“Marlins open season with new coach” plus 1 more

Posted: 13 Jun 2010 01:29 AM PDT

Marlins open season with new coach

By Jeff Reed / Sports Editor / jreed@nlrtimes.com
Friday, June 11, 2010 9:47 AM CDT
A new philosophy is awaiting the Maumelle Marlins for the 2010 season in the Central Arkansas Swim League.

To start with, the Marlins have a new coach in Sarper Turker.

"Some of the families have told me that in the past it was more like swim lessons and we are gong to change that,'' Turker said. "We want it to be fun, but to swim you have to be disciplined. To be very good, you have to be disciplined and when you are good, that is when it is fun.''

The Marlins begin their season at home Saturday against Lakewood and Lonoke.

Turker takes over for Janet Toland. He is a native of Ankara, Turkey, and has swum competitively for international and collegiate teams.

His coaching experience includes serving as a student assistant for Henderson State University; he has more than 10 years teaching swimmers stroke development.

At Henderson, Turker was a conference champion, a four-year conference scholar athlete. In 2008 he placed sixth at the NCAA Division II Championships and was named an all-American.

He represented Turkey in the Junior European Swim Meet in Cyprus, where he won gold medals on relays and was second in 100-meter butterfly.

"I'm excited," he said. "This is a very good team and we expect to do very well.''

Maumelle is part of the nine-team league that competes each Saturday morning during June and July. The season begins Saturday.

The league has teams in Sherwood, North Little Rock (Lakewood), Little Rock (Otter Creek and Westside YMCA), Lonoke, Bryant and, beginning this year, Conway.

CASL has more than 1,000 swimmers and has provided competition for more than 25 years.

Team scores are kept and the league champion is crowned at the Meet of Champions, based on dual-meet records.

Swimmers are divided into Bronze, Silver or Gold divisions in each event, based on the swimmers' best time in each event. All newcomers start the season in the Bronze division. Returning swimmers will begin the season at their level from the previous season.

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Pell Grants up, work study funding, jobs down at ETSU

Posted: 12 Jun 2010 07:29 PM PDT

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Students scurry during a recent freshman orientation session at East Tennessee State University. More students are getting Pell Grants, an ETSU official says, which lessens the amount of money available for work study jobs.
(Ron Campbell / Johnson City Press)

Pell Grants up, work study funding, jobs down at ETSU

By Rex Barber
Press Staff Writer
rbarber@johnsoncitypress.com

A change in philosophy has reduced funding for federal work study positions at East Tennessee State University by half this upcoming school year, meaning less jobs will be available to provide reliable part-time work for students.

The amount of federal work study money distributed by the U.S. Department of Education varies each year and that amount is reported to institutions every April for use the following fiscal year.

For the 2009-10 fiscal year, ETSU was allocated just more than $1.5 million for federal work study positions. ETSU added 25 percent to that amount, as is required. This coming fiscal year ETSU will have only $828,431 available for federal work study positions. That number includes ETSU's contribution. The cut comes after a 10-year increase in federal work study funds.

"It didn't matter as much to a lot of schools because a lot of schools don't use federal work study money, or don't use it that much," ETSU Financial Aid Director Margaret Miller said.

ETSU is not like that, though, with 726 students participating in the program during 2009-10. Last year, ETSU students in the program earned about $1,100 each semester and worked about 10 hours per week at a campus department. The jobs are spread throughout the campus.

"And the advantage, of course, for the students has always been their federal work study job works around their school," Miller said.

While work study funding is decreasing, Pell Grants are increasing, said Ramona Williams, vice provost for enrollment services.

The Federal Pell Grant Program provided need-based grants to low-income undergraduate and some postbaccalaureate students. These grants are dependent upon income and enrollment status, among other factors.

"And the thing about the Pell Grant that makes it so attractive is that students don't have to do anything to receive it" except maintain eligibility, Williams said.

In 2008-09, Pell Grants at ETSU increased from $11.5 million to $19.2 million to date this year, which will end July 1.

"So my guess is it'll keep jumping up like that as enrollment goes up and as students whose families have financial trouble continue to come to school, but we just don't know," Miller said.

The decrease in federal work study is directly tied to the increase in Pell Grants and represents a shift in philosophy by the federal government.

The Department of Education determined that because ETSU had increased Pell Grants by $10.5 million in the past five years, federal work study funding could be lessened.

The thought is that students will be better off financially by simply getting a Pell Grant and not having to work for it and simply keeping their part-time job out in the community. The attempt should theoretically reduce the amount of school loans and certainly work study positions.

Another reason for the reduction in work study funding has to do with the way the Department of Education figures the average ETSU student income level, Miller said.

The Department of Education requires a Free Application for Federal Student Aid form be completed for work study and Pell Grant consideration, as well as federal loans. The Department of Education looks at every FAFSA filed at a school to determine the amount of federal work study money necessary in part by averaging student household income, which is reported on the FAFSA.

To get a Tennessee Education Lottery Scholarship, a student must complete a FAFSA. Most ETSU undergraduate students qualify for the lottery scholarship, so students who do not qualify for federal work study or a Pell Grant are counted in the Department of Education's figures as long as they filed a FAFSA.

This skews the numbers because not everyone who files a FAFSA is seeking Pell Grants or a work study position, they may just want the lottery scholarship. That was another reason ETSU's money for work studies was reduced, Miller said.

Miller said the reduction in work study positions is most likely permanent.

"The philosophy may change next year but my guess is it's probably going to continue," Miller said.

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Philosophy

Sunday, June 13, 2010