|
March 27, 2000
 |
|
|
When the position of director of Financial Aid opened up at Montclair State, a university located only 15 miles from Manhattan, Bryan Terry decided to take a shot at life in the big city, a drastic change from the Midwest where he was born and raised. "This was the first time a Midwest Terry took off on his own," said the Illinois native, who moved with his wife, who's expecting their first child in June. A TV junkie, Terry compared the move to a line from the "Beverly Hillbillies" theme. "It was like, 'Jed, move away from thereŠ' " he said.
Terry earned a bachelor's degree in history from the University of Illinois and a Ph.D. from Illinois State University. He focused his doctoral dissertation on work-study students because he saw students like himself doing better in school because of the federal program. "I truly believe in the work-study program and thought there might be a correlation between academic success and working," he said. "My research, however, showed there wasn't that correlation, but I did discover that more students are working full time and going to school."
Terry recently talked about his plans for the Financial Aid Office and how customer service will play an important role in the office's success.
INSIGHT: How did you gravitate toward a career in financial aid with a bachelor's degree in history?
Terry: I majored in history because I intended to become a lawyer, but decided to work for a year after graduation before starting law school. I got a job in financial aid and realized I really liked what I was doing and saw the potential for great things.
INSIGHT: What kind of "great things"?
Terry: Like when students and parents who don't think they can afford an education walk into my office and leave saying, "We can do this now" because I helped them make the right choices.
INSIGHT: What is the breakdown between the state and federal aid Montclair State students receive?
Terry: More students this year are receiving state dollars, however fewer are receiving federal money. Federal aid goes toward more economically disadvantaged students, while state dollars tend to go more toward the lower middle class.
INSIGHT: Why is that?
Terry: When the economy is doing poorly more people come back to school, and as a result more students become eligible for financial aid. When the economy is doing well and everyone has jobs, people don't go to school as much. There's this idea that if I can work instead of going to school I've got money in my hand, which is better than planning for the future.
I've found that more and more students are working 30-35 hours a week, which also has to do with the economy. We live in a society now where we need money, and people have decided they don't want to live like students. Those working students are not eligible for financial aid or they don't need it.
INSIGHT: What is your primary goal for the Financial Aid Office?
Terry: To take a more customer service approach, and to become a leader and a model in customer service throughout the state. We're working with the state now on making things easier for our students by reducing loan fees, and we want to support the mission of this institution through our customer service efforts.
INSIGHT: What needs to change in your office before you can achieve that goal?
Terry: We've been sending students the wrong message. We don't treat them like adults.
We allow students to not follow up on paperwork and we don't show them the consequences for not following up. I'm working with the business office to institute a monthly billing plan. We also started sending financial aid applications out to all the residence halls, and our Web site gives students the ability to register online. Students who go to www.montclair.edu/financialaid can find most of the information they're looking for. The site went up in January and already we've had 2,500 hits from both current and incoming students. Our page also has e-mail capability because we want to give students an opportunity to talk to us at any time. We respond to all e-mails within 72 hours.