Best Practices for Improving Access to Financial Aid

 

 

“An October 2004 analysis of data from the National Center for Education Statistics by the American Council on Education (www.acenet.edu) has been getting a great deal of press. "Missed Opportunities: Students Who Do Not Apply for Financial Aid" emphasizes that many low- and moderate-income students, many of whom are full-time enrollees, do not apply for financial aid. Some 1.7 million low- and moderate-income students did not file the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) in 1999-2000, missing their main opportunity to access the bulk of the need-based financial aid available. ACE estimates that 850,000 students who did not file for aid would have qualified for some amount of a Pell Grant that year. Many students who did file a FAFSA were late in doing so, thereby lowering their chances to receive government or institutional financial aid.”

 

From “The Admissions Angle: Help Your Students Help Themselves”

By Howard Greene and Matthew Greene

 

 

Improving Access Through Outreach and Partnerships

 

1.      Education about financial aid for students and parents should begin early—even as early as middle school—and no later than students’ junior year in high school.  A comprehensive system of early information would provide middle school students, high schools students, and adults with adequate, early, and age-appropriate information about financial aid, including early estimates of their potential eligibility for aid in the context of likely college costs.  Such a system would enable low-income students to estimate their financial aid awards in a way that encourages college aspirations and academic preparation.  Working with local schools, colleges could conceivably direct this type of program at those who qualify for other federal programs, such as the National School Lunch Program.  The VCCS should assume a leadership role in establishing a model for such a statewide program.

 

  1. Colleges should establish productive working relationships not only with local public schools but also with community-based programs and organizations to promote awareness about financial aid opportunities and to disseminate information about the various types of available aid.  This special program should target the students most in need of financial aid: minorities, those who enter the process with no college savings account, and first-generation college students—those who are least likely to have this information but who are most likely to qualify for need-based aid. 

 

  1. Colleges can establish mentoring programs like CAL SOAP (California Student Opportunity and Access Program), which matches high school seniors with college students who are former SOAP students.  These students meet with their younger peers to go over college information and help them identify financial aid opportunities.

 

  1. Colleges should host informational sessions on financial aid nights or weekends in local high schools or on campus to educate students and their parents about financial aid opportunities.  A variation on this theme might include a “Financial Aid Awareness Week” or “Financial Aid Awareness Month.”

 

  1. Colleges should host on-going financial aid workshops, either in high schools or on campus, providing students with access to computers and staff support so that they can complete the FAFSA on line.  Parents and seniors could be encouraged to bring their federal tax returns or other income information to the workshop so that financial aid staff could assist them in completing the FAFSA.

 

  1. Colleges should sponsor annual financial aid updates and workshops for area high school guidance counselors.

 

 

Improving Access Through Enhanced Communication

 

  1. Colleges should strongly suggest, upfront, that all applicants for admission file the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).

 

  1. Colleges should ensure that financial aid information provided to students is written so it is clear and easily understood, with all terms defined in the most basic way possible.

 

  1. Colleges can mail brochures on financial aid to the home of each senior, providing prospective students with various types of information and announcing college-sponsored information sessions.

 

  1. Students should be constantly apprised of deadlines for academic and financial aid applications.

 

  1. Colleges can mail FAFSA forms to applicants with admissions materials, with brochures explaining institutional aid policies, clear examples of costs of attendance, and portraits of typical students who receive aid and profiles of their average aid packages.  As an alternative, colleges could also mail this information to all students who have enrolled in classes but have not applied for financial aid.  In addition, such information could be posted on college Web sites and highlighted through posters and flyers.
  2. Admissions or financial aid personnel can call new students once they have submitted their applications to encourage them to apply for financial aid and to answer any questions they may have about financial aid programs.  Colleges can also contract with private companies, such as Financial Aid Services, which offer calling services like this.

 

  1. Colleges should make a concerted effort, through mailings and other media, to promote aid applications and reapplications among current students. Many students miss reapplication deadlines during the first year of college and lose eligibility, making it more likely that they will withdraw from school. Many current students probably qualify for aid, but they never thought to apply or think it might be too late to do so.

 

  1. Colleges should ensure that the topic of financial aid is discussed in all Orientation or College Success Skills classes.

 

  1. Financial aid offices should move beyond the form-checking stage by designating staff to work with families to help them determine how they are going to pay for college.  In other words, colleges should provide more financial aid “counseling.”

 

  1. Financial aid offices should expand their hours in the evening and on weekends.

 

 

Improving Access Through the Use of Technology

 

  1. Colleges should establish comprehensive Web sites for financial aid, which include links to the FAFSA.  The VCCS should use its resources to develop a model financial aid Web site—similar to California’s Web site—which could then be adapted for use by individual colleges.  This Web site should include the following features:

 

·        A glossary of financial aid terminology

 

·        A detailed listing of available financial aid, including lists of scholarships

 

·        Answers to frequently asked questions

 

·        Multimedia presentations rather than static pages

 

·        Online tutorials to guide students through the process of applying for financial aid

 

·        Simplified, Web-based mechanisms for making adequate estimates of financial aid eligibility.  These mechanisms should include online calculators or forms.

 

·        The VCCS should establish an online fixed portal (not customizable by users) that links to information on all financial aid services and to online interactive SIS student information.   

 

  1. The VCCS should incorporate information on financial aid into its online application, either by encouraging students to complete the FAFSA, by providing a link to the FAFSA, or by including an online assessment instrument designed to give them a preliminary but immediate evaluation of their potential eligibility status. 

 

  1. Colleges should employ dedicated staff to provide service to students electronically.

 

  1. Colleges should provide students with the ability to schedule appointments online for live interaction with a financial aid advisor.

 

  1. Colleges can host live Internet chats, which can be archived, so that students and their parents can communicate with financial aid officials in a Q&A format.  These online discussions can educate families by focusing on the process of applying for financial aid and by alerting them to the different types of aid, including college-sponsored scholarships.   

 

  1. Colleges can use Web-conferencing to offer real-time financial aid information sessions.  These sessions should provide for the simultaneous viewing of documents, application sharing, and live online chat between students and financial aid staff.

 

  1. Colleges should establish mechanisms that enable students to have access to peer-to-peer chat on financial aid topics.

 

  1. Colleges can provide students with the capacity to access threaded discussions on financial aid issues, connecting them with other students.

 

  1. Colleges should provide online services and a single point of contact for students with special needs and disabilities.

 

  1. Colleges should use email to distribute information about financial aid.  News and information can be pushed to students through email or on the Web in a multi-media, newsletter, or newspaper format.   

 

  1. Colleges can send automated information to students through email or through a customizable portal to notify them of due dates or next-steps in administrative processes.