# Presentation: 914769

## Session T–04

**Financial Aid **
**For**
**Technical Staff**
- Wood Mason
- U.S. Department of Education

## Slide 2

## History...

- 1950’s
- Nat’l Defense Education Act of 1958
- Nat’l Defense Student Loan Program (morphed into Perkins Loan Program)

**Notes:**
The NDEA was instituted primarily to stimulate the advancement of education in science, mathematics, and modern foreign languages; but it has also provided aid in other areas, including technical education, area studies, geography, English as a second language, counseling and guidance, school libraries and librarianship, and educational media centers.
The Act provides institutions of higher education with 90% of capital funds for low-interest loans to students. NDEA also gives federal support for improvement and change in elementary and secondary education. The Act contains statutory prohibitions of federal direction, supervision, or control over the curriculum, program of instruction, administration, or personnel of any educational institution.

## History...

- Harvard University
- National Youth Administration
- FDR 1935
- 1944 - Serviceman’s Readjustment Act
- 1952 - Veteran’s Readjustment Assistance Act

**Notes:**
Though the Department of Education wasn’t didn’t come into being until 1867, and didn’t attain Cabinet Level until 1979, financial aid has a history dating to the mid 1600’s and Harvard University, when Lady Ann Radcliff Mowlson endowed the school’s first scholarship fund.  Your school has a number of award programs, scholarships, grants, etc., that are administered by your Financial Aid office, but the gist of what we’ll cover here today are the programs offered by Uncle Sam. 

There are a number of them, but the vast majority of students benefit form the Title IV Grant and Loan programs. Those include programs administered by the Department, as well as some administered by your school. 

## History...

- Higher Education Act (HEA)
- 1965
- Guaranteed Student Loan Program
- Educational Opportunity Grant
- Subsequent Reauthorizations of the HEA
**	**

**Notes:**
The Higher Education Act of 1965 (Pub. L. No. 89-329) was legislation signed into law in November of 1965  as part of President Johnson’s Great Society domestic agenda. The law was intended “to strengthen the educational resources of our colleges and universities and to provide financial assistance for students in postsecondary and higher education.” It increased federal money given to universities, created scholarships, gave low-interest loans for students, and established a National Teachers Corps. It brought to us, as you can see, the Guaranteed Student Loan Program and the Educational Opportunity Grant, both of which are still with us in some form today
It is also “reauthorized” on an every 5-year basis, and the HEA reauthorization of 2008 will be law until it comes up again for reauthorization in 2013.

## More Recent...

- HERA
- Higher Education Reconciliation Act of 2005
- CCRAA
- College Cost Reduction and Access Act of 2007
- ECASLA
- Ensuring Continued Access to Student Loans Act of 2008

**Notes:**
HERA brought us the ACG/SMART Grant programs, GRAD PLUS borrowers, increased loan limits for some grade levels, new repayment plans, single disbursements, and a host of other changes and enhancements to Title IV assistance

CCRAA brought many changes to the FFELP Lender regs, increased the Pell Grand, implemented the TEACH Grant program, and a handful of other Title IV changes.

ECASLA brought us additional increases to loan limits in a somewhat screwy way...adding unsub money to a Dependent Student’s combined Base limit, gave some relief to the lending community with a commitment to buy some of their loans to increase liquidity in the FFELP lending community, created a couple additional grounds for appeal for PLUS credit denials, and a few changes to the ACG/SMART programs that now won’t go into effect until July of 2009.

The constant here is that the only think constant is change...it happens on the FAA side as well as on your side.

## In a Nutshell...The Process

- Student applies...FAFSA
- ED calculates EFC
- School determines type and amount of financial aid
- School awards/disburses aid
- Borrower repays loans

## Application

**Application**

## Application

- Aid Eligibility/Determination
- CPS
- Central Processing System
- EFC
- Expected Family Contribution
- ISIR
- Institutional Student Information Record

## Awarding

**	**** **COA (Cost of Attendance)
-  EFC

- NEED

## Awards – School Administered

- Institutional Grants
- Institutional Scholarships
- Targeted or non-institutional Scholarships

## Awards – Title IV

- Grants
- Pell Grant
- ACG (Academic Competitiveness Grant)

## Award – Title IV

- Grants
- National SMART Grant (National Science and Mathematics Access to Retain Talent Grant)
- TEACH Grant (Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education)

## Awards – Title IV

- Campus Based Programs
- FSEOG
- Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant
- FWS
- Federal-Work Study Program
- Perkins Loan Program

## Awards – Title IV

- Loan Programs
- William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program
- Federal Family Education Loan Program
- Alternative/private loans

## The COD Boogie

**The COD Boogie**

- SAIG

- ACG, SMART, Direct Loan, TEACH and Pell origination/change/disbursement data

- Batch and web generated Responses

**Schools**

**Common Origination & Disbursement (COD)**

- Batch

- Web

- Reports

- Schools

- Applicants

**Customer Service**

## Processing – Originations & Disbursements

- COD
- Pell
- ACG
- National SMART Grant
- Direct Loans
- TEACH Grants

## Processing – Originations & Disbursements

- FFELP Lender
- via CommonLine

## Processing - Dollars

- FFELP lender provides cash
- 				or
- G5 for Title IV aid
- School draws cash
- COD draws cash for school

## Processing – Outside of COD

- Direct Loan Servicing
- Guarantee Agency
- NSLDS

## The Award Year

- July 1– June 30
- applications
- awarding

**Notes:**

Beings that we’re the Government with an ego problem that tells us we can do pretty much anything we want, we’ve decided to start the new Award Year in July instead of January. Makes sense..right in the middle of your Summer terms, but we’ve allowed folks to apply since January 1st, plus we’ll not really end the award year when we say because we close the Grant year in September of the end year, and actually reconcile the Loan programs 13 months after the end of the award year...and you think Politicians can make things screwy?

## The Award Year

- Fall PEAK
- traditionally chaotic
- registration and start
- Grant year-end reconciliation and closeout
- FISAP

## The Award Year

- Spring PEAK
- registration and start of classes
- transfers
- grant global jobs
- applications/awarding for NEXT award year

**Notes:**
In addition to kids returning to classes in January, there is a laundry list of chores to do in the Financial Aid office...

## The Award Year

- Summer term
- program year closeout for Direct Loans (prior award year)
- applications
- awarding
- header/trailer

## Let The Next Award Year Begin...

- Program changes
- rules
- regulations
- requirements
- edits
- dollars and data

## And Your Next Award Year...

- ...Brings IT changes too!
- all of it...plus
- CPS
- COD
- any other system that touches your school

## How in the heck am I supposed to know all this...?

- IFAP
- Ifap.ed.gov
- Dear Colleague Letters
- Electronic Announcements
- Direct Loan Bulletins
- FSA Student Aid Handbook

## How in the heck am I supposed to know all this...?

- Schema
- COD Technical Reference
- Glossary
- Impelmentation Guide
- Print Specs

## Talkin’ the talk...

- ACA
- Administrative Cost Allowance
- POP
- Potential Overaward Process
- MRR
- Multiple Reporting Record

## Talkin’ the talk...

- SRC
- School Relations Center
- COD customer service center in Niagara Falls, NY
- CSR
- Customer service representative

## Talkin’ the talk...

- G5
- Grants Administration and Payment System
- from whence all moneys come
- funding method
- Advance Cash
- Pushed Cash

## Talkin’ the talk...

- NSLDS
- National Student Loan Database System
- FAA Access Online

## Talkin’ the talk...

- CPS
- Central Processing System
- SAIG
- Student Aid Internet Gateway

## Talkin’ the Talk...

- FAFSA
- Free Application for Federal Student Aid

## Questions?

- I appreciate your feedback and comments.  I can be reached at:
- Name: Wood Mason
- Phone: 404.562.6270
- Email: wood.mason@ed.gov