Financial Aid 101 for Bursars

Financial Aid 101 for Bursars

University of Delaware The University of Delaware, a state assisted, Land Grant, Sea Grant, Space Grant, Carnegie Research University Total Enrollment: 21,489 Undergraduate: 17,092 Graduate: 3,617 Professional and Continuing Education: 780 64% of undergraduate and 74% of graduate students are from outof-state FY12 Financial Snapshot: Revenue from Tuition, Fees, Room and Board $465.5 Million (net of scholarship and fellowship allowance)- about 55% of operating budget Financial Aid Disbursed*: $165M in Financial Aid ($112M Federal/$10M State/$43 institutional/endowment) *Rounded Figures

Marist College Marist College, recognized for excellence by U.S. News & World Report, Time, and "The Princeton Review," and by "Barron's Best Buys in College Education," is noted for its leadership in the use of technology to enhance the teaching and learning process. Founded in 1929, Marist's 210-acre campus overlooks the Hudson River in the heart of the historic Hudson Valley, midway between New York City and Albany, the state capital. Enrollment 12-13: 4,620 Traditional Undergraduate Students 1,453 Graduate & Adult Students

Southern Virginia University Founded in 1867 Four year private Bachelor of Arts degrees 70% of students live on-campus Enrollment Fall 2012 = 729 students FY 2012 Gross Tuition Revenue = $13.7 million FY 2012 Financial Aid Disbursed = $14.2 million

Financial Aid 101 for Bursar s Goal #1: Provide a brief overview of the financial aid basics. Goal #2: Provide a better understanding of why students who may be expecting financial aid: (1) May not have eligibility (2) May lose eligibility after being awarded

Section 1: Financial Aid 101 Topics What is Financial Aid Applying for Financial Aid EFC and Students Need Specifics on Common Types of Financial Aid

What is Financial Aid? Financial aid is funding used to assist students and families to pay for postsecondary educational expenses. Federal, State, Private and Institutional are all potential sources

Comprehensive Financial aid eligibility starts with the FAFSA The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is the form used by the DOE to determine the Expected Family Contribution (EFC) by conducting a need analysis based on financial information, such as income, assets and other household information. Results are electronically transmitted to the financial aid offices of the school codes that a student lists on their application. Nearly every student who will be matriculated and enrolled at least half-time is eligible for some form of financial aid, including low-interest Federal Stafford and/or parent PLUS loans, regardless of income or circumstances, provided that you:

FAFSA Dependency In general, an undergraduate is considered financially DEPENDENT on their parents while they are attending school. Many students feel if they receive no support from their parents their parents should not be considered in their evaluation of aid. However, there are strict rules to be INDEPENDENT for financial aid consideration (which means that the custodial parents income and asset information is not considered in determining a student s financial aid, and therefore not required on the FAFSA). Regardless of how much support a student actually receives from his or her parents, he or she is still considered a DEPENDENT student An undergraduate who is married, is over 24, veteran, ward of the court are in general the type of circumstances that would not require parental information. Graduate Students are always considered financially independent

5 Factors Considered in Calculating Your EFC: 1. Income 2. Assets 3. Household size 4. Number of students in college 5. Age of older parent Examples of Assets: Educational IRA Accounts 529 Savings Plan* Prepaid Tuition Plan Trusts Inheritance Stocks Cash Mutual Funds These accounts are reported as parental investments on the FAFSA, including all accounts owned by the student and all accounts owned by the parents for any member of the household.

What Is Financial Need? Cost of Attendance - Expected Family Contribution = Financial Need

Federal Direct Loan (Subsidized and Unsubsidized) Subsidized Direct: Need-Based Government pays interest earned while in school Unsubsidized Direct: Financial need is not a consideration Interest is accrued Interest payments can be made or deferred Subsidized Loan: Effective 07/01/13 fixed interest rate of 3.86% Unsubsidized Loan: Effective 07/01/13 fixed interest rate of 3.86%

Loan Summary Program Annual Limits Aggregate Fee In- School Interest Repayment Interest Grace Period Standard Repayment Period* Federal Perkins Loan UG: $5500 GR: $8,000 UG: $27,500 GR: $60,000 (includes UG) 5.00% 9 months 10 years * Federal Direct Subsidized 1.072% 3.86% 3.86% 6 Months 10 years Federal Direct Unsubsidized See Next Slide/Chart 1.072% 3.86% 3.86% 6 Months 10 years Federal Direct PLUS Loan for Parents Full cost of tuition minus student aid 4.288% 6.41% 6.41% None 10 years *Although a student will be assigned the standard repayment plan, it can be changed to meet the students needs at any time. http://studentaid.ed.gov/repay-loans/understand/plans

Federal Loan Limits Year First-Year Undergraduate Annual Loan Limit Second-Year Undergraduate Annual Loan Limit Dependent Students (except students whose parents are unable to obtain PLUS Loans) $5,500 No more than $3,500 of this amount may be in subsidized loans. $6,500 No more than $4,500 of this amount may be in subsidized loans. Independent Students (and dependent undergraduate students whose parents are unable to obtain PLUS Loans) $9,500 No more than $3,500 of this amount may be in subsidized loans. $10,500 No more than $4,500 of this amount may be in subsidized loans. Third-Year and Beyond Undergraduate Annual Loan Limit Graduate or Professional Students Annual Loan Limit Subsidized and Unsubsidized Aggregate Loan Limit $7,500 No more than $5,500 of this amount may be in subsidized loans. Not Applicable (all graduate and professional students are considered independent) $12,500 No more than $5,500 of this amount may be in subsidized loans. $20,500 (unsubsidized only) $31,000 No more than $23,000 of $57,500 for undergraduates No more than this amount may be in subsidized loans. $23,000 of this amount may be in subsidized loans. $138,500 for graduate or professional students No more than $65,500 of this amount may be in subsidized loans. The graduate aggregate limit includes all federal loans received for undergraduate study.

Other Types of Financial Aid Gift Aid: Grants (need based) Scholarships (merit/academic) Self-Pay (Employment) Need based: Federal and/or State College Work-Study Non-need based: Campus Employment Private (Alternative) Loans:.

Federal: Gift Aid: Grants Federal Pell Grant: $605 - $5,645 Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (SEOG) Teach Grant: up to $4,000/year ($16,000 over 4 years). (Though will convert to loan if teaching conditions not met) State (Each state may have their own programs) Some common examples of states on the East Coast: NY State TAP: $500 $5,000 Pennsylvania (PHEAA): $500-$2,321 DC Grant: Up to $10,000 Institutional Need-Based Grant in Aid

Scholarship Eligibility FAFSA is the application used by nearly all colleges and universities to determine eligibility for federal, state, and college-sponsored financial aid, including grants, educational loans, and work-study programs. Institutional Merit Aid does not require a FAFSA. Awards based on merit are at the discretion of the University and may not require any additional information but the admissions application. However, some colleges and universities require forms in addition to completing the FAFSA. The College Scholarship Service (CSS) Financial Aid Profile $25 for the initial application; $16 charged for each additional college you request. Students register and complete the PROFILE online at http://student.collegeboard.org/profile

Gift Aid: Scholarships Institutional Academic/Merit Scholarship Athletic Scholarship Music Scholarship Speech and Debate Scholarship Theatre Scholarship ROTC Scholarship State Example: NY State Scholarship for Academic Excellence Scholarships for Academic Excellence are awarded to outstanding graduates from registered New York State high schools Private Endowed and Outside Scholarships

IN SUMMARY: The student/family is encouraged to file the FAFSA (and renew yearly) The University provides an award package. The school lets them know what they will need to do to secure those funds. Finally, the financial aid is disbursed to the pay the student s account. Is it really that simple?... Not Always

Why can Offered Financial Aid Change? Why would a student not be eligible for Federal Aid if they ve received it before?

Section 2: Topics Federal Verification Satisfactory Academic Progress Return of Title IV Aid New Regulations to Encourage Timely graduation. (More impactful for those schools who have high transfer population or students not graduating timely) 150% Direct Subsidized Loan Limits (NEW) PELL Grant Limits

Federal Verification /Quality Assurance ED describes verification as the process a school uses to confirm data reported on the FAFSA Verification must be completed prior to federal financial aid being disbursed to a student Typically a student and their parent or spouse must provide their IRS tax return transcript and complete a verification worksheet for the university to complete verification, however, additional documentation may be requested.

IRS Data Retrieval Tool Fastest, easiest & most secure solution for meeting verification requirements May reduce documents requested by financial aid office IRS will authenticate taxpayer s identity If match found, IRS sends real-time results to applicant in new window Applicant chooses whether or not to transfer data to the FAFSA You can view a video of the IRS Data Retrieval Process at www.marist.edu/financialaid

Satisfactory Academic Progress To continue receiving federal financial aid a student must make satisfactory academic progress. This means earning good enough grades and completing sufficient courses to keep moving toward completing a degree in an acceptable amount of time. Each institution establishes their own policy to determine what is considered satisfactory progress Students who fail to meet the policy become ineligible for federal financial aid

Marist College SAP Policy Qualitative Standard Undergraduate Students Students will be reviewed for satisfactory academic progress once per year, after the spring semester. However, if a student is on probation (had an appeal previously approved), Satisfactory Academic Progress will be reviewed after the payment period (semester). During the first four semesters students will be reviewed by the Center for Advising and Academic Services (CAAS) and will be notified of their academic standing. Students with a semester GPA below a 2.0 who are otherwise meeting the Qualitative and Quantitative measurements will devolve to the status assigned by the Center for Advising and Academic Services. Students must have a cumulative GPA of 2.00 by the end of their fourth semester. If credits are transferred from another institution, they will be counted when determining the number of semesters a student has attended. At the end of the fourth semester, students who do not raise their cumulative GPA to a 2.0 will not be meeting SAP standards.

Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) Evaluated once a year, after the spring semester, for programs of study longer than one academic year. Financial Aid Probation This status is assigned to a student who fails to make SAP and who has appealed and has had eligibility for Title IV aid reinstated Student may receive aid for one payment period Student may have more than one probation NO consecutive appeals Probation will always follow an appeal Probation is allowed for only one payment period. If the student fails to meet SAP and completes an appeal* and the appeal is approved, the student is placed on Probation for one semester If the student meets SAP after this semester, he/she then becomes eligible for financial aid. If at the end of the term a student needs more time, the college may place the student on an academic plan o The goal of the academic plan is to ensure the student s ability to meet SAP standards by a specific point in time. The plan will allow the student additional time to meet SAP in order to regain financial aid eligibility Academic Plan An option used by the college to prescribe a series of measures by which the student will regain SAP status within a specified period of time. The student must agree to the plan, and the school must monitor the student s compliance with the plan. The student is considered eligible for Title IV funds while in compliance with the plan.

150% Direct Subsidized Loan Limits NEW -Time Limitation on Direct Subsidized Loan Eligibility for First-Time Borrowers on or after July 1, 2013 AKA Maximum Eligibility Period Student may only receive subsidized Stafford loans for up to 150% of the time it takes to finish their program of study. For a two year program the limit would be three years If you are enrolled in a 4 -year bachelor s program, the max period to receive Direct Subsidized Loans is 6 years (150% of 4 years = 6 years). If a student s program of study changes so can the eligibility period

PELL Grant Change Effective July 1, 2012 a student can receive a Pell grant for no more than 12 semesters or the equivalent (about six years). Another way to note, the amount of Federal Pell Grant funds you may receive over your lifetime is limited by a new federal law to be the equivalent of six years of Pell Grant funding. Since the maximum amount of Pell Grant funding you can receive each year is equal to 100%, the six-year equivalent is 600% http://studentaid.ed.gov/types/grantsscholarships/pell/calculate-eligibility

Return of Title IV Funds When a student withdraws mid-term a calculation must be done to determine how much of their federal aid they have earned This does not need to be done if a student does not actually cease attendance Whatever the formula deems that they have not earned must be returned to ED A student is considered having earned all of the aid for that term when 60% or more of the term is complete

Institutional Aid Policies In addition to Federal Aid Policies, Institutions generally have Institutional Policies on their Institutional Aid for a student to have their scholarships renewed. Why Important requirements for a Bursar to know: Loss of a scholarship can put students/families at risk of being able to meet their financial obligations.

In Closing Understanding the nuances of the financial aid process, even if not under your structure, will provide a real perspective on what circumstances your students may be facing and will assist you in working with students to meet their financial obligations: Discuss cross-training opportunities with your financial aid office to continue to develop Ensure you understand the type/frequency of communications coming out of the financial aid office

Or Train Yourself There are many resources on financial aid that can be beneficial: Recommend getting access to National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA) (www.nasfaa.org) Information for Financial Aid Professionals IFAP (http://www.ifap.ed.gov/ifap/) is a great resource Federal Student Aid (http://studentaid.ed.gov/) - good information for students and staff

Questions Contact Info: Tyson Cooper tyson.cooper@svu.edu (540) 261-8463 Melissa J. Stone mstone@udel.edu (302) 831-8189 Joe Weglarz joe.weglarz@marist.edu (845) 575-3230