SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 334 Offered January 10, 2007 Prefiled January 4, 2007 Designating February, in 2007 and in each succeeding year, as Financial Aid Awareness Month in Virginia. ---------- Patron-- Ruff ---------- Referred to Committee on Rules ----------

WHEREAS, the Commonwealth of Virginia is home to one of the nation’s finest higher education systems, which consists of more than 100 accredited community colleges and public and private four-year colleges and universities, as well as junior colleges and technical schools; and

WHEREAS, citizens of the Commonwealth take education very seriously and more than 400,000 students of all ages and abilities annually attend Virginia’s institutions of higher learning; and

WHEREAS, during the 2006-2007 academic year, more than 100,000 in-state students received some form of financial aid while attending Virginia’s colleges and universities and many could not have afforded tuition without this monetary assistance; and

WHEREAS, Virginia’s college students and their families have many options for financing a college education including the Pre-Paid Tuition Program, grants, fellowships, scholarships, loans, and other forms of financial aid; and

WHEREAS, students who wish to receive financial aid from the federal government, state government, or from a college or university must first complete and submit a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA); and

WHEREAS, each year, Virginia’s media outlets, high school guidance counselors, and college administrators work with the Virginia Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (VASFAA) to remind prospective students to submit the FAFSA in order to begin the process of obtaining financial assistance for higher education; and

WHEREAS, committed to serving all of the citizens of the Commonwealth who are seeking financial aid, VASFAA members disseminate financial aid information throughout their communities and to students currently attending Virginia schools; and

WHEREAS, by a simple call to a financial aid office or to a school of higher learning in Virginia, students and their families may obtain a FAFSA and a wealth of information regarding all of the types of available financial aid; and

WHEREAS, a special month designated to raising awareness of financial aid in a statewide effort would help to ensure that more students would receive the help they need to pay for a quality education in the Commonwealth's colleges and universities; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the Senate, the House of Delegates concurring, That the General Assembly designate February, in 2007 and in each succeeding year, as Financial Aid Awareness Month in Virginia; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the Senate post the designation of this month on the General Assembly's website.