All Access

Lonely Only – The Office of One

Posted by:  Kim Siwarski @ Access Group

Conversation among those that are an “office of one” began with attendee introductions including number of staff and students, responsibilities, type of aid offered, and support of other offices or central universities.

The goal of the session was to have an open discussion to share helpful hints and tricks of the trade to manage their workload.  Technology was an area that can either help or hurt your processing depending on how well it is integrated with other offices within your university.  Well integrated systems can save time by reducing manual intervention.  Poorly integrated systems can create even more work.

Discussions stretched all the way from awarding to repayment counseling. Packaging time frame was varied depending on when budgets are set and whether awarding waits for final budget approval or is based on estimates. Responses as to the type of repayment counseling offered ranged from online forms to one-on-one counseling; although all attendees recognized the value of counseling, time, of course, is an issue.   Live webinars and recorded webinars were discussed as a viable option.

A great question was put out there Kevin McGowan … “If you had another staff person, what is the first thing you would have them do?”  Answers ranged from counseling to transmitting files, to completing all the required surveys.  The conversion to Direct Lending (DL) has also made many of the duties that were previously done by lenders and guarantors the responsibility of the financial aid offices.

With all of the challenges discussed by the “office of one” attendees, the prospect of additional staff hires remains bleak since staff increases are directly related to the ability to bring in larger classes which is difficult during these economic times.

Circumstances Beyond Your Control: Using Professional Judgment

Posted by: Libby Rosenberg @ Access Group

The professional judgment panel was made up of Kyle Cronan, assistant director of graduate business financial aid, Washington University Olin School of Business; Glenda Palmer, Ph.D., assistant dean of student affairs and director of financial aid, Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine; and Brad Russo, associate director of financial aid, Georgetown University Law Center.

The three presented some of their most challenging case studies to the attendees for review and discussion … and what a lively discussion it was.  If one thing was clear it was that each of them could be presented with the same student situation and come to their own unique solution, and that each would be “right” and solve the problem. 

When students are faced with what might be a dangerous or traumatic situation that will affect their ability to pay for their education, it’s up to the financial aid office to determine whether or not their situation warrants an increase in the cost of attendance (COA) which in turn would increase the amount of money they’re permitted to borrow.  This is a big deal.

While it’s clear that there are vast differences case by case and office to office, one point was made very clear.  “Use best practices as detailed in your policies and procedures, and document as much as possible. Remember, professional judgments are typically reviewed during program audits and reviews.”

The attendees’ conversations were very spirited and while some are “tougher” than others, it’s apparent that each of them cares for their students and wants them to succeed.  I’m not a financial aid administrator.  I don’t even work at a university, but it was so great to hear this very engaged group share stories, offer each other a different point of view, and offer support and advice. 

Final thought:    Document.  Document.  Document. 

The Daily Briefing with Ari Fleischer

Posted by: Mark Bubel @ Access Group

Ari Fleischer, the speaker to kick off the second day of the Access Group conference gave everyone an interesting and informative view of what life can be like inside the White House.

As former Press Secretary to President George W. Bush, Ari described how his job was the hardest and most challenging job he had or ever will have. He recounted his memory of September 11, 2011, and the days that followed the attack. He described how he will never forget that day and all of the grueling time he spent trying to answer questions, comfort people, and make sense of what happened.

 

Ari also gave us a glimpse of happy times in the White House as well. He recounted one night where he and the President practiced throwing a baseball on the south lawn to get the President ready for an opening baseball game the following week. The general public rarely gets to see or know about that part of the President or White House, so it was great he shared his experiences.

Ari was raised a democrat by his parents, but by the time he left college, he switched his political affiliation  to republican. Even though his parents did not agree with his choice, he said, they still support him and joke with him about his time in the White House with George W. Bush.

Regardless of his political allegiance, Ari did a wonderful job at humorously presenting a detailed, in-depth analysis of the latest news coming out of Washington. His status as a political communications veteran allowed him to handle the toughest questions, from the the White House briefing room to the audience of the Access Group conference.

Learn more at Ari at http://www.fleischersports.com/home.php or following him on Twitter: @AriFleischer

That was Then, This is Now - The Unveiling of the New Need Access - Access Group’s Need Analysis Product

Posted by: Becky Marrone @ Access Group

During Thursday afternoon’s pre-conference session, Kim Siwarski, Access Group’s national sales director, and Ann Durandetta, a member of the internal account executive team unveiled the enhanced Need Access need-analysis service. 

For those not familiar with the product, Need Access is a need analysis product offered by Access Group for the past 15 years.  It’s an all-in-one, web-based need analysis solution that collects and analyzes student data bringing clarity, efficiency and equity to schools' institutional aid processes.  By providing school users with the most accurate and complete financial picture of their students, Need Access ensures that institutional aid gets into the hands those who need it the most. 

The enhanced product will launch in January, 2012 and is now available to both graduate and undergraduate institutions.

The session started with Kim taking us on a journey back in time to illustrate just how far technology, especially Need Access, has come since the 1995-1996 processing year.  Here are few of the visuals to set the stage for those who will remember way back to 1996 …

Technology has changed so much since then ... from "cell phone" to "mobile device."

And the computer ... enough said.

And let’s not forget those 3 ½ inch disks.  Would you believe students sent us their completed Need Access application data via mail on 3 ½ inch disks! Today, Need Access is completely web-based and has come a long way since then! 

And finally … the new Need Access.   For the past two years, Access Group has invested  time and resources to redesign Need Access from a stand-alone software product to fully integrated and enhanced web-based need analysis service.   That means: 

• Student data will now been available to school users in real-time and at your finger tips
• No more software to for school users download … it’s all in the “cloud”
• More flexibility and customization than ever before
• And improved system usability for all users (students, parents and schools alike) – take a look:

 The former Need Access Counselor software main menu:

To the new and improved School Administrator menu:

The former Need Analysis report:

And the new and improved Need Access Need Analysis report: 

The former Need Access Student Information page:

The new and improved Need Access Student Information page:

 As you can see, the enhancements made to the Need Access service tremendously improve the performance and usability of service. The positive reaction from the audience during the live demonstration of the system confirmed that for us as well.  

For more information about how Need Access can help "bring your students' need into focus" or for a demonstration of the system, please contact Tom Ramaeker (tramaeker@accessgroup.org) or Kim Siwarski (ksiwarski@accessgroup.org) or visit our website at NeedAccess.Org.

 

Financing for International Students

Posted by: Amy Manfredi @ Access Group

The Financing for International Students session was very interactive as our conference guests recognize the real challenge that exists for getting funding for their international population.  There was discussion surrounding the credit union programs.  One attendee shared the fact that her institution funds the international student loans.  We heard  that a lot of the programs provide the option of insurance.  Schools find the insurance option a comforting one since they really bear part of the risk.  Something to consider with the credit union programs is the fact that they require some affiliation with their entity - some are directly tied to the school while others have a local affiliation.  Credit union terms are more like 15 years vs. 20 or 25 years. 

If you are able to identify a compatible lending partner, you should explore its skills with international collections. How are they at maintaining reliable contact information?  How resourceful are they in pursuing valid contact information?  How are they prepared to tackle the language barrier when calling overseas?

When you are scouting out a lending partner, be prepared to provide them with statistics on your institution as they relate to default rates, placement rates, beginning salaries, percentage that stay in the U.S, percentage that get employed ...

The funding of international loans usually involves a company skilled with the capital markets, identifying investors and facilitating securitizations, like UBS Securities.  They spoke to the fact the private loan securitization volume is way down – 5 % of what it used to be!  It’s gone from $70-80 billion per year to $3-4 billion!  Private loan volume itself is down and in turn, so are securitizations. 

The consensus of the group was that the challenge is very real.

Industry Update: What's Next - More Changes?

Posted by:  Kim Siwarski @ Access Group

The elimination of FFELP; the elimination of in-school subsidies; are there more changes on the horizon?

Conference attendees came to hear the answer to that question from Shelly Repp, President of NCHELP during today’s Industry Update. We all want to know what changes we will face as graduate and professional financial aid administrators in the coming year.

Shelly began the session with a very “timely” quote: “A major problem is the spiraling costs of college and the fact that it’s impossible for a family of modest means to send their children to the college of their choice.” The irony of this quote is that it was made by Rep. Edith Green (D-OR) on August 26, 1965.  Considering the potential impact of the debt limit and the required cost reduction by the “super-committee,” the message in the quote by Rep. Green is likely to live on.

Financial aid is fair game for reductions and is being viewed as an area for savings to reduce the deficit.  Increasing origination fees, on top of the elimination of the rebate, are definite possibilities along with the elimination of in-school interest subsidies for undergraduate loans.

Another area of discussion involved the new “lifeguard” – the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. This bureau intends to regulate private education loans as well as the creation of the College Shopping List Disclosure Form, which is currently under discussion. This disclosure would be used as a comparison of the “after aid” cost of college as well as a school-by-school comparison of default, graduation and retention rates.

MoveOn.org petitions and Occupy Wall Street protests have led the administration to enact the Special Consolidation and Pay as You Earn plans.  The new protest in town is the “student loan refusal” campaign which promotes ceasing student loan payments once one million signatures are secured.

The session ended as it began – restating that 1965 quote from Rep. Green showing that as much as things are constantly changing, in many ways … they stay the same.

 

The Results Are In: Financial Literacy Education Has Positive Impact

Posted by: Ann Durandetta @ Access Group

A gap in research literature on the impact of financial literacy education was identified by Kimberly A. Brown, director of fnance, Midwestern University. Kim identified that while schools with financial literacy programs were conducting some research on the effectiveness of their programs, such as pre and post-program tests on financial literacy, satisfaction surveys, and even measuring intent to change financial behaviors after attending a program, there really weren’t any studies showing how financial literacy programs actually impacted students’ financial decision-making. To complete this research, Kim fused a combination of research methods, including surveys and focus groups, and applied them across three different doctoral level health professions programs. This research suggested that participation in financial literacy programs did positively influence financial decision-making in areas such as credit card use, credit reports, and borrowing levels.

 

Kim then discussed the financial literacy programs at the institutions who participated in her research program. In addition to some of the more common financial literacy topics, she learned of additional programs offered by these schools, including cooking basics, defensive driving, sewing, and other every day ways for students to reduce their expenses during school and beyond. Most of the session participants have, or are in the process of implementing a financial literacy program at their institutions. The methods and topics presented, both for the initial financial literacy education, as well the methods for evaluating the impact of these programs, were well received and pertinent to the audience.

 

Her research paper, titled Examining the Influence of Financial Literacy Education on Financial Decision-Making Among Graduate Level Health Professions Students can be accessed by visiting http://disexpress.umi.com/dxweb and entering the UMI number of 3372749. Additional resources referenced for promoting financial literacy on campus included www.mint.com and www.annualcreditreport.com.

 

Benefitting Feeding South Florida

Posted By: Libby Rosenberg @ Access Group

As many know, each year Access Group  raises money for a foundation or charity during its annual Graduate and Professional Financial Aid Conference and, in that respect, this year is no different.

What is a little different is that this year, we did it with the help of water balloons.  That's right,  we held The Great Water Balloon "Toss-for-the-Cause" Thursday afternoon on the beach to benefit Feeding South Florida. For a $15 donation, conference goers partnered up to compete for trophies and, of course, bragging rights ...

[editor's observation: the beautiful white sand of Clearwater Beach is so fine and soft that even fragile water balloons don't break when they land ... Amazing.]

Through the end of the 2011 conference, Access Group will continue to collect donations from conference goers and will match that sum dollar for dollar.  Feeding South Florida's Back Pack Program makes sure kids have nutritious food to take home over the weekends and holidays from school. 

There are many ways to help Feeding South Florida acheive their mission. Find out how you can help.

Eric Chester and Generation Why

Posted by: Mark Bubel @ Access Group

A featured speaker at this year's Access Group Graduate and Professional Financial Aid Conference is Eric Chester, a speaker and author that helps today's business leaders understand what makes young people (Generation Y) tick and how to get the best out of them.

Being a Generation Y person myself, I was interested in hearing what Eric had to say. I must admit that a lot of what he did say is true. Lacking a work ethic, looking for new opportunities right away when something doesn't work out, and having a sense of entitlement are all things that I see in many of my peers. He contrasted my generation with the generation before me. Their lives, he explains, revolves around work, or more so than not. My generation, well, it's a different story. He says it's the opposite; work (or career) revolves around the lives of Generation Y. If the work doesn't fit their life, it's on to the next job.

But, it's not all bad. Generation Y is very smart, tolerant and technical. Eric suggests that he can help to merge the values and attitudes that employers are looking for with the seemingly inherit technical and resourceful knowledge of younger people into a working relationship that not only gets the job done, but adds value to the company.

Through speaking with hundreds and hundreds of companies, Eric has found out that executives looking for young employers are, of course, looking for skill, but there's also a common theme. These companies want employees who are committed and respectful and dependable. The list can go on, but in the end, Eric explains that Generation Y can be successful in their search for a career, if they would practice and keep in mind these values that employers look for.

Bring Your "A" Game to Work

A Closer Look at Need Analysis

Posted by: Ann Durandetta @ Access Group

Thursday afternoon, a group of 17 of us kicked off the conference with an interactive and lively group discussion on how fluctuating economic and institutional conditions are affecting need analysis and aid packaging strategies. Tara Olsen, director of financial aid, Tufts University School of Medicine, and Charles Pruett, assistant dean for financial aid, Georgetown University Law Center, led a Needs Analysis workshop on refreshing institutional methodologies to provide current, thorough, and equitable methods to make the most of limited aid dollars. With some terrific input from a very active audience, we discussed a myriad of methods and styles of equitably distributing school-based aid.

Charles and Tara then gave overviews of the needs analysis institutional methodologies used at their respective schools. We discussed "hidden treasures" in the form of conflicting data, such as interest or dividend income that doesn't seem to match the reported level of investment, interpreting Schedule E losses on real estate and rental properties, and cars or home equity values that seem disparate with other data reported (especially given the current economy). To assist with this process, we discussed imputing assets and research using sites like www.zillow.com. Charles demonstrated the impacts of need-based grant funds to graduates at several different potential income levels, in conjunction with IBR, PSLF, and LRAP programs, using a financial planning calculator located at www.law.georgetown.edu/finaid/openhouse.html

In addition to the resources mentioned above, Tara and Charles provided us with a sample 1040, W-2, and several website tools including:

http://www.edupass.org

www.moneycentral.msn.com

http://finance.yahoo.com