BUTLER TWP — The partial federal government shutdown hasn't affected Butler County Community College yet, but it will if the U.S. Department of Education doesn't process student financial aid applications by the end of the semester.

BC3 officials briefly discussed the effects of the shutdown after the board of trustees member Carmine Scotece asked about it during the trustees' meeting Wednesday.

The education department currently is not staffed during the shutdown, but eventually it will be required to process financial aid applications, said James Hrabosky, BC3 vice president for administration and finance.

The university will have to devise a plan to address the lack of student aid if the department doesn't process the applications by the spring, he said.

This is an excerpt — read the full article in Thursday's Eagle to find out how BC3 will cover tuition costs if the shutdown continues.