[nfbmi-talk] Current MRS College Policy

[joe harcz Comcast]

Elizabeth,

Thanks for this and the other information. One, quick question here that has 
always puzzled me about the means testing. If a student is on SSI, or SSDI 
for that matter (remember many newly blinded people also go to college 
through MCB)  then even if means testing is put in to practice can't the 
student simply become an emancipated adult and therefore the parental 
contribution would be moot?


Joe

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Elizabeth" <lizmohnke at hotmail.com>
To: <nfbmi-talk at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Friday, June 11, 2010 12:43 AM
Subject: [nfbmi-talk] Current MRS College Policy



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


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