Johnson State College students should not be affected by the government shut down that was triggered by the start of the new budget year on Oct. 1, 2013, and a lack of support from republicans for the Affordable Care Act, Obamacare.

According to JSC’s Director of Financial Aid Lisa Cummings, the Financial Aid Office is receiving daily news from the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA) with any updates regarding the shutdown. At this time there have been no changes from the Department of Education that will affect students.

Before the shutdown, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders reported that colleges may be unable to pay students who are employed under federal work-study programs or provide students with federal Perkins loans. There has been no indication from the Department of Education that this will occur, but the Financial Aid office is keeping a close eye on the situation.

The Department of Education has posted the following on the www.studentaid.ed.gov web site: “In the event of a government shutdown, we anticipate that there will be limited impact to the federal student aid application (FAFSA) process, to the delivery of federal student aid, or to the federal student loan repayment functions.”

The Pell grant program and direct student loans should also remain unaffected as they will be paid for through mandatory and carryover appropriations. “Therefore,” Cummings says, “the Pell Grants and student loans should continue as normal.”