Tuition waived for displaced students

The university has enrolled 20 students from colleges

By Walton Murphy

Published Sept. 13, 2005

In response to Hurricane Katrina, MU has admitted students from colleges forced to close by the hurricane, including Tulane University, the University of New Orleans and Xavier University.

As of Thursday, 20 students were enrolled at MU. Of those students, 11 are full-time. Although the majority of the misplaced students are Missouri restidents, some transfer students are from such states as Louisiana, Texas and Illinois.

All 20 students have had tuition and mandatory fees waived, MU spokesman Christian Basi said.

"It was the right thing to do," said Russell Jeffrey, the assistant director of Student Financial Aid. "These students and parents have been really appreciative because some schools aren't admitting these students, and others aren't paying."

Mary Rose Cacchione, of Williamsville, majored in architecture at Tulane University before moving to MU.

"Everything was really easy, and everyone was really nice," Cacchione said. "Tulane's tuition is more complicated."

Katy Walker, a student from Carterville, Ill., who also was enrolled at Tulane University, said she found the transfer to MU to be straightforward.

"It's actually been pretty easy. All the faculty and staff have been helpful getting us into the assignments really slowly so we don't have too much on our mind," she said.

Ann Korschgen, the vice provost for enrollment management, said she coordinated a group, including officials from the Admissions Office, Financial Aid Office, Cashiers Office, News Bureau and the College of Arts and Science, to talk about how to best serve transfer students.

The requirements for admission, Korschgen said, are, "to be enrolled at a college or university which closed due to Hurricane Katrina."

Cacchione said the admissions process was simple.

"As for red tape, most of it was ignored," Cacchione said. "I only had to fill out the front half of an application and that was as a last step. I was enrolled and in class in two days."

Walker said she had some problems getting into the classes needed for her architecture degree from Tulane University.

"The main problem was finding the courses that would coincide with the Tulane courses," she said.

Korschgen said administrators are trying to meet displaced students' needs.

"The charge we've received is essentially to bend over backwards to help the students in need," Korschgen said.

Out of the 20 transfer students, 15 are living in residence halls. The total room and board costs for all the students, including social fees, is $41,738.

"We have waived all these charges for these students for the fall semester," said Cathy Scroggs, vice chancellor for student afffairs.

— Reporter Silas Allen and Staff Writer Sean Powers

contributed to this report.