MEFA Institute: Guidance on Managing the Impact of FAFSA Simplification for Senior College Officials

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Julie Shields-Rutyna: All right, so I'm recording this and if you need to leave, you'll know that you can. Receive the recording tomorrow, as well as the slides for this. Um, a few other logistics on the webinar. If you have a question, please use the question and answer feature and I will keep track of those behind the scenes.

And then we can pose them to our expert panelists. And if you would like a live transcript, you can press the closed captioning button to be able to see the words that. We are speaking. And again, if you need to leave, you will receive all of these materials tomorrow. And with that, let me introduce our terrific panel.

We're very, very lucky to have these three panelists who are have, you know, quickly emerged as experts on this topic. So first we have Troy Davis. who is the director of financial aid at Springfield College. He's worked in financial aid for 32 years and he has also served on MASFA's Professional Development and Training Committee and was a member of the Office of Student Financial Assistance Advisory Board.

Next, we have Gail Holt, who is Dean of Financial Aid at Amherst College. She provides strategic direction and leadership. For Amherst comprehensive, fully need based financial aid program, meeting 100 percent of calculated need without loans for students. And Amherst is also need blind. Gail has been leading students and their families through the financial aid application process for nearly three decades, and is currently serving as chair of the NASFA FAFSA simplification and implementation working group.

She's a past president of MASFA, the Massachusetts Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators, and she has helped to advance the financial aid profession by contributing to a variety of professional development programs nationally and regionally. And we also have Mika Lim. Who is director of compliance audit and training for student financial services at Northeastern University.

She holds a master of

Gail Holt: public administration and she also serves

Julie Shields-Rutyna: on NASFA's FAFSA simplification implementation working group along with Gail. Additionally, she serves as MASFA's on MASFA's government relations committee and ISFA's federal relations committee. At Northeastern, she is chair of the task force that is charged with implementing FAFSA simplification at Northeastern.

So thank you all for joining us, and I am going to turn it over to you,

Troy Davis: Troy. Good morning, everyone. Um, I'm going to go over the agenda briefly and a couple of the first slides, and then we'll move through the rest of the presentation. We're going to talk about the overview and benefits of FAFSA simplification.

Uh, for, uh, the campus as well as for families. Um, we'll talk about some additional changes because that's a simplification is more than just the FAFSA form other regulatory updates. There are short term considerations, uh, for your campus, like the next three to five months. Um, there's some additional changes, uh, regarding data handling.

And then there's also long term implications. Uh, as I said, FAFSA simplification goes beyond just changing the form. There are other things attached to that law. Uh, the need for cross campus support, we'll talk about that. And opportunities for your institution, as well as some resources. So, Julie, if you want to go to the next slide.

So the FAFSA Simplification Act, as I said, is a large bill that makes a lot of changes to the financial aid world. The Department of Ed was saying this is the largest overhaul to the FAFSA in 40 years. Um, and I'm old enough to kind of remember the last time we did this. Um, so the process is going to be simpler.

The application should be simpler for families. It's going from 100 plus questions to approximately 40 ish or less. Depending on, uh, the skipped logic, uh, and depending how families answer those questions in the beginning of the application. Um, another thing that is changing that should make the process simpler for families is the introduction of what we're calling the FADDS, the Future Act Direct Data Exchange.

On the current FAFSA, there is an option to transfer IRS tax data into the FAFSA, but it is not required. With the FAFSA Simplification Act, uh, or the Future Act, the, uh, FADDX is now required. It should eliminate a lot of mistakes. Uh, we occasionally see parents put their own financial information in the student section.

That should be, uh, should be eliminated now. Um, and it's also going to hopefully make verification a simpler process. There's a more straightforward Pell Grant eligibility criteria. Um, the Department of Ed wanted to eliminate, uh, what they considered a mysterious formula to calculate the EFC and Pell eligibility.

The FAFSA simplification brings three paths to, uh, uh, Pell eligibility. There's the minimum and maximum Pells, which are going to be based on federal poverty levels and family size. So those are going to be really. pretty simple to figure out if the family is Pell eligible or not. Then there's a group in the middle, uh, that's going to rely on the student aid index.

We'll talk about that, uh, term in just a second to determine whether a, uh, student or family is Pell eligible. There's several changes coming to the federal methodology. Federal methodology is the calculation that is results. It takes the numbers from the FAFSA and generates a result for us that we use at the school.

So one of the biggest changes that you've probably already heard about is the replacement of the EFC, or expected family contribution, with an SAI, student aid index, um, and this is a true index rather than a dollar figure that the EFC was supposed to be. Um, I'm just gonna add a note here. What is old is always what is new is older.

What is old is new. When I started in financial aid, it was a student aid index. Uh, years ago. So, uh, family size is also changing on with federal methodology that will be coming from the fact from the tax information. However, families will be given the opportunity To update that if that number is incorrect, you may have also heard that the number in college is no longer going to be part of the S.

A. I. formula. So, uh, in the past, the E. F. C. was divided by the number of students in college. The S. A. I. will not be, um, the other change with the S. A. I. Is. There is, uh, no proration of an SAI for a shorter or longer than nine month enrollment period. You will, we will always use the same SAI whether the student is enrolled for one term or year round.

Um, businesses and farms are now going to be added regardless of the size of that business or farm, um, and those are probably the biggest changes, uh, that families will see in the federal methodology, uh, with the FAFSA simplification. There's the elimination of the emergency aid from the estimated financial aid.

So, if you have, uh, an emergency fund on your campus for a student that needs a winter coat, or they experienced a fire in their apartment and lost everything, that no longer needs to be part of the financial aid. Eligibility criteria, uh, used to meet need. Um, that can be a separate process. Now, there's also the new provisional independent student status in the past, uh, students who indicated that they were unable to get parental information for whatever reason.

Um, we're allowed to finish the formula, but, and finish the form, but then there was no calculation for them until the school was able to determine whether the student truly is independent or not. Now, when a student indicates that they're unable to collect parental information, they're going to be sent down the path as if they are an independent student, and there will be an SAI calculated for that student and Pell eligibility determination.

And then the school will be responsible for determining whether that, uh, independent status is true and correct. Some

other changes that have come with FASTA simplification is they have made more clear, uh, professional judgment changes. They've divided them into two categories called unusual and special circumstances. Unusual circumstances are going to be those that we typically know as a dependency override. The student is unable to get parental information and with documentation we can override that and that falls under unusual circumstances.

Special circumstances are more typically financial. So a parent has lost a job or there's been a change in marital status. Those would be situations that would fall under, uh, special circumstances. Schools are now required to publish, uh, information on their website about how to apply for these, uh, situations.

And, uh, we are given specific timelines of how long we have to respond to those circumstances that request for changes. There's been some changes to the cost of attendance. They have renamed house, uh, room and board to housing and food, uh, and we're required to use that language in our cost of dependent cost of attendance descriptions.

There's also a change that every time you mention tuition or describe tuition on your website, you're supposed to have a link back to a full cost of attendance page. That is going to be a significant undertaking for. Uh, your web team or your marketing department, um, Pell Grant, uh, FAFSA Simplification has reinstated Pell Grant for prison education programs.

There's a lot of extra regulations that go along with those, uh, but if you have a prison education program, uh, those students are now eligible for Pell Grants. There's been an expansion of Pell lifetime eligibility use restoration. So, for example, if a student attended a school that closed, Um, uh, they will get that time back and Pell eligibility back, um, uh, where a student now, uh, currently has six years of maximum Pell, um, they could regain those years that they used Pell at that closed school.

There's also a change to year round Pell, uh, you used to be required to be at least half time to, uh, take advantage of. Year round Pell and that has been eliminated. So a student who is less than half time and now get Pell and the Pell proration has changed, um, or ever. And since I've been in financial aid, we've always talked about a students being full time, three quarter time, half time or less than half time.

Now, Pell is going to be prorated based on the exact number of credit hours that student is. Uh, attending that's going to benefit students that take 11 credits where they would have received the same amount as a student taking nine credits under the current calculation and prorations, but that the student taking 11 is now going to receive slightly more than the student taking nine credits.

Mika Lim: Thank you. Thanks, Troy. Troy gave a fantastic overview of everything that's happening with fast simplification. But we wanted to also provide some information, particularly if you work outside of an aid office about what other things are going on in the regulatory world that aid offices still have to respond to.

So this is a very busy time for many aid offices, maybe hug your financial aid administrator if you see them. Um, some other things that are happening there. There is federal work study reporting, which, um, actually is a part of FAFSA simplification, but is a new annual reporting requirement that schools now have to, um, adapt, uh, adopt every year.

So if your school hasn't already, um, reported on this, your student employment or aid office may be in the midst of trying to report on this right now because it is due at the end of December, um, in future years. So beginning in. In 2024, it will be due in the summertime, and the Department of Education has indicated that they may be requiring many other elements to this report.

So just keep in mind that this is a new administrative requirement and In future years, there could be the even greater added administrative burden on a much larger report that includes things, um, unrelated to federal work study as well as federal work study. There are a number of topics that went through negotiated rulemaking, um, this year, and we have new final rules on the topics that you, you see listed here on the slide.

Um, there's a lot there, there's a lot to cover, but I, I just wanted to highlight a couple things. With these rules, there really is a strong emphasis on institutional accountability, um, and ensuring that programs meet the standards of gainful employment, that graduates can achieve higher earnings in their field and can pay down their loans and truly understand the costs of their programs.

So now with gainful employment and financial value transparency, there are two metrics against which programs will be measured. There's the debt to earnings ratio and an earnings Premium test that now all title four programs will have to report on effective July 1st, 2024. Um, so this, if you have been a school that has never had to report on gainful employment in the past beginning next year, you will need to report on, um, on these metrics.

The difference is the consequences of not meeting these standards will really depend on the type of program, whether it's an undergraduate or graduate program. Whether it's a degree or non degree program, and then also the type of institution where you serve. So if you are for profit or a nonprofit institution, so there's a lot there a lot for schools to really sort through and understand.

And it's important for us to dive into these, because the effective data is coming up around the corner before we know it. Other big changes that are happening on campuses. Um, we've been in a federal loan repayment pause for years under the COVID emergency, um, national emergency. And now, um, as you know, we are entering repayment.

And while we, we of course care about our, our graduate successes, um, for many reasons, it's, Even more important for our institutional participation in Title IV programs to be aware of, of this repayment resumption and that we make sure that our graduates understand and have support to re enter repayment because, uh, We are also bound by cohort default rates and ensuring that our graduates are not defaulting at a level that could put our participation in Title IV programs at risk.

So if you're a school that has not had to worry about cohort default rate, it might still be something that you want to look at, um, with the resumption of loan repayments. Lastly, on other things that are happening, um, around regulation updates, there is the borrow defense, um, to repayment, which is, uh, where students can apply for loan discharge based on a number of things.

What we're seeing most commonly is, uh, they're claiming misrepresentation of the program of the program costs of, uh, career services and support provided to the students. And this is not a new thing, but because of a ruling in the courts. The department is now required to notify schools of the claims, um, before they are reviewed, so we have an opportunity to respond if we would like to.

So if you haven't received your law and defense claims, um, you might receive them, you know, at, in the middle of the night like we did, um, which causes a big stir around campus. Um, and you might be needing to work with general counsel. And others on campus to determine if or how you'd like to respond.

There is a time frame, a window in which you can respond. So just another added thing that is sort of on our plates during this other otherwise very busy time. Julie, would you mind advancing? Thank you. So we wanted to just Dumped a lot of information on what's happening. What are the changes we wanted to really frame it on around what what are the impacts?

What does this actually look like in our eight offices and around campus. So we wanted to talk a little bit first about some short term considerations and impacts. So we're talking the next six to 12 months. What, what do these changes really look like? What are some of the things that we have to be considering?

So the FAFSA is delayed. Um, we won't, the students won't be able to receipt to begin filing the FAFSA until likely the end of December. And we as institutions will not receive any FAFSA data until the end of January into into February. So this can have several impacts on campus for schools who are relying on FAFSA data.

It means that there is a shorter window in which they can get aid offers out unless enrollment deadlines are changing or any other institutional deadlines are changing. For schools that rely on CSS Profile^® and maybe using institutional methodology to provide tentative awards before FAFSA information is provided.

There might need to be a second review process once that FAFSA data is is received. So that's just another element of work that is involved with with these changes. With such a condensed time frame and with so many layers of complexity around the changes, there will likely need to be some consideration on your campus around staffing priorities.

You have existing staff, And a great deal more work to do on a shorter time frame. What is what's going to change what what needs to kind of give in this give and take. I know some schools have mentioned things like needing to pull back frontline staff during a period of time from being on the front lines and working directly with students so they can focus on processing and getting aid offers out during those peak critical times.

So these are likely conversations that are happening on your campus or your aid director has been thinking about, um, maybe losing some sleep over, but these are, these are things that will, will need to happen on, on campuses this year to get through this, um, tough transitionary period. In addition to, um, the changes that are happening on the federal side, many schools are responding by using this as an opportunity to rethink their institutional aid policies.

And I think this is a really good opportunity to do that if you haven't really delved into these conversations on your campus. If you've used the NASFA's Student Aid Index Modeling Tool, it's a really wonderful tool to be able to Project how these changes will impact your specific student populations to be able to, um, do some modeling and make some strategic institutional decisions around aid practices and policies.

I think this is a really interesting time where students should be getting more, um, overall more eligibility for federal aid. So great time to be thinking about how you might want to adjust your institutional aid policies. I know some schools also are are requesting additional appeal funds to really assist students who particularly your current students who may have had one aid package last year and may have a different aid package next year.

Hopefully it's it's more I think for many students, they will receive more federal aid for some students, there may be a negative impact. So, um, considering. What kind of appeal fundings or how you will work with those students who do see a negative change to their eight offer. There are also I don't think I can overstate this many operational and systems changes that are required under administrative capability.

We are required to not only implement all these changes, but document them and ensuring that we have the documentation of all the changes that are happening and all the decisions that we're making, I think, can be very easy for us during this kind of hectic, crazy time to just Through and make all these changes and implement.

But we also need to make sure that eight offices have time to step back and document because we are required to have updated policies and procedure manuals. The department can of course request them during during an audit at any time. So we need to make sure that we are we have those updated. A lot of the changes are really contingent upon our systems.

These are wide scale changes that are happening and our software providers have to adapt their software within a condensed time frame and that leaves schools with less time to implement and test these changes and ensure that processing occurs in the way in the ways that it needs to. So, um, many schools will need.

System support extra systems support to get through this time period. Um, another big bucket of changes and efforts that I think are happening on campuses around fast simplification are communications and training. So, not just communicating with our internal staff and ensuring that they are up to speed, which.

I think many of us are have different kind of training series and all sorts of different creative ways. We've seen schools who have interesting kind of trivia nights and things like that with their staff to try to help them understand these changes, because many of them are working in two years at the same time, the old world of 20 through 24 and the new world of 24 25, but also sharing https: otter.

ai Helping them get up to speed on any of the impacts for their work. And the other big component of, uh, communications and training is our students. Of course, they, they are going to have to grapple with all these changes as well. And they're looking to us. to help them through that. Um, not only is it our responsibility to do that, but as Troy mentioned, we also have some new consumer disclosure requirements that we're required to put out.

So it's very important that we are reviewing our, all of our communications, ensuring that they are one, compliant with the new rules and two, as helpful as possible to help students, um, transition to the new, um, new way of doing things. I know for us at Northeastern, we are doing whatever we can to preempt questions by updating a knowledge base with articles and information that we think students will have questions about.

But As much as you can, you can do, um, proactive communications, which is always great. Um, you should also expect an uptick in student outreach. I think many of us are expecting that students will be reaching out, whether through assistance with the FAFSA. or understanding their aid offer, um, or perhaps appealing for additional aid.

There, there should be, um, some consideration for how you will be managing those changes, um, and the uptick in student support needed.

Do you mind advancing, please, Julie? Thank you. Um, This is a little bit of a non sequitur, but we wanted to this is this is something that is very important. We weren't sure exactly where to put it, but we felt like it was very important to explain and it kind of leads into some of the long term considerations that Gail will be talking about.

In our current aid world, there are three, um, areas, uh, three areas of law through which we manage all, all data handling. And so we took these slides directly from, um, the Department of Ed and their federal, um, student aid training conference a couple weeks ago. Where they were really explaining the changes and how they will impact us.

So on the left hand side, that infographic with the three bubbles shows those three areas of law through which we are required to have been required to be held to for all data sharing and data handling. And that is the Privacy Act of 1974. The Higher Education Act, which dictates how we can use and share, um, FAFSA data and then, of course, FERPA, which we all are very aware of, um, with the new FAFSA, as, as Troy mentioned, there is the now required transfer of information, um, from the IRS to the Department of Ed, and that information will be disclosed to us as institutions.

That information that Is received directly from the IRS is. IRS data. It is controlled, unclassified federal taxpayer information, and we are now held to the internal revenue code. So this is a whole new set of laws around data handling that we are bound to. So you'll see on the on the right hand side of the screen.

There's the new infographic of the laws that will be required to adhere to. So you'll see in the bottom right corner, that new green bubble is the internal revenue code with the associated laws that we are bound to. And then you'll also see in the top left hand corner, the Higher Education Act is also changing their rules around FAFSA data handling.

So there's, there's a lot there. A lot of conversation should be happening on campus to understand the impacts. Um, some highlights that I'll just mention are One, uh, you need to really be mindful of how you, um, label federal taxpayer information. There's a requirement to label this information. Um, the use of this information can only be for the administration of aid.

If it is, uh, there are several other purposes that are very specifically allowed, um, including assisting. others with awarding aid to students, and there are very specific rules around, um, how you can be authorized by the applicant to do so, and very clear, um, written, written authorization requirements around that.

I think aid offices are grappling with this, but it, it goes beyond an aid office. Um, ITS should be engaged in any kind of data steward, uh, Managers that you have on your campus should be aware of these changes. General counsel should be aware of these changes, as well as institutional research, because institutional research will no longer be allowed to use federal taxpayer information for research purposes.

It cannot be used for any other purpose other than the administration of financial aid. So there's a lot there. We want folks to really understand that these are not changes that, that are, Um, and the new I. R. I. R. S. Laws around this that we are bound to are the most restrictive and hold the greatest sanctions.

So, um, schools are liable as well as Individuals. Um, there is the possibility of, um, individual, civil and criminal, um, action taken against individuals who do not adhere to these, um, IRS rules. So it's very serious. It's very important. Um, it will probably be a source, an area of really big scrutiny, um, during audits, um, in the future.

So really important things to

Gail Holt: be aware of.

Thank you, Mika. Um, as you, as you know, you've been hearing from, from Troy and, and Mika, um, there has always been, as we, as we shift, uh, from short term needs to long term needs, uh, financial aid offices, um, are, are not efficient. Um, offices that have a lot of time on a on a good day. So eight offices right now are managing the status quo.

They're serving students in 23, 24 under all of the previous and existing, uh, needs and and resources. And you've heard so much, um, from from Troy and Mika about new regulatory changes about That are now coming on top, um, and needing to shift whether you've got aid professionals in your offices who have been in aid for a really long time, which that experience is going to serve them well, but it really does require a shift and change in their, uh, their mindset and their thinking and their comfort level.

Uh, with what they have been operating with for, for years. Uh, and, or you may have newer aid professionals. You may have newer aid professionals that don't know the full context and need extra, uh, time and attention in terms of, of learning and training. Um, and so those things need to happen. And then the third thing that's required is really time and planning for strategic, longer term needs.

Uh, and if you're in enrollment management, Um, you've, you've seen, uh, the Supreme Court decision around race neutral admission policies, you've seen how that process has required, uh, discussion about communications and, and practices, and this is people's voices. Uh, somewhat similar in the financial aid world, but there's also implications of these changing and evolving systems that we just don't know yet.

So managing and being mindful of time and resources to focus on the long term needs are also really important. And Mika, um, started, um, and shared the information about. Federal tax information. Um, and the very. Specific, um, and significant requirements, um, around handling, um, and the first step as institutions head into, um, completing the 23 24 year, uh, is looking also at, at the research, um, at reporting, um, and where, where are those reporting tools held?

Are those, you know, solely within the financial aid office, um, FPFs? Are they with institutional research? Um, how do those entities work together to identify where the data elements are coming from? Because that's going to be so critical, um, to make sure that if data is being relied, um, and coming from protected and controlled tax elements, uh, that that is then adjusted and make sure that you'll be able to remain in compliance.

There are consent forms that will be required if any FTI data is Requested to be released. Um, and those aren't things that you necessarily decide as what you want to set as a consent form with your institution, but there are very specific legal requirements in terms of what needs to be included in that consent form.

Um, so that's something to talk over. With your financial aid officer, director, um, do requests get received? What kind of requests? Who do they come from? And are consent forms something that are going to need to be developed? Um, there are still pieces of FAFSA data that will remain FAFSA data. Those are called derived data.

So things that are coming directly from the IRS, uh, are the most, uh, controlled and regulated. But the derived data such as the Student Aid Index and a yes, no flag around whether a student is eligible for the federal Pell Grant, those derived data may have a little bit more flexibility. The staffing issues are something that long term really needs to be considered because financial aid offices right now are really going to have to evaluate.

Um, what is the time required to go back, uh, and review FAFSA data once it comes in? If you're an institution that is really pressing to get aid decisions out to students early, and many institutions are, and that is important for families, uh, the FAFSA data still needs to be reviewed later. So our, our current, uh, system processes may not be, uh, set up to, to formally do that based on our recent history of typically having this data much earlier.

So what are the processes look like? Um, what is the staffing look like? And then, you know, what, what other. Concerns are there that we just don't know about yet. Uh, the, the reality is that there is only so much that has been able to be shared with us up front before the law required this to be, um, implemented.

And so there's a certain element Of our long term needs that we will learn about as, as the data and the processes are realized. Um, and so there's going to be need to be flexibility and conversation. And that means, uh, Julie, as you move into the next slide, um, that means that really the, the cross campus support, uh, is what's, what's critical.

Uh, as many of my colleagues have been doing, uh, we've been trying to partner with our colleagues in other offices. Uh, just to talk about FAFSA simplification, talk about what we are learning and what we're seeing, and it's through those conversations that good questions are coming up, or people who are the subject matter experts in their data can, can think of those connection points, um, so that those can be, uh, addressed.

I. T is critical because they know how the data transfers. Um, they know what happens when data is absent. Um, things that that might seem Um, mundane or we're not getting something, uh, may have some very significant I. T. Consequences are our call connections with our colleagues in communications. Um, the communication plans will be very different because there will be families for whom this whole process is new and they're going through it.

for the first time. And so those communications about the process can be fairly straightforward based on what we we know and what we understand about the communications. But for our students who are renewing their applications or have prior experience, they may be experiencing something completely different.

Uh, we also have students who have siblings that are at a variety of different kinds of institutions and the treatment at those institutions, you know, could, could vary. So many colleges are thinking about their, their communications by audience, um, and tailoring the communications by audience. Uh, and that takes significant thought and time.

So being able to partner with our colleagues in, in communications who. do this more frequently and can help, um, approach it from not a more technical perspective, but a more practical perspective is, is really important. Um, we're all trying to manage the, the enrollment concerns and the predictability of enrollment behavior.

With a completely disrupted world. And so, uh, there will be a lot that will be unknown because so much of the environment, both on the admission side and the financial aid side is is disrupted. And so it's even hard to track. What is what is causing the disruption in the end. So retaining as much flexibility and conversation is is required.

Um, but hearing also hearing from your financial aid offices about compliance oversight, please take those those messages and those. Um, and so I think it's important to take these concerns, um, as seriously as you can and approach them with curiosity and, uh, interest in where these coming from and how do we all interpret and seek the guidance that we need to make sure that we're following the regulatory requirements, making sure that future audits, um, are, are safe and, Um, and that, you know, financial aid officers care very, very deeply about making sure we're following, uh, all of the proper rules.

We really have three, you know, I often say three bosses. Um, we're beholden to our institutions and the leadership at our institutions to follow through on bringing in the class and enrolling. Uh, but we're also beholden to the federal government to make sure that we are following those regulations accurately and sufficiently.

And then we also want to do right by our families to make sure that they're getting, um, as much of the resources that they need. Uh, so Mika talked about the policy and procedures, um, being able to have those conversations with other offices to really dig into the intersecting points, uh, is, is important.

So those, those cross functional meetings, um, diving into the, the systems to find out where the data is, is going and where will it overlap. And, and of course, um, the, the security review. So I am sure that your financial aid offices have good connection points with, um, the individual at your institution who's responsible for information security, uh, but strengthening those relationships at this point in time is, is really important.

Also updating, we're now at the point where enough information has been released, uh, across colleges, uh, across from the, the Department of Education, uh, and FSA, that websites, uh, can be updated. And, and that's critical so that when families are arriving, uh, to your, your, your campus websites. They, um, have as much information about your practices because there is going to be so much variability, uh, across colleges that hearing your voice, uh, is, is critically important.

And that leads, um, into, you know, this is an opportunity. This is, uh, a really great time for opportunity because it is good news. It's good news that there's greater transparency, uh, in the financial aid process and availability of funds, uh, more students. Are going to receive the federal program, which will enable them, uh, funding to make all of our colleges more affordable.

And that's the good news that we should be, you know, really shouting from, from the rooftops. There's, um, more opportunity. Uh, there's opportunity for the process to be less intimidating. Um, the whole financial aid. process is, uh, it is very intrusive in terms of people's financial circumstances. Uh, it it can feel, um, degrading in terms of families feeling like they have not been able to save and afford as much.

So being able to connect the application directly from the IRS to the Department of Education. And take out the lack of confidence in being able to report accurate numbers is really important. There will be transitional challenges. Any change of this size, um, there are absolutely going to be transitional challenges.

But that doesn't mean that, you know, as financial aid folks, we get through, um, a lot. And Financial aid offices and financial aid officers, um, are really always able, uh, to make things work, but they they need good support. They need, um, to demonstrate. This is an opportunity for you to demonstrate that your institution is committed to simplification and committed to making sure that resources are there for students.

So, you know, I really think it's important to ask your financial aid officer, you know, what, where, what areas do they really feel confident? And understand kind of what they've been doing so far. Where have they been getting information and and that confidence support that confidence support the progress that's being made.

And at the same time, where do they need support at every institution? That's going to be a different answer. Some institutions, they really feel like they're going to need, uh, the the I T or the system support. Some institutions where it may really feel like there's personnel. Gaps, um, and staffing needs to be support.

Some institutions, it may be about that strategic thinking about how are we using our resources? Is this, is this an opportunity for us with more of this Pell money to come coming in to really redirect some other resources from the institution to students who have, have been, um, Really underserved for for quite some time.

Uh, so this is a great way to make a lot of great changes and investment At this point in financial aid we can be investing in our students Financially we can be investing in the the health of our staff Uh, and certainly we want to make sure that we're investing in compliance. So I think, um, there are also lots of resources, um, that your financial aid teams are very much likely to be aware of and already utilizing.

So the National Association of Financial Aid Administrators has a whole entire FAFSA Simplification Web Center with a lot of great resources. Federal Student Aid has been rolling out, um, all kinds of resources as they've been able to. The training, uh, and the presentations have ramped up between really July, uh, and now.

There are videos, there are articles, there are how tos. So there's just such an amazing, you know, opportunity, but it takes time to review those resources. So that's another challenge for our financial aid officers is how do we separate getting things done today that are most pressing and immediate. With planning for for tomorrow.

So, um, we definitely want to make sure that we have questions and time for your questions. What have you been experiencing? What, uh, have you heard from your eight offices? How can the National Association, uh, support and the working group that Mika and I are part of? How can we continue to support individuals?

Uh, more, more fully. The National Association has really just been fantastic because they've got a team of people that are able to hear our concerns and really operationalize the resources that that are needed. So it's a fantastic, uh, partnership. I'm going to stop

Julie Shields-Rutyna: sharing so that everyone can see the panel a little more clearly.

And I will just, yeah, let's leave some time open. We have We have nine minutes. So what questions do you have? What have you been your biggest concerns? And let's pose those to this panel of experts. And yes, someone is asking, um, we will get this. You will receive the slides and a recording of this presentation.

By tomorrow, so I will be sending that. Thank you so much for asking that again. So we have another question that is asking, how much have you increased your staffing during this time, so I don't maybe you can all take take a look at that.

Gail Holt: Jump in first and then certainly invite invite Troy and make it add to it.

That's really hard to answer because it's so Uh, specific to institutions. What we saw during the pandemic was we did see a lot of financial aid officers had had exiting staff. Um, and so some aid offices were already operating sort of behind the eight ball, so to speak. Um, so I think filling positions is tremendously important.

Um, and some, you know, evaluation would need to exist to determine if the aid office was already understaffed. But looking at response times can help, um, looking at hours worked and how much extra and overtime staff are putting in to meet compliance and service to students. Um, you know, we, we did at Amherst, um, we, Really, uh, repurposed a position from a systems position into a caseload student service position, because that's where we felt we needed the resources to make sure that there was enough opportunity to be reviewing files.

But Troy, Mika.

Troy Davis: Sure. Um, we were one of those offices that, um, also currently have some positions open, um, that we're trying to fill. But, uh, to deal with the short term implicate implications, um, we are going to, uh, hire one temp. And I'm going to move some people, uh, additional people into file review so that we can meet, uh, our goals and deadlines of getting awarded financial aid offers out in a shorter

Mika Lim: window

on our campus. Similar trends where, you know, understaffing has been an issue, um, filling positions has been challenging. Um, I think this is just a tough time to hire, particularly for financial aid offices. Um, but where we have had success is by, um, going through a reorganization in which we Have now a new unit of customer experience that's really focused on frontline staff are on frontline support for students so that our processing staff can as much as possible focus on on processing.

Of course, it's not an easy transition. There's bumps in the road, but I think we're moving towards a direction that can really sustain and support the large number of students that we serve at

Gail Holt: Northeastern. I think, I think something, you know, Mika raises a good point that really looking at how aid offices are communicating with, with students about completeness, um, we've been much more intentional about sharing status, uh, regarding is your application complete or incomplete.

Uh, that varies from institution to institution, uh, and I think that's critical because if you can get the files completed earlier, um, then you're. You're being more efficient with your time. Um, we've we've allocated some staff resources to reviewing applications as they're coming in to try to identify where there's gaps that also takes time.

But those are some newer, you know, initiatives that that I think are important, too. So, you know, how can we, um, improve the pipeline to make sure that when a file is read, it's read once, uh, not not multiple times. Thank

Julie Shields-Rutyna: you. And what are your thoughts on the stability of studentaid. gov and the FAFSA application that's going to be released?

Do you think it's going to be perfect when it comes out? I mean, that's me ad libbing a little bit.

Gail Holt: I do feel strongly about this, so I'm going to jump in first again, um, that it's not going to be perfect. Um, but the reality is That Congress, um, dropped the FAFSA simplification law on this community in higher ed, um, with an unrealistic, uh, response time because of the What is included in the comprehensiveness?

I mean, Troy opened up talking about the volume. It is it is three distinct pieces. It's an application overhaul. It's a behind the scenes, um, overhaul in terms of the financial aid system, the need analysis and then the It's the processing system. So those three things together, uh, really made it very, very challenging for federal student aid, uh, to deliver in the time frame that they had.

So I do think they've been doing the best job they possibly can. I think they've been successful in many ways. They're trying to get it right. So have they been cautious in releasing things? Yes. Would we like to Have them release things, you know, sooner so that we can get to see stuff sooner? Yes. But have they been communicating in some, you know, avenues, the working groups, some other community based organization groups?

Yeah, they have. So I think we're all trying to do the best for our audiences. Um, And, you know, and we'll get through the transition as long as we're, we're, we're patient and graceful and looking for solutions rather than looking to, to criticize. I

Julie Shields-Rutyna: have one question before we, we just have two minutes. I know that at MIFA, we, we speak with a lot of families and.

I know one of the things that families have been anxious about is, of course, being able to pay for college is very important in as part of the college decision. And so because things are delayed and probably award offers will be delayed. There's some, some feeling that they will families and students will be asked to commit to a college or university without having an aid offer.

And we try to. Tell them, you know, that, that you, you all at colleges know that as well. Um, so can you just speak to that a little bit about, you know, how your, how your campuses are feeling about that and how you're communicating with students about that to let them know that, um, that you're working very hard at

Gail Holt: that.

I can

Troy Davis: very quickly talk about, uh, we, we actually have not extended our deadline. We're still going to try to meet our deadline to get first year offers out is on, on our regular schedule. And, um, I think our admissions staff, uh, would, would say that they try to tell a student that they, they are under no, no obligation to commit to the school, uh, or our school without a financial aid offer.

And so we, we're trying to get those offers out as quickly as possible so students and families can make informed decisions.

I don't know if Mika

Julie Shields-Rutyna: or Gail, you have anything to add to that too.

Mika Lim: I think that's right. I think, you know, we, I don't think schools are expecting families to commit, um, without, without an aid offer. That's, we understand the pressure, um, that students are under and that's why we are working so diligently and so hard to make sure that they have all the information they need to make the best decision for them.

Julie Shields-Rutyna: And I know you agree too, Gail. And we, we will also spread that word and communicate as much as possible with families to just, you know, complete those applications, get them in as soon as possible. Um, and that they at some point will have, will have award offers and they will have decisions to make. So thank you for that.

Well, we are at time. Um, thank you so much to all of you, um, panelists. Uh, that was really, really Good information. And thank you to all who've attended and your questions. And, um, please, anything we can do to continue to support you. We're happy to do so. Have a have a wonderful afternoon.

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