DEM lends a helping hand to support students affected by California wildfires

As wildfires continue to burn across portions of southern California, team members from across the Division of Enrollment Management are working to support students affected by the disasters. For our future Badgers, OAR extended the application deadline and materials deadlines for Regular Decision first-year students. This included proactive communication to prospective students, students who applied but did not complete their application, and to high school counselors in the impacted areas. As of the afternoon of Jan. 21, OAR had already received 139 extension requests. Here are just a few responses thanking the OAR team for their support during a difficult time:

“I would love an extension due to being evacuated from my home in the past week.” “Thank you so much for your help for being lenient during these scary times in my hometown. I would like to be considered for an application extension with all that’s going on.” “We, in Orange County are very fortunate to have not been directly affected by the recent LA fires but our hearts go out to our neighbors north of us. Thank you for considering application extensions for our Southern California students. The overwhelming kindness of so many brings me such joy. It is humbling to say the least.”

As the scale of the destruction became clear, the RO’s Data Reporting and Eligibility team began proactively running reports to identify enrolled students who live in Los Angeles County and the surrounding areas. The RO then shared this data with Student Affairs, the Bursar’s Office, and OSFA to help those teams reach affected students. And for its part, the Bursar’s Office has extended the tuition deadline for more than 400 southern California students who had tuition balances outstanding. The RO’s Student Services team has also helped graduates who lost their diplomas in the fires obtain replacements at no cost. All of these efforts demonstrate DEM’s commitment to supporting our students however possible, and they wouldn’t be possible without the collaboration of dedicated team members from across the division. If you’d like to learn more about ways to help those affected by the devastating wildfires, visit redcross.org.