Attending or Not Attending - That is the Question

Attending or Not Attending - That is the Question

Utilizing existing data to meet federal reporting requirementsThad Spalding Community College of DenverTom Biedscheid Colorado State UniversityAgendaLearning the hard wayNeed to document attendanceBrain storming ideas to documentUtilizing existing resources to document attendance: BlackboardCovering all the bases outside of Blackboard2Program Reviews @ CCD & CSU Colorado State UniversityFinding: Enrollment Status not VerifiedNoncompliance: CSU was unable to substantiate that students had attended at least one day in a course(s) for which one of the following non-passing grades had been received:F (Failure)W (Withdrawal)U (Unsatisfactory)Community College of Denver Review: Show Policy and Procedure on how attendance is determined and maintained.No Enrollment Status Finding3Why do we document attendance?The institution must return those funds for which it is responsible to the respective Title IV, HEA program as soon as possible, but no later than 30 days after the date that the institution becomes aware that the student will not or has not begun attendance. The Secretary considers that a student has not begun attendance in a payment period or period of enrollment if the institution is unable to document the student's attendance at any class during the payment period or period of enrollment. 34 C.F.R. 668.21.4Why do we document attendance?In the case of Federal Pell Grant recipients, 34 C.F.R. 690.80(b)(2)(ii) states that if a student's projected enrollment status changes during a payment period before the student begins attendance in all of his or her classes for that payment period, the institution shall recalculate the student's enrollment status to reflect only those classes for which the student actually began attendance.

AskRegsAre We Required to Verify a Student Initiated Attendance in Classes Before Disbursing Aid?Knowledgebase>Category>Campus-Based (Common)Scenario:We are not an institution otherwise required to take attendance.

Answer:Regulations require an institution to document that a student initiated attendance during any payment period or period of enrollment in which the student receives Title IV aid. Regulations do not specify how and when to document initiated attendance. Consequently, documentation is not required prior to disbursement, but it is required at some point.For the Direct Loan Program, a student establishes eligibility by initiating attendance in at least one class (as long as the student was enrolled at least half-time at the point when loans disbursed). A student must also initiate attendance in at least one class to establish eligibility for FSEOG and Federal Perkins Loans. For the Federal Pell Grant, Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grant (IASG), and TEACH Grant, a student must initiate attendance in each class that contributed to the enrollment status of that student. For example, an institution disburses a Pell Grant based on a students half-time enrollment status. The institution defines half-time as six credits. The institution must document attendance in classes that comprise at least six credits in order to demonstrate the student established eligibility for the Pell Grant.When a student earns a passing grade in a course, that grade is sufficient to indicate the student began attendance. The absence of a passing grade can pose a challenge for an institution to obtain the necessary documentation to show a student established eligibility. This can occur when a student receives a grade such as an F, a withdrawal, an incomplete, or a drop. The financial aid office should have a process in place to obtain alternative documentation to demonstrate a student established eligibility.

6What is Academic Attendance?Academic attendance and attendance at an academically-related activity, include, but are not limited to:Physically attending a class where there is an opportunity for direct interaction between the instructor and students;Submitting an academic assignment;Taking an exam, an interactive tutorial, or computer-assisted instruction;Attending a study group that is assigned by the institution;Participating in an online discussion about academic matters; andInitiating contact with a faculty member to ask a question about the academic subject studied in the course. 7Ideas to Document AttendanceAs an institution that does not take attendance, how do we document attendance?Request forms for each Pell Grant student?Mizzou, CSU and CCD have ~6,000 Pell students each X 4 classes each = 24,000 formsTrack activity in classrooms, such as clickers, quizzes, etc.What are the technological capabilities of your institution?Integrate Blackboard documentation of attendanceDevelop interface between your FAMS system and Blackboard8CCD MeasuresAttendanceOther than AttendanceLDA Reporting required for F and U gradesAttendance Verification QAOutside FA officeDrop for No-Show strictly enforced

Post Census date disbursementPWD and R2T4 list monitoring for changes in enrollmentMultiple modules

BlackboardUtilizing an existing technology resource to collect and document information10BlackboardCovers 93% of undergraduate classes at Mizzou and about half of all sections taught at CSUFrom the 2013-2014 Federal Student Aid Handbook (Vol. 3, Chapter 3), Department does not dictate the method a school uses to document that a student has begun attendance. Both Mizzou and CSU look to Blackboard software first when checking for classroom activity. A student may access grades, obtain assignments, contribute to class discussions, etc. We consider this to document attendance for activity when the student accesses content through a particular course for the term.11BlackboardWe do not track students if records reflect the student merely logged into the Blackboard system.Some students have no Blackboard activityMerely logging in doesnt count, students MUST access course content, take exams, post to discussion boards etc. It is common for students that failed to attend class to login after the end of the term and check their grade.If Blackboard activity does not exist for a particular student, the Financial Aid Office contacts the instructor for the course and ask for attendance information. 12Blackboard @ Mizzou Technical setupSIS developed a nightly SQR that identifies Pell Grant and loan recipientsSQR is reported out to a new table UM_REGIdentified students are then compared against the Blackboard tablesIf the student did not previously exist in that table, a record will be written recording his course enrollment information in PeopleSoft, the associated course in blackboard data, and whether or not the student has logged into that course site (see table layout below).If the student does exist in the table, the record will be updated with the last access date from the COURSE_USERS table in BlackboardTables referenced on BlackboardBB_BB60.USERSBB_BB60.COURSE_USERSBB_BB60.COURSE_MAINBlackboard @ MizzouEach Day, a report is generated based on a change in enrollment with blackboard activity which equal less than 12 hours.

The main purpose of this line is to catch those students who have withdrawn or dropped a course with a Pell grant on the system. The table the report pulls from is looking at every student with the Pell eligibility indicator on the ISIR set to a yes.

14Blackboard @ Mizzou, Comment EnteredA comment will also be posted to the students account under View Financial Aid Status: FBLKBD, this is done by the system when the report runs each morning. The comment will list the TERM and the individual courses the student is enrolled in along with whether or not the student accessed, or was able to access blackboard for the course before they dropped or withdrew. The comment will list out each individual course number, if a course has a lab and a lecture component, there will be two individual blackboard accesses for each course number. As long as the student has accessed at least one course number then the student has attendance for the term for the course. 15Blackboard @ Mizzou, Comment FormatThe comment format is as follows: (Course ID)-(Course Title)-(Enrollment status)-Last BB Access-(Access Info); Example: 15145-Elementary Span-E/WDRW-Last BB Access-(no BB RECORD for course)There are three different types of enrollment status; E/WDRW (student withdrew from course), E/ENRL (student is currently enrolled), D/DROP (student dropped course).16Blackboard @ Mizzou, Types of AccessNo BB RECORD (Blackboard does not exist for course)No BB ACCESS for course (student could have accessed Blackboard and did not)No BB RECORD before drop (student could have but did not access Blackboard before they dropped the course, typically is seen when Pell is added after a student drops a course)Last BB Access: if a student did access Blackboard before they dropped or withdrew from a course then a date will be listed after Last BB Access. 17Blackboard @ Mizzou, Comment ExampleThe course this student dropped had a lab and lecture section. The lab and lecture section report out as two separate entries, because blackboard is only tied to one part of the course based on the way the course was set up with the academic units.

A comment is entered at each change of enrollment

18Blackboard @ CSU Official WithdrawalsFor official withdrawals when Blackboard data existsGather course data from BannerCheck for activities in Blackboard from the first day of class through the withdrawal date for each courseCompile the data, if any, and determine a min and max date of activity for each courseReview aid disbursed, the extent of attendance, and if there is a resulting change in the students enrollment level19Blackboard @ CSU Official WithdrawalsFor official withdrawals when Blackboard no data existsGather course data from BannerReview aid disbursed, the extent of attendance, and if there is a resulting change in the students enrollment levelIf no Bb data for a course and there is a need for additional information, email instructorInstructors are directed to a secure website where they can login and enter information about the studentIf no response from the instructor after a second notification, we assume the student did not attend20Beyond blackboardDocumenting Students Outside of BlackboardCurrently, if we cannot document Blackboard access, we e-mail the instructorWe are close to implementing a cold fusion application to collect faculty verification. The Faculty Verification Portal has two purposesTo document attendance for 10-11 and 11-12.To automate the e-mail notification process to faculty22Beyond BB @ CSU Gather Data

23Beyond BB @ CSU Instructor Contact

Cam T. Ram

cam24Beyond BB @ CSU Instructor EmailSubject:Enrollment Confirmation RequiredStudent: Cam The RamCSUID: 888888888Course: BUS 690BCRN: 70201

Dear Instructor:

Colorado State University is required by federal regulations to monitor the last date of academic participation for financial aid recipients. This student received an F, U, or W grade in your class this fall semester, therefore it is unclear if the student was academically engaged the entire semester. Your assistance is required to document the last date of academic participation.

The last date of academic participation is the last date an academically-related activity was recorded. An academically-related activity includes, but is not limited to verifiable class attendance, an exam, a tutorial, computer-assisted instruction, turning in a class assignment, or attending an assigned study group session.

Please click theEnrollmentVerification link below to submit the last date of an academic activity for this student. Responses must be submitted no later than Wednesday, March 23, 2011.

You may receive e-mail notifications regarding other students. You must click the link in each e-mail to respond to each request.

Enrollment Verification Website

Student Financial ServicesColorado State University1065 Campus DeliveryCentennial HallFort Collins, CO 8052325Beyond BB @ CSU Instructor Portal

26Beyond BB @ CSU Instructor List

Cam T. RamFall 2012F27Beyond BB @ CSU Instructor Detail

28Beyond BB @ MU Instructor Detail

Unofficial WITHDRAWALS Beyond @ CSU Unofficial WithdrawalsFor unofficial withdrawals, after the end of the term and grades have been posted, for Title IV aid recipientsQuery Banner for any non-passing grades (F, U, W, NG or blank)Categorize students asHaving all non-passing gradesSome non-passing with PellSome non-passing without PellFollow the same steps as an official withdrawalAddition of Banner functionality that allows instructors to submit a last day of attendance if the grade is non-passing

31Beyond @ Mizzou Unofficial WithdrawalsFor unofficial withdrawals, after the end of the term and grades have been posted, for Title IV aid recipientsQuery PeopleSoft for any non-passing grades (F, U, W, NG or blank)Categorize students asHaving all non-passing gradesSome non-passing with PellSome non-passing without PellFollow the same steps as an official withdrawalDocument activity in each courseContact faculty and determine a last date of attendancePeopleSoft does not require instructors to submit a last day of attendance if the grade is non-passing

Beyond @ CCDDesire2Learn checksMost courses have D2L shellAttendance can be monitored and recorded thereRegistrar Hot on the CaseActively reviewing courses and grading processKeeps FA involved in Late Drops/No Show reportsFaculty/Instructor handbook gives guidance or reporting No-ShowsObligation to report supported by ProvostReminders of process sent by Registrar twice per term.Contact infoNick Prewett University of MissouriDirector, Student Financial Aidprewettn@missouri.eduThad Spaulding Community College of DenverDirector, Financial Aidthad.spaulding@ccd.eduTom Biedscheid Colorado State UniversityDirector, Student Financial Servicestom.biedscheid@colostate.edu