SHEFA has provided financial assistance for undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate college education at the Northern Marianas College (NMC) or coordinated through NMC, including colleges and universities across the globe that are accredited by U.S. Accrediting Commission on Schools and Colleges which is recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.
As of 2008, over 200 SHEFA scholars have graduated with Bachelors (B.A.) and Masters (M.A. / M.S.) degrees. The bulk of the graduates are employed at the Public School System (PSS) followed by the Northern Marianas College (NMC), Commonwealth Health Center (CHC), Commonwealth Ports Authority (CPA), Homeland Security, Criminal Justice Planning Agency (CJPA), Fish and Wildlife, Community and Cultural Affairs, Coastal Resource Management, Honolulu Liaison Office, and the Legislature. The bulk of others are working in private businesses on Saipan, or have joined the military, including continuing their graduate education abroad.
One graduate is working in Washington, D.C. in the U.S. Congress; others in Guam, Hawaii, and the U.S. One is also working in Korea while six have not been employed as of the posting of the data early this year.
The 2009 SHEFA graduate data is under process as of this writing.
Unlike other financial assistance program available for Saipan residents, only SHEFA supports graduate and postgraduate or doctoral studies.
To qualify for SHEFA postsecondary scholarship assistance, a Saipan resident must have a minimum cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 2.5 on a 4.0 scale for undergraduates, and 3.0 for graduates and postgraduates. Successful applicants are required to complete at least 12 college credits every semester. The requirement applies to undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate students.
However, the credit requirement for graduate and postgraduate scholars changed this year. The existing policy on graduate and postgraduate credit requirement is re-calibrated at nine (9) credits for fulltime classification.
The board also added a part time component to the regulations.
Part time graduates and postgraduates will be required to complete a minimum of six (6) or below nine (9) credits for the term.
Undergraduates must still complete at least 12 credits to maintain fulltime status and a minimum of six (6 ) or below 12 credits to qualify for part time classification.
The deadline to submit SHEFA application and the required support materials remains on the first of July for the Fall term. Spring term deadline is still on the first of December of the same year.
SHEFA offers financial assistance only during the fall and spring of the academic year.
According to SHEFA board Chairwoman Felicidad Ogumoro, Saipan’s first flagship scholarship program was jettisoned with fewer than 200 applications in 2005, but saw a doubling in number in 2006-2007. Since then, the number has continued to climb, averaging at around 500-600 applications every semester up to January of this year for the Spring 2009 academic term.
SHEFA’s declared mission remains “to invest in the limited human capital resources of qualified residents of Saipan (inclusive of the Northern Islands) through a supplementary financial assistance … for purposes of pursuing post-secondary education on Saipan or abroad, … with the broad expectation…on recipients … to return to (or remain on) Saipan upon a successful completion of a higher education … (in order to ) provide services on Saipan in the private sector, government, nongovernmental (NGO) organization as well as not-for-profit organization.”
However, Public Law 16-15, which passed last year, allows government scholarship recipients and graduates not to come back home or even remain on Saipan for a period of two years. The law also allows forbearance on repayment for unemployed scholarship recipients, including those who later enlist in the military.
Consequently, the board crafted a service credit regulation to comport not only with SHEFA’s mission but also with the forbearance law. The intent of the amended regulation is to make it easier on graduates and non-graduate recipients alike to be able to provide the requisite services referenced in its mission statement that is intended to benefit Saipan residents at home or abroad. This regulation would allow SHEFA scholars or graduates and recipients who terminated their studies to still perform the required services, which commensurate with the terms and conditions of the SHEFA promissory note / memorandum of agreement.
Besides gearing up for the implementation of the recently adopted part time and service credit regulations, and studying further the loan component of the postsecondary assistance program, SHEFA has to contend with over 800 applications this Fall academic term, 200 more applications than in previous years.
Compounding the complexity of the situation is a local law which passed recently allowing non-high school graduates to tap into the SHEFA cookie jar. The board has elected to consult with members of the Saipan delegation over the implementation of the law, especially with the potential for non-high school graduates, including high school dropouts to tap into the funds intended for college education.
The SHEFA program provides basic foundation grant, priority field of study scholarship and the scholar award (i.e., “best & brightest” scholarship). SHEFA’s coveted best and brightest award requires a semester grade point average (GPA) of at least 3.5 on a 4.0 scale for undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate scholars. Unlike the scholar award, the basic grant and field of study awards require a minimum cumulative grade point average of 2.5 on a scale of 4.0. The scholar award also restricts students from repeating courses or factoring in remedial /developmental course grades / credits in the semester GPA calculation.
Of the four types of college assistance available to Saipan residents, including its non-cash career prep voucher credit, only the student loan component has yet to be implemented. The regulatory framework for the loan component has been published this year, but the board decided to place on hold its implementation pending consultation with the legislative delegation.
Most U.S.-accredited colleges and universities, including Northern Marianas College (NMC), kick off the Fall academic year move-in schedule immediately followed by classes in the latter part of August or mid-September this year. Mindful of this academic schedule, the SHEFA board has started working feverishly perusing a stack of 800-plus applications and supporting documents- an all time record high and in sharp contrast to the fewer than 200 applications received when SHEFA first opened the door of postsecondary opportunities for the residents of Saipan.
SHEFA is funded wholly from the poker operatives on Saipan taken from the amusement licenses and fees collected quarterly from arcade operatives.
The administration of the SHEFA program is placed in the Saipan mayor’s office under the governing authority of the SHEFA Board of Directors, when Saipan Local Law 13-21 first established the seminal scholarship program, aimed at providing supplemental assistance to Saipan residents. The 13th Saipan and Northern Islands Legislative Delegation (SNILD) headed then and currently by Senator Pete P. Reyes passed the enabling legislation signed into law by then Governor Juan N. Babauta.
Once the CNMI Treasury Office processes and releases the batch of SHEFA checks, the board will begin the check disbursement daily (except Fridays and holidays) from 10:00AM to 1:00PM at its Garapan Office.
The board plans on sending the first batch early next month.
For more detailed information on the rules & regulations of the Saipan Higher Education Financial Assistance (SHEFA) program, visit the SHEFA website at www.saipanshefa.com , or contact the office by e-mail at [email protected] . Office hours are from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM, Monday to Friday, except austerity and legal holidays at which time the office may be reached directly at telephone number (670) 233-5995 or queries may be made using SHEFA’s facsimile at (670) 233-5996. Due to time differences abroad, the SHEFA Office is equipped with retrievable voice messages and may be accessed at (670) 233-5995.
