What Makes a Good Award NoticeHOW TO BLEND NEW REQUIREMENTS WITH EXISTING CONTENT… AND ATTEMPT TO MINIMIZEConfusion

Rick GardnerAssociate Director of Operations

Office of Financial Aid and ScholarshipsJAMES MADISON UNIVERSITY - HARRISONBURG, VIRGINIA

Confusion…

Definition: The state of being bewildered or unclear in one’s mind about something Link between Vitamin D deficiencies and cognitive impairment which includes

memory loss and a foggy brain Confusion may result from drug side effects

Confusion may result from a relatively sudden brain dysfunction…

Confusion…

Definition: The state of being bewildered or unclear in one’s mind about something

Link between Vitamin D deficiencies and cognitive impairment which includes memory loss and a foggy brain

Confusion may result from drug side effects Confusion may result from a relatively sudden brain

dysfunction… often initiated by trying to comply with Federal Regulations, or reading an award notice that complies with Federal Regulations

Apparently Confused

Presentation Outline

New Requirements (Shopping Sheet) Rules (Why, What, Who, When) Benefits and Drawbacks

What makes a Good Financial Aid Award Notice for JMU? JMU’s goals for the new Award Notice format Content and formatting strategies Example - JMU’s 2013-14 Award Notice

Q & A

Why... is the Shopping Sheet Award Notice important?

Shopping sheet is intended to make it easier for students/families to make informed decisions about school choice. A standardized format makes it easy to compare different school’s: Out-of-Pocket costs (COA less “gift aid”) Work Options Loan Options Other Options (EFC, Parent PLUS Loans, Military/National Service,

etc.) Executive Order 13607 Transparency

What... is the Shopping Sheet Award Notice?

The Shopping Sheet is a consumer tool that utilizes a standardized form which facilitates cost comparison between schools

Simplifies/standardizes the information that prospective students receive about costs and financial aid

Intended to make it easier to compare cost of attending “School A” to the cost of attending “School B”

The Shopping Sheet may be used in place of or as a supplemental cover sheet to an institution’s existing financial aid award letter.

Overall goal is to make it easier for students/families to make more informed decisions about where to attend, as it pertains to school cost.

http://collegecost.ed.gov/shopping_sheet.pdf

Institutional Metric File can be found at http://ifap.ed.gov/eannouncements/011813InstitutMetricDataFileForFinaidShopSheet.html

Institutional Metric Data Sources Graduation Rate

The graduation rate is for first-time, full-time degree or certificate-seeking undergraduate students who began at the institution. For primarily bachelor’s degree-granting institutions, the graduation rate displayed is for students beginning in Fall 2005 and seeking a bachelor’s degree. For primarily associate’s degree-granting institutions and primarily certificate-granting institutions, the graduation rate displayed is for students beginning in Fall 2008. Data used to calculate an institution’s graduation rate come from the institution’s annual submission to the U.S. Department of Education’s Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS). The institution’s graduation rate is displayed with an indication of how it compares with graduation rates among institutions that primarily grant the same level of award. For example, the comparison group for an institution that primarily awards bachelor’s degrees is all institutions that primarily award bachelor’s degrees. Data from the IPEDS Completions component is used to determine each institution’s group.

Loan Default RateLoan default rate refers to the institution’s three-year cohort default rate. This is the percentage of an institution’s borrowers who entered repayment on certain Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program or William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan (Direct Loan) Program loans in Federal fiscal year 2009 (between October 1, 2008 and September 30, 2009) and who defaulted before September 30, 2011. Data used to calculate an institution’s cohort default rate come from ED’s National Student Data System (NSLDS).  

Median BorrowingMedian borrowing refers to the median amount of Federal student loans borrowed by students for their undergraduate study at the institution. Data used to calculate the median amount of Federal student loans borrowed by students for their undergraduate study come from ED’s NSLDS. The estimated monthly repayment amount has been calculated using the Department’s standard, extended, and graduated repayment calculator based on an interest rate of 6.8%.

No Modifications

Institutions that adopt the Shopping Sheet may NOT modify the form to remove programs from which the student will not be receiving funding

Recommend putting “N/A” for things like Pell Grant amounts for graduate students

It is OK to change the static (green area) information for graduate students if data is available specific to graduates (graduation rate, default rate, median borrowing)

Other Shopping Sheet Trivia

Recommended Loan Amount Definition - You are expected to evaluate the student’s financial circumstances and provide a recommended loan amount, even if it is zero. This may be different than the amount a student is eligible for. In most cases, you will include the loan amount that you recommend on the student’s award letter.

As of Dec 2012, over 600 institutions had committed to adopting the Shopping Sheet. If your school is joining this list, you should contact the Dept. of Education and let them know.

Shopping Sheet Reference Information

http://www2.ed.gov/policy/highered/guid/aid-offer/index.html

Who... should get a Shopping Sheet Award Notice

Required for Federal Military and veterans educational benefits Undergraduate and graduate service members, veterans, military

spouses, other military family members covered by EO 13607 As described in Dear Colleague Letters GEN-12-12 and GEN 12-

17, all institutions are encouraged to use the Shopping Sheet format for financial aid award letters beginning with the 2013-14 award year.

For schools that “voluntarily” adopt Shopping Sheet they must provide it to Any student who completes a FASFA

When… should it be sent?

Shopping Sheet should be delivered prior to enrollment (Preliminary Award Notices)

Schools are “encouraged” to use the Shopping Sheet whenever award packages are revised.

Benefits and Drawbacks

Benefits Standardized Form

Consistent across many schools Ability to interpret the information on the Shopping Sheet will become

more common as time passes

Drawbacks Terminology may be new or inconsistent with existing terminology Format and make-up of summarized data may not match your

existing format Potential for the change to create more questions than it answersConfusion

What makes a Good Financial Aid Award Notice for JMU (Rick)?

Award Notice must Meet regulatory requirements Be transparent – Give the whole financial picture Be easy to use and understand (only include applicable info) Be consistent (NASFAA Award Letter Task Force’s definitions) Be short (wishing this presentation was shorter?)

Phone CallsA GOOD AWARD NOTICE IS ONE THAT DOES NOT GENERATE UNNECESSARY PHONE CALLS

What makes a Good Financial Aid Award Notice for JMU (Rick)?

Award Notice must Meet regulatory requirements Be transparent – Give the whole financial picture Be easy to use and understand (only include applicable info) Be consistent (NASFAA Award Letter Task Force’s definitions) Be short (wishing this presentation was shorter?)

JMU’s Approach

Use Shopping Sheet as a cover page to our Award Notice Reformat our Award Notice to match Shopping Sheet terminology

and layout Provide definitions, details and explanations

JMU’s Preliminary Award Notice

JMU’s Approach - Summary

• Use Shopping Sheet as a cover page to our Award Notice

• Reformat our Award Notice to match Shopping Sheet terminology and layout

• Provide definitions, details and explanations• Avoid providing information that does not apply Phone Calls Confusion

Q & A