Chyrl Ayers

Ramon, As you can tell from the numerous other post most feel that all three have value and play an important role in the success of the financial aid process. Sincerely, Chyrl Ayers

Todd, Third party servicers have annual audits just like colleges so you should get a copy each year of your servicer. This audit should assit you in determining how successful your servicer is being in the annual reviews and identify any areas that you should watch. Also, your servicer should be able to address any concerns you have related to responsibilities they perform for your college. I encourage FA Professionals to "Inspect what they Expect." Best wishes in your continued online financial aid educational experience. Sincerely, Chyrl Ayers

Todd, Technology is a great asset in the Financial Aid Department, especially when it is coupled with staff that embrace it. Reporting can be critical to meeting the needs of your students and identifying areas of concern. Sincerely Chyrl Ayers

Todd, Great point - assessing the overall status of a department is often about more than just application and processes it includes the people. The departments within college need to be evaluate in people, process and technology to ensure the quality of the job being performed. Sincerely, Chyrl Ayers

Todd, Understand yourn perspective on the most important characteristic and there is no wrong answer. A large portion of the FA Professionals that weigh in on this topic see Service as the most important and another group feels all three go hand in hand - accuracy, timeliness and service. The most important aspect is ensuring that your students are satisfied with their experience. Sincerely, Chyrl Ayers

Pamela, It is important that all of us are confident in our documentation and know that we have P&P's in place to ensure accurate files, reporting and reconciliation of FSA funding. If you are confident in your internal controls and have systems that allow you to monitor and test these controls there is no reason to fear an audit. Best wishes to you in your online educational process. Sincerely, Chyrl Ayers

Pamela, Great idea and I think most financial aid professional feel the same way. We need one centralized repository that maintains all of the information where we can push or pull data from as needed. Sincerely, Chyrl Ayers

Lisa, Determining the most important characteristics of financial aid is a very personal decision. I completely agree that an open door policy to your students and parents is critical to the success of the financial aid process. It has been my experience when you focus on strong service skils the timely and accurate processing follows. It is important to remember that timely processing does not equate to rushing the student process. Best wishes in your continued pursuit of financial aid online learning. Sincerely, Chyrl Ayers

Wendy, That is a great practice. During the periods in my FA career that I managed a campus FA/Business Office that was the method I selected to utilize. Inspect what you expect - you have to monitor the files to ensure compliance and proper documentation. An audit can be scary and we are human and miss things but the key is to ensure that that the overall process is accurate and documented. Sincerely, Chyrl Ayers

Wendy, You are correct that this would prevent any issues during a program review; however, it would not necessarily prevent you from having one. There are times that an institution is chosen due to a lengthy period without one. If you have your P&P in place for all departments and are in compliance you should be prepared. Preparation and organization is the key to good experience. Sincerely, Chyrl Ayers