SALISBURY, Md. - The University of Maryland confirmed the cancellation of a state grant for hundreds of students to WBOC, days ahead of move-in for some schools.
UPDATE: As of Wednesday evening, Maryland Higher Education Commission says it will now honor the grants, restoring funding for over 500 impacted students across the state.
According to a statement from a University of Maryland spokesperson to WBOC, incoming students were notified this week that their Guaranteed Access Grants, awarded last spring by the Maryland Higher Education Commission, had been cancelled.
The grants covered up to $18,000 in financial aid for each student awarded, according to the Maryland Higher Education Commission.
“This is devastating for them and must be addressed quickly,” a spokesperson with the University System of Maryland said. “Many of these students were depending on this money to attend college; receiving this news days before the fall semester begins will make that challenging.”
University of Maryland officials said their campuses were communicating with the Higher Eductation Commission and Governor Wes Moore’s office to find a solution.
Salisbury University, which is part of the University of Maryland system, says that 25 SU students were impacted by the grant cancellation.
In a letter to affected students obtained by WBOC, SU said the cancellation was the result of a Maryland Higher Education Commission system error with a Commission vendor and the grant had been incorrectly awarded.
The news came as a shock to both incoming students and parents, just over a week before students were slated to move in. One incoming freshman attending Salisbury University this year received the grant cancellation notice dated Aug. 19.
"So my daughter calls me frantic and in a tizzy because she had gotten an email from the finance office at SU saying that there was an error in the grant processing from the Maryland Higher Education Commission, and she was no longer going to get $18,000 from the guaranteed access grant that she had applied for and accepted months ago," Natasha Donoway told WBOC. Her daughter is beginning her freshman year at SU next week.
"We were monitoring her financial aid numbers all summer long," Donoway said. "I was looking at getting part time jobs and things like that. But when we saw that money that she got, I was like, okay, I don't have to do that right now. I'm in school myself, and it's just there's a lot of things happening, and this just would have made it so much easier for her."
Donoway's daughter Keira also spoke with us Wednesday following the notice of cancellation.
"I was just so excited," Keira Donoway said. "And then when I got that call, I was like, oh, it's probably just some somebody from Salisbury, because I'd been expecting a call already. And then I found out that I was getting stripped of $18,000, and I was like, oh goodness, well, this isn't good, because now I have to figure out how to sort of fill that void in my, financial aid."
Initially, SU officials told students they could pursue federal student loans, federal parent PLUS loans, and private education loans to make up for the lost state financial aid, according to the letter to impacted students. SU would also waive any late fees on September billing in light of the cancellation, the letter reads.
On Wednesday afternoon, however, Salisbury University had good news for students who were notified of their grants being cancelled. The University announced on August 20 that the school would replace the cancelled state grants with a one-time replacement award funded by donations through the Salisbury University Foundation's discretionary budget.
“Following the unfortunate news of the Guaranteed Access Grant cancellation due to a Maryland Higher Education Commission (MHEC) system error, we have worked diligently to find a solution for you,” a letter to students from the SU Office of Financial Aid & Scholarships reads. “We are thrilled to announce that Salisbury University will be providing a one-time replacement award for the exact amount of the Maryland Guaranteed Access Grant that was removed from your financial aid package.”
Officials at the university told students they would see their replacement award reflected in their financial aid offer by the end of the week.
“We understand how stressful the initial news must have been, and we are committed to supporting you,” the Office of Financial Aid & Scholarships wrote to the impacted students.
WBOC reached back out to Natasha Donoway following SU's announcement. She hadn't yet heard the news.
"I'm extremely happy that they were able to come to a resolution so the children aren't stressed and worried as they transition into their college lives," Donoway said. "I'm happy to be able to watch her move into this phase of life without being stressed about this."
At 5:45 p.m. on Wednesday, the Maryland Higher Education Commission sent out a press release saying they would be honoring the initial award decisions, including the ones made in error.
"The state is in the process of changing its scholarship management system," the statement reads. "A new vendor has been selected and a new system will be deployed by fall 2026. This upgrade will enhance our ability to serve students and families across Maryland."
