How can Bursar and Financial Aid Work Collaboratively?

Can’t We All Just Get AlongMichael Hague University of Michigan

Overview

There are many areas where student services and compliance can be significantly affected by non-communication or downright miscommunication between financial aid and student financial service.

Agenda

• What are some of the biggest problem areas?

• What can we do together to address the issue?

• What are some of the outcomes?• Are there any other communication

strategies?

What Caused This Problem

• Un-official withdrawals• Return to Title IV Funds (R2TIV)

• Examples

• Stale date checks• Payment rules• 1098-t’s• Holds• Escheating checks to the state

Un-official Withdrawals

• Can be from inability to officially withdraw.• Illness, accident, etc.• Date would be the date of the illness or

accident• Other

• Dropouts• How do you know? – 0.0 GPA

Un-official Withdrawals

• 0.0 GPA’s are tricky.• Many schools did not actively evaluate this

group.• Other withdrawal types are usually identified

during the semester.• ED assumes that a student with 0.0 stopped

attending at the 50% point.• Must review these within 30 days.

Un-official Withdrawals

• Are all 0.0 GPA’s a trigger for R2TIV?• No.

• Students may earn all zeros.• Student may have been involved in an

academically related activity past that point.• It is up to the institution to determine the date

and document it.• Many institutions now “require” a last date of

attendance for any failing grade.

R2TIV

• OK now that the last date of attendance has been determined aid may have to be sent back.

• For an un-official withdrawal the semester may be over but it should be done within 30 days of the end of the semester.

Example #1 Stephanie

• Does this look familiar?• Little Stephanie has $1,000 of tuition charges for

Fall.• FA awards her a Pell Grant of $2,500.• SBS rocks and processes her refund by the 10th

day of the semester.• Zero balance account and everyone is Happy,

Happy.

Example #1 Continued

• During the Fall semester Stephanie registers for Winter semester.

• SBS rocks again and process the Winter refund by the 10th day of the semester.

• The next day “those FA people” remove $1,000 of FALL!!!!! Pell Grant.

Example #2 Cynthia

• Cynthia has $2,750 of Stafford loans for Fall and no other aid.

• Her account balance is $0.• Winter term starts and Cynthia receives her

$2,750 of loans.• During the term $750 of loans from FALL are

reversed resulting in a balance due of $750.

Example #3 Jen

• Jen’s balance is $0 at the end of Fall and does not enroll for Winter.

• In January FA removes $500 in loan from Fall term resulting in a student account balance of $500.

What can we do together to address the issue

• Communication• Timing• Follow up

Communication

• Communication between the offices is key• Need to make sure both offices know what is

being done, why and when.• At EMU, FA would notify SBS of all aid

recipients that had a 0.0 GPA before the student was notified.

• Students aid was cancelled (R2TIV done) and then they could prove attendance.

• Now many schools use Last date of attendance.

Timing

• Getting information about effected student to SBS timely is key• If SBS knows before refunds go out or before

the next semester starts there are still options.• We would hold refunds for any of the 200 or

so students.• Schools could dis-enroll. • Allows SBS offices to solve the student

problem to continue on.

Follow up

• Holding refunds gives us up to 10 more days to work with the student• If the refund is during the same award year, it

can be used to pay back the past due balance.

• Would have solved Example #1 problem.

Follow up

• What are the FA options?• If a loan was refunded for one semester, the

student may have eligibility in a future semester for the additional loan.

• Example #2 may have unmet need in Winter that can be met with the returned portion of the loan from Fall.

Follow up

• What are the SBS policies for AR• How do you “age” an account?

• 0 days when the aid is adjusted?• Back to the start of the term?• What about adding collection costs and

internal payment options?• Could Example #3 be solved in house?

Outcomes

• FA and R&R worked much closer to identify 0.0 students.

• R&R instituted a Last Date of Attendance requirement for failing grades.

• Students who want to continue can work with our office.

Outcomes

• Payment plans and agreements can be set up before the semester starts.

• Finance wants more revenue and FA wants student to have the opportunity to continue. • Need to point out wins.• Student that we worked with for 6 semesters

is “finally gone.” – That is a huge win-win. Not a negative.

Stale Date Checks

• What is your policy on accepting checks?• Be sure to work together on who is doing what

and why.• Sometimes scholarship checks come in very

late.• 6 month checks can still be cashed• Is sending the check back better than cashing it?

Payment Policies

• What is the business office policy for accepting payments?• Can a student overpay the account?• If so how much?• If not what do you do?

1098-T’s

• What is the 1098-t?• Tax for reporting either payments and aid or

charges and aid• What is it used for?

• May be used to identify eligibility for tax credits• Not used for other purposes (taxable

scholarships, etc) • Who is the owner of the form?• Have you talked about it lately?

• Penalties, some changes in filing • SSN’s and ITINS

Holds

• What are your holds?• How many do you have?• Who can release them?• What do they prevent?

Escheating Checks to the Sate

• What happens when financial aid checks are not cashed?

• Who reviews uncashed checks and on what schedule?

Other Communications

• Regular meetings with directors or others• GLOW

• Quick feedback answers• Text• IM

• Pre-semester timing meeting• Set all the dates• Set who is doing what

Resources

• All the answers to all of your questions• http://ifap.ed.gov/ifap/BlueBook.jsp• Volume 5, chapter 6

• All of the answers to all of FA’s questions• http://ifap.ed.gov/ifap/byAwardYear.jsp?type=

fsahandbook&awardyear=2012-2013

The End

• Michael Hague • Divisional Controller, Director of Student

Business Operations University of Michigan.• 734-647-3816• mjhague@umich.edu