Feature

Financial Aid Cell NSU :
Assisting students to strive further

Zannatul Lamea

NSU is freaking expensive" - I know this is a common notion, but trust me on this, if you are meritorious and deserving, NSU will bear your academic expenses- Yes entirely. For all you students, who are willing to take admission at NSU but are faltering back thinking about high expense; and also for those of you who are at present NSU students and yet worried about long term expense, here goes your chance to relieve yourself or just make you feel at ease regarding financial academic expenses at NSU. NSU is the first and only university that actually has a formal body of financial assistance committee, having a standing commitment to meet the need of eligible students.

The cell started its operation since 1993.The convener of Financial Assistance Committee - Mr. Iftekharul Alam laid the guidelines of the committee and since then NSU Financial Aid Cell has been providing financial help to the students on the basis of their eligibility. The chief categories include- Financial aid based on previous result and admission test results(Merit Scholarship), based on high academic achievement at NSU (NSU Merit Based), based on financial needs (On Humanitarian grounds), based on teaching assistantship and student employment at NSU (Work study based) & some are based partly on merit and need(Merit Need Based). The financial reward is provided in the form of full (100%) and in partial (25%, 50%,75%) forms to the eligible students who achieve and maintain required criteria. The students who consider themselves a deserving candidate should apply and based on their qualification, merit and need- they will be awarded with financial waiver accordingly.

In this regard, Mr. Jafar Iqbal Russel [Senior Officer; Aid Cell] mentioned , " NSU always values merit and quality. We try our best to provide our meritorious, needy students with financial waiver, so that they feel encouraged and inspired. To cater with their diverge merits and needs, we have distinctly redefined the whole process of categorization. There is no common system for evaluation; For example, a student might be needy but not meritorious, another student might be meritorious but not needy- we would reward them both- based on their individual grounds in which they stand ahead the rest. The competition is getting tough gradually, more students are working hard to qualify; We keep our students in a challenging race of merit, so that they keeps on trying to get better and better- only to achieve a greater financial reward. And frankly speaking, we did find positive outcomes. Our awardees who got 25% waiver, are trying hard to compete with the better ones to qualify for 50% waiver; However, although it is really tough to evaluate, but it is really worth it. Our students find it as a great support! It is a fine-tuned way to boost our students achieve greater prospects in terms of merit."

“We have been changing our policies constantly, keeping pace with the changing quality of students. If we find more deserving students, we increase our awardees, we never disappoint candidates who truly deserves it be it in terms of merit, be it in terms of need. Also we think that there should be such a separate department at every university to assist the students with their needs, to reward them only to encourage and support them to carry out their academic functions in a smoother way. A student rewarded with aid, finds it as an incentive , as a drive to progress further. Merit is the basic and most important parameter on which we judge, if a student has consistent good result or shows extra-ordinary performance, he won't be disappointed and it's a promise.”- says S.M. Zillur Rahman from Financial Aid Cell.

So , there you go, prove your merit, and get rewarded!