, I stand corrected, the current college policy being used by the Michigan Rehabilitation Services is fourteen pages long according to the way they have it formatted in their policy manual which is probably one of the biggest PDF document I have ever seen. When I converted it to a text document, it stands at about twenty-nine pages as it lost some of the formatting during the conversion process. Normally I would reformat the document so that it reads better using JAWS, but it is not exactly a priority for me at the moment. Unfortunately, I do not remember the exact web address for the page where I found the manual.
 
For those of you who would like the Cliff Notes version of the policy, here is a brief summery from what I remember when I read through it a few days ago. It is a very detailed document that specifically describes what can and cannot be provided to college students. It seemed to favor the agency more than the college students, and it seemed as though there were many hoops that a student would have to jump through if they wanted an exception to the policy. It advocates using the least expensive services available which means that attending a community college is basically mandatory for first and second year college students. 
 
It also advocates for the use of personal loans to cover services that go above and beyond what the agency will provide. There was a set limit for how much the agency would contribute towards tuition. I cannot remember the exact amount, but it is the same amount that Larry has quoted for a current blind student attending Michigan State. Students can receive an exception to the requirement for taking out personal loans if it causes undue hardship for the student in repaying the loan. However, I would imagine this is not mentioned to students by the counselors who go over the policy with students.
 
The agency also makes use of a means test, which I honestly believe is the real reason why the Michigan Commission for the Blind is looking to update its current policy. However, Federal Regulations from the Rehabilitation Act clearly state that a means test cannot be used for individuals who receive Social Security benefits. The agency honors this regulation it what seems to be a rather skewed way. If a student receives Social Security benefits, they add up these benefits for the months that a student is attending classes, and then subtracts the total amount from the family contribution as shown in the student’s federal financial aid report. If the family contribution is greater than the total amount of Social Security benefits, then the student is still responsible for paying the difference. However, there is no additional financial aid form that a student has to fill out besides the federal financial aid form that every student who attends college is required to fill out to receive financial aid.
 
The reason why I am posting this policy is because it sheds like about what is happening to the student who is being forced to take out student loans at Michigan State. I know for a fact that the main counselor that serves students at Michigan State came from the Michigan Rehabilitation Services. So if the Michigan Commission for the Blind does not provide much training for new counselors, then where else would her knowledge of providing services come from besides the Michigan Rehabilitation Services? If this is the case, then is there really a separate agency for the Blind here in Michigan? Just some things to think about as we address this issue.
 
Since I have already provided a summery of the policy in the text of this email, those who wish to read the entire document can access it through the file attached to this email. If anyone has any problems opening or reading the attachment, send me an email off the list and I can send it to you.
 
Elizabeth
 
 		 	   		  
_________________________________________________________________
Hotmail has tools for the New Busy. Search, chat and e-mail from your inbox.
http://www.windowslive.com/campaign/thenewbusy?ocid=PID28326::T:WLMTAGL:ON:WL:en-US:WM_HMP:042010_1
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: Current MRS College Policy.doc
Type: application/octet-stream
Size: 93696 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://nfbnet.org/pipermail/nfbmi-talk_nfbnet.org/attachments/20100611/ec27c150/attachment.obj>