NASA Is Not Paying Its Student Fellowship Bills
According to the Harriett G. Jenkins Pre-doctoral Fellowship Program (JPFP): “The mission of the JPFP is to increase the number of women, minorities, and persons with disabilities participating in mathematics, science, engineering, technology disciplines. Up to 20 Fellows will be selected annually to receive support for graduate education in NASA-related disciplines.”
The JPFP is administered by the United Negro College Fund which disperses NASA funds directly to selected students. According to students and faculty directly involved, none of the students selected has received checks in 2007.
According to what students and faculty have been told, NASA has been telling the UNCF that the money will be sent so as to allow additional payments to be made to students. To date that money has not arrived.
Students were initially notified of their awards for the 2006/2007 academic year in March 2006. Students received their first payment months ago for the 1 September 2006 to 31 January 2007 period.
The second installment is now due for issuance for the 1 February – 30 June 2007 period, and a third will be due later this year for the 1 July to 31 August 2007 period.
According to the JPFP: “Annual stipends for students pursuing master’s degrees start at $16,000. Annual stipends for students pursuing doctoral degrees start at $22,000. Regardless of the degree pursued, annual tuition offsets start at $8,500.”
To help students get through this fiscal crisis the UNCF has told students that they will issue a $500 emergency stipend. This stipend has not been issued yet.
Editor’s 20 February 2007 update: An email received today by students from Sonya Greene at UNCF says: “We appreciate your patience over the past few weeks as we continuously worked with NASA to resolve your payment issues. I am pleased to inform you that your remaining stipend payments and tuition are now being processed. You should receive them by early next week. I will personally email you when they have been mailed out. If you have not yet received your $500 partial payment, which was mailed out on February 8th, 2007, please email myself, or Tamika Wiggins, ASAP to verify your mailing address. This is imperative, as your payments may be further delayed if we do not have your correct information.”
