I am the Director of Financial Aid at an online school. Key word - online. So you would think our school would be cutting edge in the technology department, not so much. Our processes are not outdated so much as our technology is. We get the job done although it could be a lot more efficient. Our processes revolve around the regulations put forth by the Department of Education which change incrementally from year to year with the exception of the verification which was changed by leaps and bounds if you look back to the 11-12 award year to 13-14 award year. Our implementation of these regs can use a bit of a makeover.
Gabrielle,
It is great that you know the status of your processes and are able to confidently state up to date. Success comes when you are able to evaluate, test and attest to the compliance of the process.
Sincerely,
Chyrl Ayers
NO, I feel we are very up to date with our financial aid processes. It is always changing and we are constantly coming up with new ways to do things to make it easier and successful for us.
As we are not a Title IV school yet, we are in the process of creating a student portal in which we and the student can keep track of the funds that have been paid and are outstanding.
Sparky,
I hope the information was helpful as you move toward approval to award and disburse FSA funds.
Sincerely,
Chyrl Ayers
No, but....
We are a new school. There are many functions yet to have a "process." This section or the course makes it very clear the processes are a must. As we get closer to accepting federal programs, i am sure we will be putting these in place.
Online access to student accounts, financial aid status, just as with credit cards and bank accounts, is helpful to working adult students.
Our school is very small and privately owned. If I were the one making decisions I would update every bit of the technology available to the students. Our office is pretty behind in the times as far as our computer/server system goes. The students would have more accessibility to online training and videos, etc.
Maureen,
Understanding your systems (automated or not) and compensation for any deficiencies is important to the students' experiences. It is important that administrators understand the best practices to ensure compliance and timely actions to meet the needs of your students.
Sincerely
Chyrl Ayers
The process of handling Stafford Loans is not outdated at our institution. The processes as an institution are in need of adjustment and fine tuning due to the purchase and implementation of a web based student management system. Financial aid has not been incorporated within that system. Also the receipt of tuition payments by all forms, etc. goes to an outside contracted company that uses an entirely different system which prohibits excellence.
Elizabeth,
Based on your comments it sounds as if your team has a been to increase efficiency in the Business Office which should increase student satisfaction/experience and productive for the college team. It is important to evaluate you processes and look for areas of improvement.
Sincerely,
Chyrl Ayers
We do have outdated processes in our office. The biggest issue is that we don't have a database and work off of Excel spreadsheets and Access. It makes it less efficient and is always difficult finding information on past students. However,due to many changes we will be experiencing in the next 12-18 months, we will get a database in place. It will definitely benefit the staff in providing a faster way to track our students. As well, it will provide the students access to grades and class records. We are looking forward to advancing and becoming a more efficient workplace.
Kerry,
Student portals can be a valuable tool that allows the student to self-service and provide up-to-date informaton.
Sincerely,
Chyrl Ayers
We currently do not have a student portal for students to access their account information. I feel this type of technology allows students to feel more secure in the financial end of their schooling. Allowing them to accept Aid, review accounts and payments received gives them a better understanding of what their educational cost really are and what kind of debt they are incurring.
Jeffrey,
There are some organizations out there that could assist you in automating this process; however, it may be easier for you to develop an internal process to handle your students. The decision to keep internal or outsource handling of credit balances really reflects on the needs of your students. Overall, it seems that you have aprocess to evaluate your system efficiencies and that is a great process to have in place.
Sincerely,
Chyrl Ayers
In general the process(es) are up to date. One exception is we don't have an automated payment option available for our students. This is expecially cumbersome for students who have graduated with an extended payment plan. The only option for the student is to come in person or mail a check.
Ramon,
It is a difficult job keeping the staff current on regulatory changes and operational implementation of these changes. There are several good webinars held throughout the award year by the Department that takes less than 2 hours that might be beneficial to your team.
Sincerely,
Chyrl Ayers
Lisa,
Based on your answer it appears you feel the business office is not outdated but contains to many processes with overlap. Evaluating your process and looking for ways to streamline would be a worthwhile exercise for your team. Efficient processes are the best processes.
Sincerely,
Chyrl Ayers
More than antiquated processes we have to deal with keeping our associates current and in compliance with the rules of the federal financial aid. Our business office program and procedures.
I do not believe the processes in our business office are outdated per se, I believe our technology is repetitive in nature. We are utilizing three different systems to find out relatively the same information. I think it would be fantastic for us to be able to update our technology to better serve our office and our students. People Soft for financials is very user friendly and is easily updatable.
I find the repetitive paper process outdated and would like to find a resolution to this procedure by streamlining this into one application rather than two or three. For instance the award letters. We have one that we give to the student at completion, then three more when the student is certified. This seems unnecessary when the first one is estimated.
