Book vouchers issued to Fresno City College students at the beginning of the semester are getting closer to expiration; with a little over a month left to put them to use after the program was extended until Nov 10.  

Unlike most financial aid programs, book vouchers aren’t only accessible to a specific group of students. The Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF) book vouchers are available to every student that attends FCC. 

Given that every semester students face rising expenses, financial assistance is always beneficial.

The amount awarded is based on the number of units a student is enrolled in for the semester. Students enrolled in 12 units or more receive a $250 voucher and students enrolled in 11 units or less receive a $100 voucher.

Paul Klay, FCC Bookstore manager since the fall of 2019, said the book voucher program has been very successful. The only problem that he’s ever encountered was not having enough inventory on hand to meet the needs of the student body.

It’s a rare occurrence when selling out is considered a bad thing.

According to Klay this happened because initially there were no restrictions on what the vouchers could be used for and students literally cleaned out the bookstore. “It shifted student buying strategy and there was nothing left but empty shelves,” he said.

The team at the bookstore immediately made inventory adjustments and vouchers can now only be used for books and required supplies like scantrons or calculators. 

The bookstore has been fully stocked since the changes took effect.

Klay also pointed out that because students weren’t using money out of their own pockets, all sales went through the bookstore. Students no longer had to hunt for deals online, or search for used textbooks to save a buck.

Not only has the voucher program been great for the students, it’s been great for the store.

The book vouchers are funded by the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF) in response to COVID-19. During the mask mandate, the vouchers were used as an incentive to get vaccinated against COVID-19.

 The book vouchers were originally set to expire on Oct. 28 but that date has been moved to Nov. 10, leaving a little more time to put them to use. 

Students who are new to the book voucher program can check their bookstore account using their student identification number and current semester’s pin.