WSAC State Aid Update to WFAA July 2012

WSAC State Aid Update to WFAA

July 2012

A Washington Opportunity Pathway

Agenda

• New state agency – WSAC• SNG Review Underway• Pending Projects•Unit Record Training•Counseling & GEAR UP Web Sites•Student Loan Study – H.E.L.P.

• College Bound Scholarship Status


WSAC Replaces HECB

The Council will consist of 9 members.– 5 selected by the Governor, 1 of which is a

student.– 4 from public four-year institutions, the

community and technical colleges, the independent non-profit institutions and OSPI.A Washington Opportunity Pathway

www.wsac.wa.gov

Council’s Major Functions• State financial aid programs and services that

support educational access and affordability.• College savings opportunities through the

Guaranteed Education Tuition (GET) program.• Early outreach and success programs

(College Bound Scholarship; GEAR UP).• Authorizing out-of-state institutions to operate

in Washington and monitoring program quality and finances.

• Developing a 10-year roadmap for higher education, including recommendations for initiatives and resources.

• Setting minimum college admission standards.A Washington Opportunity Pathway

State Need Grant Review• New legislation directs Institute for Public Policy

(WSIPP) and WSAC to analyze effectiveness of State Need Grant program.– Outcomes of students receiving SNG– Options for prioritizing SNG– The extent to which access and degree attainment for

low-income students has been improved– Whether funding has been utilized efficiently to

maximize enrollment and degree attainment of low-income students

• SFA workgroup expanded to conduct comprehensive policy review – began in May and meeting to complete report by Fall.


Review Purpose & Guidelines• Does Washington have the right policy goals?• What is the right mix of award amounts and

students served?• When should the state program align with

federal policies?• What policies should be tied to persistence and

completion?• Are there regulatory areas campuses would

benefit from additional flexibility?• Policies should consider:– Equitable opportunity regardless of sector– The nature of economic cycles– State’s role in student financial aid


Workgroup Has Reviewed• Current financial aid environment– Demand for financial aid– Increases to tuition & tuition authority– Federal and state policy changes

• Approaches of ten other states• Historical changes in SNG program & funding

model• Overview of SNG policies & data– Historical served/unserved data by MFI &

sector– Enrollment levels & student profile– Coordination with other aid– Student/family assetsA Washington Opportunity Pathway

Some Initial Discussion• Collapse the 5 MFI categories into 3 (0-50, 51-

60 and 61-70)• Continue to permit summer awarding• Continue to allow 15 quarters of eligibility• Allow campuses to reduce grants• Avoid consideration of tax credits in eligibility• Priority deadlines should continue to be set at

the campus level rather than statewide• There is not sector agreement for year-in-school

awards• Proposal to tie SNG with Pell as a percentage in

excess of T/FA Washington Opportunity Pathway

Next Steps

• August meeting• Draft report • Share with financial aid community• Prepare for 2013 Legislative session• Evaluate WSIPP report regarding student

outcomes


Unit Record Training

• For 2011-12 need-based recipients and federal loan borrowers

• August 23 – 2 to 4 p.m.• August 30 – 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.• Webinar sessions – will be recorded• Individual assistance also available

• Currently reviewing edits & setting parameters

• SWS to residents only for 2011-12A Washington Opportunity Pathway

Upcoming Projects• Higher Education Loan Program

review of finance methods and program design– First meeting July 31– Report due December 1

• Counseling web site for SNG students– Developing student videos– Leveraging new GEAR UP web site– Conditions of Award need URL by July 2013• Campuses need January 2013

• Auto enrollment of foster youth in College Bound Scholarship – process with DSHS begun


COLLEGE BOUND SCHOLARSHIP 1-888-535-0747 [email protected] Washington Opportunity Pathway

College Bound Scholarship

Expected Graduation Year 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

Eligible Students* 28,093 28,600 29,856 30,549 31,923

Complete applications 15,864 15,677 20,459 23,030 23,325

Percentage of eligible 56% 55% 69% 75% 73%

• Applications increase each year• Have over 15,000 applications from 7th

graders for 2017• Nearly 9,500 seniors have filed the FAFSA

Complete College Bound Applications by CityFor Classes of 2012, 2013, and 2014


College Bound Scholarship Students

CBS Eligibility• To apply for the scholarship:

7th or 8th grader eligible for Free/Reduced Price Lunch (FRPL) or– Meet the program’s income standard– Participate in TANF– Foster youth

Sign pledge

• To receive the scholarship: Graduate from Washington high school 2.0 GPA No felony Income within 65% Median Family Income Enroll within one year of graduation 4-year scholarship File FAFSA


OSPI Data Match


• Conduct match twice annually to verify application data and collect data such as current school and GPA

• Senior data match conducted every 2 weeks starting in mid-July

• WSAC collecting transcripts from students not matched with OSPI

• Campuses will be notified when data updated

CBS Cruncher• Agency matches College Bound applicant data to the

incoming FAFSA applications, and the results are presented to campuses via the CBS Cruncher.

• Provides campuses with a list of students eligible for awarding consideration and information about students who are not eligible.

• WSAC identifies applicants, verifies HS graduation/GPA and monitors timeframe

• Campuses monitor all other eligibility criteria including income and determine award amount


Cruncher “how to”• Search for students using name, SSN, or a file upload• Identify those who are “OK to Award”

– “OK to Award” includes valid CB applicants who are likely to meet high school requirements or have met them, and who meet timeframe requirements, etc.• Campuses are not required to verify high school requirements or

enrollment deadline unless the student inquires.

• Campuses may alter the value for “HSRequirementsMet” and “EnrollmentDeadlineMet"

• Match students to verify “OK to Pay” beginning in August when OSPI data are available– Depending on point in the awarding cycle, this may be the

field to review in lieu of “OK to Award”


Cruncher Results


• Sort by column heading• Determine eligibility by “OK to Award” or “OK to Pay” columns• College Bound Application status displayed for informational

purposes• Campuses may edit “HS Req Met” and “Enrollment Deadline

Met” fields

Initial Awarding Policies/Eligibility Criteria

• SNG awarding policies should not be altered to serve more students with CBS and stretch SNG dollars.

• Package a student with SNG if it is still being awarded under your policies.

• CBS will be increased to meet the maximum if it has not been met with SNG or other state grant aid.– Passport, Opportunity Grant & Opportunity

Scholarship• CBS will count as self-help for SNG purposes.• No minimum award in CBS.


Initial Awarding Policies/Eligibility Criteria

• Four-Year Scholarship & Part-time Enrollment• The four year scholarship will be pro-rated for part-time

enrollment• Must be used within 5 years of HS graduation• Like SNG, a small CBS award will count against their terms of

eligibility. However, there is a limited timeframe they can use the award and if eligible, CBS should be awarded.

• Part-time awards will be reduced in the same manner as SNG (75% for 9-11 quarter credit hours or equivalent, 50% for 6-8 quarter credit hours or equivalent, and 25% for 3-5 quarter credit hours or equivalent).

• Less-than-halftime eligibility will mirror SNG policy at this time.



State Need Grant and College Bound

• 2007 funding model and CBS program design envisioned that every CB student would receive

• Although the Legislature has continued to provide increases to SNG to keep pace w/tuition and fees, SNG is not an “entitlement”

• Unprecedented college enrollment in recent years has left nearly 30,000 un-served SNG students

• February 1 deadline was set to maximize use of SNG by CBS students


Survey Says – Policy/Process Issues• How to consider high assets in awarding• How often should we view the cruncher to see OK to

Award• Gift Equity in SNG and CBS self-help• Upper income receiving full CBS award & when out of

SNG• When to review “verify” category – who can change it• Awarded SNG to higher MFI in CBS population• Delay in finalized information created phone calls • Students expected to see CBS on initial award letter• Sent full amount and replaced partial with SNG later• Manual program and monitoring eligibility throughout

the year• Student eligibility for future years will not be understood


Survey Says – Communication Issues• Surprised full COA not covered• Unclear which fees would be covered• When will awards be adjusted?• Notification of students above 65 MFI• Students above 65 MFI frustrated they are not receiving

“guarantee”• Want full CBS on top of SNG• When will they be notified if requirements are met?• Who to contact to appeal if they think they applied?• If not eligible, what about future years?• When will we get book money?• What’s the HECB?• Will it transfer and be guaranteed?• What about summer quarter?• FAFSA match letter leads impression they will receive award• Creating a website with explanation linked from their FA portal


Survey Says – Awarding Process• Successfully programmed into new software• Sent email to students from cruncher explaining awards

adjusted later• Some Opportunity Scholarship adjustments• Included a conditional message on the award• Track code will notify student at time of disbursement if

still not OktoPay• Manually added after initially awarded• Unique fund code that awards full value if 60-70 MFI• All CBS notified of status including those not eligible• Will check several times over summer and prior to

disbursement and put a “hold” on any student not OK• Included “estimate until verified by HECB” language• Evaluating all applicants not just admits


Survey Says – Campus Plans• Plan to award as part of preliminary awards• May depend on when tuition is set and SNG is

known and automation• Too early to assess• Need to finish this year to evaluate• Need to automate – taking far too much time• Need the state to create change files campuses

can download regularly rather than re-submitting SSNs

• Announce eligibility but not an amount until finalized

• Seems to be working fine

Documents

WSAC State Aid Update to WFAA July 2012