Enrollment Management & Student Affairs Annual Report Reflecting on the Year: Celebrating Successes & Continuous Improvement

Transcription

1 1 Enrollment Management & Student Affairs Annual Report Reflecting on the Year: Celebrating Successes & Continuous Improvement Department: Financial Aid Office Director: J. Scott Atkinson Website: Phone: (585) Departmental Mission: The Financial Aid Office at The College at Brockport assists potential students, current students, and their families in obtaining the necessary financial resources to attend The College at Brockport. This includes the proper financial advisement of students and their families, processing and facilitating the financial aid application process and providing sound strategies in budgeting, alternative aid sources and debt management both during and after enrollment. The ultimate goal for the Financial Aid Office is to minimize the financial concerns of our students so that they may concentrate on and maximize their opportunities for success. Unit Overview: The Financial Aid Office assists the public with all aspects of financing a college education, including: Providing adequate financial assistance and resources to eligible students Advising students and families on the availability of financial aid Assisting students and families in the completion of financial aid forms and other required documents Processing financial aid in compliance with federal and state regulations Providing information to customers regarding budgeting, alternative aid sources and debt management Supporting admissions and retention activities as they relate to student aid, including but not limited to, participation in College Nights, Orientation, and on-campus meetings Providing information and training to our students to enable them to become financially responsible

2 2 The Student Employment Office (SEO) is responsible for administrating all aspects of on-campus employment, and for developing and implementing the college s policies and procedures for student employment. In addition, the SEO provides services and opportunities for students seeking off-campus part-time employment and full-time summer employment. Collaborative Efforts: SUNY Financial Aid Day: Assisted by SUNY and Undergraduate Admissions; the offices presented workshops, one-on-one help sessions and offered a computer lab to the public to assist in filing financial aid applications. FAFSA Day at the MetroCenter: Partnering with the MetroCenter, aid application workshops were offered at their site. Financial Literacy: Worked with Residential Life, EOP, the Academic Planning Seminar sections and, Campus Life to offer financial literacy programs, workshops and on-line tutorials to as large a number of students as possible. Program Integrity Regulations: A team of financial aid staff worked with Academic Advisement, Library, Information and Technology Services, EOP and Student Accounts and Accounting Services to implement the new satisfactory academic progress requirements. For the new federal disclosure and reporting requirement for certificate programs, an implementation team with representatives from Financial Aid, Graduate Studies, Registration & Records, Institutional Research, Library Information and Technology Services and Career Services was established and charged with this task. Prospective Student Outreach: Working with the Offices of Undergraduate Admissions, Graduate Studies, Student Retention, and Academic Advisement, the office staffed tables, gave presentations and served on panels for all student recruitment and orientation activities. Veterans Affairs: Established VA Advisory Board to work with the Student Veteran Organization on activities including the dedication of the Veteran Resource Center and Veteran Day events including a reception and guest speaker. Participants included Student Retention, Residential Life, President s Office, Marketing Communications, Library, Information & Technology Services, Community Development, Health and Counseling, Brockport Auxiliary Services Corporation, Undergraduate Admissions, Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC), and many campus volunteers. Document Imaging: In collaboration with Library, Information & Technology Services (LITS), the Rakov Services Offices and Graduate Studies created the Document Imaging Steering Committee (DISC) to implement an integrated document imaging system. Hobsons CRM: Working with the various Enrollment Management and Student Affairs (EMSA) departments and LITS, converted our Financial Aid Office database CRM from RNT to Hobsons. Supervisors Training Manual: Worked with Payroll, Human Resources and various departmental supervisors to update and reorganize the Supervisor Training Manual. Student Employment Basic Training: In collaboration with various academic and non academic departments, the Student Employment Basic Training module was updated and integrated into various offices. This comprehensive training module is completed through Angel and new student employees must complete it in the first few days of working in their campus job.

3 JobShop Database: Collaborated with our Career Services Office to make sure all on and off campus part-time jobs are posted in JobShop in a timely fashion. 3

4 Strategic Goals This section of the Annual Report assesses the departmental progress toward strategic goals and identifies recommendations for improvement. Strategic Goal Construct Results Analysis Recommendations Actions Planned Improve outreach to campus community Programming and Support Services Conducted a FAFSA event at the MetroCenter. Worked with other offices on first Online Graduate and Transfer Open Houses, including presentations and an open chat room. Financial Aid Office created the Veterans Advisory Board and established contacts with all new veteran students. The board included members from all areas of the college. The Financial Aid Office continued to participate in collaborative events with other offices including the Accepted Student Open Houses, The first MetroCenter FAFSA Night was held in Two students attended. Advertising was increased and only yielded one additional participant for The Financial Aid Office maintained chat rooms during the Online Transfer and Graduate Open Houses. Two individuals entered the chat rooms. Veterans Day Observations were held, including a guest speaker and flag ceremony. The speaker was well attended; however Increased advertising resulted in the addition of one participant. It is recommended not to continue this outreach. The time allotted for chat rooms should be reduced. However, as this is the first time for this particular outreach, we will continue to participate. Veterans Day Observations and The Advisory Board should be continued. Continue and evaluate level of participation in online Open Houses. Continue Veterans Day Observations and Veterans Advisory Board and services expanded.

5 5 SOARs, and Summer Orientation. due to the open nature of the multiple events, a head count was not possible. Student employee centered outreach Student employees assisted in the completion of FAFSAs on SUNY Financial Aid Day. Maintained Student employees assisted in the completion of 50% more FAFSA s during the SUNY Financial Aid Day. Continue to expand student employee outreach. Continue to maintain and increase outreach using as baseline data. Utilize student

6 6 information tables at campus wide events. This includes accepted student open houses and SOARs. Student employees worked at information tables at nine on-campus events. employees in financial aid presentations. My Brockport link Advertising on Office TV and Brockport TV (BTV) Co-curricular Co-curricular Student employees served as primary contacts in the Financial Aid Office by responding to student s and staffing the front desk. A My Brockport site was created to: - Provide Financial Aid information that allows for easy access - To make students aware of their available resources - To assist students in making informed choices regarding their financial aid Created a PowerPoint of financial aid facts and information to Student employees responded to 6,475 s. There are currently three members of the Financial Aid group. Login status began to be gathered in May Active logins increased in June 2012 to 274, a 402% increase. An average of 123 students per day, were able to view the information or have Continue to promote as it is a new initiative. To add to the information that is displayed Advertise My Brockport on the Office TV Increase the amount of financial information on the site. Track number in group and begin using as baseline data Continually update the information provided on the Office TV

7 7 Increase financial aid staff presentations and workshops be displayed on the office TV located in the reception area. To help students gain an understanding of financial aid information To make students aware of their available resources To assist students in making informed financial choices Contacted BTV regarding a similar presentation but no response was received. The Office participated in a number of presentation and workshops. access to the Office TV. In , staff gave 30 presentations and workshops on and off campus. Continue to actively reach out to the community and offer presentations and workshops. Add videos, music, etc. to the presentation. Conduct study to determine usefulness and what additional information would be desired. Investigate ways to provide more college and community outreach. Peer Resume building Co-curricular Programming and Support Services Requested resumes from peer advisors upon hiring and updated resumes Assisted the peers in recognizing the skills learned, developed and utilized during Improve resume building skills with student peer advisors. Use as baseline data for future analysis. Obtain additional assistance from Career Services

8 8 Increase student participation and level of comprehension at financial literacy programs after term of employment in our office. Offered online financial literacy tool, Financial Avenue. There were 154 registered completing 362 modules. their employment. Percentage of change in level of knowledge between pre and post tests by topic: Budgeting % Contracts 14.2% Increase the use of Financial Avenue Find new opportunities for students to participate in financial literacy activities. Include resume review in Annual Performance review. Starting with the summer of 2012, the budgeting module of this product will be required to be completed prior to disbursement of an alternative loan. Send electronic award letters to all students Required Peer Advisors to complete all components to have a better understanding of financial literacy when talking to students. Due to feedback from Undergraduate Admissions and VP for Enrollment Management, this goal was eliminated. Credit Cards 50.71% Credit History 38.3% Identity Theft 51.3% Increase student involvement in financial literacy programs. Paying for College 67% N/A N/A N/A Provide a money management fair Promote Financial Avenue during summer orientation Continue to The financial aid The DOE released Evaluate cost Program Integrity

9 9 implement the new Program Integrity & SAP regulations Reduce customer wait time on Financial Aid Office telephones office in conjunction with other offices continued to implement the Program Integrity and Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) regulations. The first submission of the gainful employment information was submitted to the Department of Education (DOE). After the end of the spring 2012 term the SAP programs were processed using the new requirements. Procured telephone tracking software. Trained contact staff to maintain consistency and accuracy and reduce the number of callbacks. Assigned additional office staff to assist with incoming calls the informational results from the data that the College submitted. All tests were passed although detailed metrics were not received due to the size of our programs. At the end of , there were 519 students out of compliance for federal aid and seven students were on an academic plan. By communicating with the Office of Student Accounts, repetitive calls on a particular topic were reduced by 50%-75% once information was clarified on their website. effectiveness of offering aid to Certificate Programs. Utilize software to establish a baseline in Implementation Group (PIIG) committee meetings will continue. Forwarded recommendations regarding aid eligibility to Provost and VP for Enrollment Management and Student Affairs. Schedule training on the phone call tracking software. Develop a plan to shift staffing as needed based on call volume while not affecting other areas. Continue to

10 10 Create a new series of publications to enhance and improve the services and information regarding student employment. Provide a comprehensive Web site for current student employees. Programming and Support Services Programming and Support Services during periods of high volume. Communicated with related offices to establish and maintain consistency with information dissemination. Created a series of four new publications that are critical to the office. Reviewed what was previously published and what other local colleges were distributing to students. Revamped Web site for current student employees. It was not possible to adjust staffing for assistance based on phone volume due to short-staffing and conflicting priorities. Telephone wait time for the month on May was reduced 40% from 2011 (3:57 minutes) to 2012 (2:26 minutes). Conducted a survey to determine what information was most important to our students, parents and departments. Web site hits increased by 20%. Continue to update and enhance publications on an annual basis. Continue to improve online services. Streamline processes so that all information is easily accessible. improve disseminated information to mitigate confusion and reduce callbacks. Refer students to available alternate resources such as B-mail, Web Banner and Ask Ellsworth. Continue research on what other schools publish. Talk to colleagues to see what their main focus is when disseminating information. Analyze other colleges Web sites.

11 11 Enhance the selection, counseling and placement process of students who visit student employment Programming and Support Services Kept daily log of visitors to Student Employment along with the reason for their visit. Results indicated that students need more info and guidance on JobShop and assistance in searching for off campus jobs. Conduct monthly programs that encompass all of the topics mentioned in the daily logs. Consider using other media for student employees. Conduct a survey regarding services provided. Integrate social media. Points of Pride (To be incorporated into the Accomplishments & Briefing Book) Co-curricular Financial Literacy: The Financial Aid Office provided financial literacy training to the Academic Planning Seminar sections and held a Money Management Day in the spring. The office also contracted with Inceptia to provide on-line financial literacy tutorials, Financial Avenue, consisting of a number of modules to enhance our other efforts. Effective for summer 2012, all students wishing to borrow a private education loan are required to minimally complete the budgeting module. Financial Aid Education: Office staff provided specialized training for students, their families and the general public on aid eligibility and processing at various events, including the FAFSA Day at the MetroCenter, SUNY Financial Aid Day, and various recruitment/orientation events. Aid Processing: The College at Brockport was again the first SUNY school to release award letters to prospective and returning students. Training of Aid Professionals: Office professionals updated chapters of the Novice Training Manual to be utilized for the week-long New York State Financial Aid Association (NYSFAA) Novice Training Workshop that Brockport hosted in summer The Director provided large group instruction for this event. Institutional Responsibility: A major portion of the Financial Aid Office s efforts this past year involved the implementation of the Program Integrity Regulations involving extensive disclosure and reporting requirements for our certificate programs, as well as a completely new process for monitoring satisfactory academic progress. Honors and Distinction: The College was again designated as a Military Friendly School by GI Jobs magazine, an honor reserved for the top 15% of schools deemed to embrace veterans as students. Thomas Hickey received the Outstanding

12 12 Service to Students award. Scott Atkinson was elected as President Elect of the New York State Financial Aid Administrators Association (NYSFAAA). Supervisor Training: The supervisor training and manual are key pieces for faculty and staff starting their new role as student supervisors. Training was overhauled to provide important guidance to our 200+ supervisors. Federal Work-Study Download Management: A new HR system that involved both SUNY HR and SICAS was implemented. Several issues and reporting errors needed to be addressed. This was critical to provide accurate federal workstudy data. Creating a Culture of Evidence & Continuous Improvement EMSA is committed to improving program effectiveness and the quality of the student experience through assessment data. The use of assessment data will contribute to the culture of evidence within the department and campus community. This portion of the Annual Report will highlight the use of data to close the loop in the assessment process within our division. This section should include TK20 measures along with various other measures that measure the regular functions of the department. Function Area Assessment Tool KPIs & Benchmark Actions/Considerations/Improvements Financial Literacy Number of participants Increase by 10% For , there were 154 participants utilizing 362 modules. Not permitted to make mandatory for incoming freshmen. Revised method of delivery to individual tutorial sessions. Made mandatory for private alternative loan borrowers effective summer Will utilize as baseline. Loan Area Default rates Reduce by 5% New default rate calculator method now available. Will utilize the as baseline data and monitor default rates by loan type for subsequent year. Financial Aid Academic Compliance Students out of compliance that return to good academic standing or meet academic plan requirement. Increase by 5% Due to new requirements and procedures, will be utilized as base year.

13 13 Annual Aid Awarded to Students Job Placement Student Employee Basic Training Funds Awarded Report Number of jobs filled and number of workstudy awards cancelled. Number of students who pass training. Continue to meet financial need of our students. Increase jobs filled by 10%. Decrease WS awards cancelled by 5% Increase by 5%. Resubmit proposal for institutional need-based funds and maximize all other financial aid sources. Provide targeted information earlier to prospective students and parents regarding student employment and job searches. Use as baseline for pass/fail rates Goals (To be developed as part of the Annual Report Process): Strategic Goal Construct Divisional Priority Assessment Measures Timeline Person Responsible Financial Literacy Programming and Healthy Campus 2020, Retention of Students Increase number of participants by 10% 7/1/12-6/30/13 Heather Allen Default Rates Financial Aid Academic Compliance Job Placement Student Employee Basic Training Programming and Programming and Programming and Programming and Recruitment Strategies Retention of Students Retention of Students Healthy Campus 2020 Healthy Campus 2020, Retention of Students Retention of Students Reduce various loan default rates by 5% Increase rate of students returning to or maintaining good academic status by 5% Increase number of students placed in jobs by 5% Increase number of students who pass training by 5% 7/1/12-6/30/13 Heather Allen 7/1/12-6/30/13 Kristin Webster 7/1/12-6/30/13 Adam Standish 7/1/12-6/30/13 Adam Standish

14 14 Annual Report Summary/Reflection Summary of the year for the organization It has been a difficult but successful year for the Financial Aid Office. Despite multiple challenges, the office was still the first SUNY school and one of the first schools anywhere to begin releasing their financial aid packages for the upcoming year. All required deadlines and governmental requirements were met. New technologies were implemented and service to students was maintained and in some ways such as telephone response time, was improved. However, in order to become a full service office, more attention must be given to potential learning outcomes in areas such as default management and financial literacy. These will be long range goals for our operation but will require sufficient staffing and resources to ensure that additional efforts can be made on those objectives without diminishing the delivery of financial aid and current level of service to students. Challenges Federal, State and SUNY Regulations Extensive new and constantly changing regulations require a large percentage of our resources for planning and implementation to remain in compliance. Constantly changing requirements also make longitudinal analysis difficult. Conversion to new HR system and linking to Banner module for Federal College Work-Study Program. Multiple Regulating Bodies The office must be held accountable to many more regulatory bodies than most other operations. Differing requirements and sometimes conflicting guidelines exacerbate the situation. Lack of Qualitative Data Quantitative data is abundant and the various required reporting mechanisms are extensive leaving little time or resources to focus on qualitative data. Uniqueness of Operation Most of the office s operations, data, reporting, etc. are unlike other college departments. Those external to the office know little or nothing of its operation and mandates. Improvements implemented

15 15 Utilizing the Federal Quality Assurance Program, the Experimental Sites Program, satisfaction surveys, workload analysis, flowcharting, and implementation of document imaging, etc., has allowed us to reduce error rates, streamline processes, provide experimental data to the government, implement Financial Literacy and improve service to students. Student Employment improvements included Supervisors Training, a series of publications, front desk procedures and the implementation of the new HR procedures for Federal College Work-Study download. Improvements for the future During the next year, there will be a number of opportunities for improvement. We will again be undergoing a federal audit under the SUNY Single Audit process. This will provide an exhaustive review of our own procedures and processes to ensure our compliance with federal regulations and requirements. We will also be conducting our annual review of our forms and procedures as well as web and printed materials with the goal of increased efficiency and improved service. There will also be new federal and/or state mandates that will need to be implemented. As time and resources permit, we will also seek to enhance the financial education of our students, particularly in the areas of financial literacy and loan default prevention.