When most people leave work they look forward to going home and relaxing, but not in the case of Melissa Lau.

With her easy-going personality and knowledge in the financial aid system, Diane Anchundia feels the responsibility to make the financial aid office more appealing to students at the University of La Verne.

While the University of La Verne had an impressive increase in admitted students, that did not mean tuition was decreased. Instead it was increased 6.5 percent to $33,350 this year.

The Board of Trustees has approved the 6.5 percent tuition increase, bringing the total undergraduate cost to $33,400.

Attention students: Prepare to empty your wallets, max out your credit cards and expand your debt as you pursue your education at the University of La Verne. A 6.5 percent increase in tuition has been approved for the 2012-2013 school year.

Republicans in the Senate blocked the Democrats’ bill Tuesday that would prevent the interest rates of the Stafford Loan from doubling July 1. The interest rate that is currently 3.4 percent would double to 6.8 percent, a price that only adds to the thicket of debt students are fighting.

Roughly 26,000 California college students wait with bated breath as the state legislature evaluates Gov. Jerry Brown’s budget proposal, which includes a drastic cut to the Cal Grant program.

Leatha Webster, who served the University as director of financial aid since 2003, died after a relapse of multiple myeloma on Jan. 3. She is remembered lovingly by all those who knew her.

In an ailing economy many college students find themselves trying to fund their education with loans, and when they graduate they end up thousands of dollars in debt with no job offers.

On Nov. 4 the Board of Trustees approved a 6.5 percent undergraduate tuition increase for the 2012-2013 academic year. Reasons for this increase range from a need to sustain education programs to improve the image of the University.