FSA Publication Ordering Process FGs December 2010

**Market Connections** 1 

### TOPIC GUIDE **PUBLICATION ORDERING PROCESS FO**  **CUS GROUPS 12**  **/ 01**  **/ 10**  **FINAL VERSION**  **1 1**  **/0 4**  **/10** 

### I. **WARM -**  **UP** What I would like to do toda y is talk to you – financial aid administrators who access and order publications from the office of Federal Student Aid

– and di scuss issues on this topic fr om your perspective. My n ame is Dave Glantz and I work for Market Connections, an independent market research firm in Washington, DC , and I am conducting this focus group on behalf of FSA. T he y are interested in providing the best products and service possible to you, and that’s why we’re meeting with y ou this afternoon for y our feedback
. As I mentioned, what we are doing toda y is called a “focus group.” As a **participant** , I’d like y ou to... 

###  Be honest 

###  Try to participate

— we need to hear from everyone 

###  Speak up (but only

one talks at a time) 

###  Address y our comments to the group 

###  If you don’t agree with what somebody s ay s, tell us what yo u think

— there are no right or wrong answers. 

###  What you don’t know is just as important as wh at you do know. As the **moderator** , I can be impartial because I have no vested interest in whether yo u like or dislike the things we’ll be talking about. I try to ensure...

 We get through this discussion guide: there are lots of questions and ideas I’d like to talk to yo u about, so I have to keep things on track. (Might have to cut offyour answers to stay on time. Please don’t take it personally.)  We are audio taping and videotaping which is standard practice to help with the accurac y of my

r eport. I also have some colleagues in another room who are involved in this project, and who are interested in hearing your views firsthand through the video feed
.  Most importantly , every thing we discuss is considered private and for internal research purposes on ly . Our report will not identify individuals by

name.  Do y ou have any

questions? **0: 0**  **5**FSA Publication Ordering Process FGs December 2010

**Market Connections** 2 

### II. **PUBLICATION AWARENESS AND ORDERING BEHAVIOR**  **Start by: 0:05 elaps ed time:**  **0 :**  **1 5**  **Finish by: 0**  **: 20**  I would first like to go around the table and have every one briefly introduce themselves. Please tell me... 

### 1. Your first name (or what you like to be called) 

### 2. Your school

 **[FLIP CHART ]**  Let’s start by talking about FSA publica tions. What specific FSA publications are available for ordering? Let’s make a list of all the publications
.
 **[INDICATE ON FLIPCHART]** Of these, which do y ou tend to order most often or in the largest number ?
o How do y ou determine the quantity of y our o rder? ( **PROBE:** What factors do yo u consider?)
o How are y ou using these publications? ( **PROBE IF NOT MENTIONED:** Do yo u distribute or share the publications in one
- on - one sessions or group sessions; displa y in office; include in packet mailed/given to student s; outreach at local high school or community events, other ______)
o Which audience (s) do y ou provide the publications to? ( **PROBE:** parents, current/incoming students; prospective students , other _______)
o Does the ty

pe of publication you order depend on th e time of y ear? **0 :**  **2 0** FSA Publication Ordering Process FGs December 2010

**Market Connections** 3 

### I **II .**  **EVALUATION: SATISFACTION WITH ORDERING PROCESS**  **Start by: 0**  **: 2**  **0 elapsed time: 0:**  **2 5**  **Finish by: 0**  **: 4**  **5** Now I want to get y our opinion on how satisfied y ou are personally with the process y ou go through to order and receive the publications you need. **[ HAND OUT**  **ORDERING PROCESS RATING QUESTIONNAIRE ]**  As y ou can see on this handout , I’d like you to please rate the publication ordering process on the various measures yo u see on the page. Consider yo ur overall satisfaction, the user - friendliness of the process, the delivery

time and the other aspects listed

– yo u’ll also see a few spaces to add some considerations I might not have included , but that you feel are particularly important to you . Please be sure to rate any new considerations you add to the list
. **0 :2**  **2** For example, under “ overall satisfaction” if y ou are not at all satisfied with the ordering process, put a “1” in the box
. I f yo u are completely sati sfied, then put a “10” in the box or any number in between. Remember that I am looking for you to rate these areas based on yo ur personal opinion, and not what y ou think others might say
. F inally , y ou’ll see at the top of the page the term “general impr ession”. Here I’d like you to jot a few of your own words to describe yo ur impression of the ordering process. **T HEY RATE**  MODERATOR TO CHECK WITH FSA STAFF
 **[SHOW OF HANDS]** Let’s go around the room and for starters, please tell me the number y ou chose for overall satisfaction.
o Wh at makes y ou sa y that ? o **IF 1 -**  **7:** What needs to happen to raise y our rating? o **IF 8 -**  **10:** What do y ou like/what is it about the process that’s working well? o Were there any

additional order
- related considerations y ou added? o Were there any

individual aspects y ou rated very low? Which one(s)?

**0 :**  **4 5** FSA Publication Ordering Process FGs December 2010

**Market Connections** 4 

### I **V. ISSUES RELATED TO ORDERING**  **Start by: 0**  **: 4**  **5 elapsed time: 0:**  **30 Finish by:**  **1 :**  **15**

 T o help me understand your ratings even more clearly , I’d like you to walk me through the ordering process. What do y ou do first when y ou determine the need for a publication ? ( **PROBE:** v isit www.fsapubs.gov website ? Des cribe that experience
. )
o What do y ou do next? I want to know the outline of the steps y ou go through from identif

ying the need to receiving the publication
.
 Are there any major sticking points y ou run into during the process? What exactly ? How do y ou ad dress those obstacles?

 Look back at your rating sheet, to item #5

– order limits. **[SHOW OF HANDS]** Who has ever placed an order (or tried to place an order) but were told in response that FSA would not be able to deliver as many copies of the publication as you requested? **0: 5**  **5** o How did y ou adjust your approach toward ordering publications or providing information to customers ? ( **PROBE:** Have you ever ordered alternative/similar publications to make up the shortfall?) Woul d it be beneficial for FSA to offer alternative publications that are available in larger quantities that serve a purpose similar to your needs? ( **PROBE:** Does FSA already offer similar publications to address this ty pe of need?)

 How should FSA communicate important information to you, such as new or update d publications or information on order limits? ( **PROBE:** email, post on website, other means – please specify)

 Now I’d like to focus on how publications and forms are listed on the fsapubs.gov website
. Currently

the list is alphabetical. Do y ou have any thoughts regarding an alphabetized list , or would you prefer some other wa y to sort through the publications and forms? ( **PROBE:** pubs in descending order of popular ity)
.
 I have just one more question and it relates to whether y ou refer students to online resources. Federal Student Aid has several websites that provide information on planning and pa ying for a postsecondary education. Do you refer students and parents to any Federal Student Aid websites or online resources? If so, which ones?] ( **PROBE:** What would lead you to make such a referral

– or decide against it? **1:1 3** FSA Publication Ordering Process FGs December 2010

**Market Connections** 5 MODERATOR TO CHECK WITH FSA STAFF Those are all the questions I have for you. Thanks for yo ur insights and p articipation.



###  **LEAVE ALL FORMS ON THE TABLE. 1**  **: 1**  **5**FSA Publication Ordering Process FGs December 2010

**Market Connections** 6 

### ORDERING PROCESS RATING QUESTIONNAIRE **General impression: ____________________________________________**

**________________ 1**  **Rating from 1 -**  **10 Overall satisfaction**  **with the FSA publication ordering process** (1= Not at all satisfied; 10 = Completely satisfied) **2 Rating from 1**  **- 10**  **Variety** of available ordering options (e.g., online, by telephone, etc.) (1= Not enough options; 10 = Man y options) **3 Rating from 1**  **- 10**  **C larity**  of publication ordering instructions (1= Too difficult to understand; 10 = Very eas y to understand) **4 Rating from 1**  **- 10**  **Steps required** to place an order (1= Unreasonable number of steps; 10 = Very reasonable number of steps) **5 Rating from 1**  **- 10**  **Limits** on the number of publication copies allowable to order (1= Can never order amount Ineed; 10 = Alway s able to meet m y needs) **6 Rating from 1**  **- 10**  **Delivery** time to receive order (1 = takes too long/always late; 10 = very fast/on ti me) **7 Rating from 1**  **- 10**  **Customer support** during ordering process (1= not at all helpful; 10 = very helpful) **OPTIONAL: OTH**

**ER ORDER -** 

**RELATED CONSIDERATIONS IMPORTANT TO YOU 8**  **Rating from 1 -**  **10** (1= ________________; 10 = ______________) **9 Rating from 1**  **- 10**  (1= _______________; 10 = ______________) **Paperwork Burden Statement** According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, no persons are required to respond to a collection of information unless such collection displays a valid OMB control number. P ublic reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 5 minutes per response, i ncluding time f or reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of in formation. The obligation to respond to this collection is voluntary. Send comments regarding the burde n estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to the U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Ave., SW, Washington, DC 20210 -4537 Federal Student Aid Union Center Plaza Room - 32D2
. O r ema il ICDocketMgr@ed.gov and reference the OMB Control Number 1845 - 0045.