NYSFAAA 2016How to gain the benefits of automating the

financial aid process

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• If you must leave the session early, please do so a

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Thank you for your cooperation!

How to Gain the Benefits of Automating the

Financial Aid Process

Robert Zasso

Associate Director of Financial Aid

Dutchess Community College

Agenda

Why Automate?

Tools of the Trade

What to Automate?

Tips & Tricks

Why Automate

• Streamline our financial aid office processes

• Enforce accountability where it matters• Learn where training is needed

• Helps with ownership of a job duty

• Minimize mistakes due to manual errors and inefficiency

• Develop an insight into the evolution and repercussions of our financial aid processes

Benefits of Automating

• Free up counselors to have more time to work with students one on one

• Less time on busy work & reviewing files

• Not touching a student’s the file as often

• Reduce human error

• Increase data accuracy

• Allows more time to deal with compliance

• Can find paperwork and files quicker if the office is using an imaging system

You Have Choices

• Can go baseline

• Have the school purchase third party software

• Automate what you like

• Not all automation has to be run by scheduler

• Can create reports/processes to be run manually

that have multiple steps

Road Blocks

• Some staff afraid of change

• Like to still do it manually

• Like paper

• Staff does not trust Banner

• Not enough IT support

Solutions to Road Blocks

• Some staff afraid of change & like to still do it manually

• Show them the new process and ask them to try it and ask for feed back after a month & incorporate feedback if possible

• Staff does not trust Banner

• Have them use it and show them how it has the information they need at their fingertips & makes their day to day jobs easier

• Not enough IT support

• Try and find someone in the office who can learn some basics on population selections & SQL Queries

• Good at developing a process

Find Balance: Complexity vs Efficiency vs

Simplicity

Tools of the Trade

Duties per Position

• Job Descriptions

• Tasks Timeline

• Job Stream

Position Job Duties: State & ScholarshipsJob Description Policy & Procedure Type Asst Director State/Sch

APTS

Review APTS Recipients for

Academic Eligibility, Registration, &

Documents. NYS Weekly X

APTS-Review

Review Completed APTS

Applications for Income and

Application Qualifications NYS Weekly X

Award Cancellation

Canceling a Student's Award based

on Numerous Circumstances Packaging Daily X

COA & TIV Over award Review

Review TIV & COA Over award

Lists for Revisions Compliance Daily X

Consortium

Review & Input Consortium

Agreements into Banner and

WebXtender Packaging Weekly X

Corrections

Can make Corrections to the

FAFSA in Banner and CPS Packaging Daily X

Counseling

Discuss with a Student about

Financial Aid Communications Weekly X

Counseling: Dorm Students

Counsel Dorm Students on Options to Pay for School & Dorms Communications Daily X

Emergency Cases-Dean's Office

Dealing With Situations Beyond our

Control Communications Daily X

Financial Aid SeminarsPresent Financial Aid Seminars to High Schools & Classes Communications Semester X

Misc. Duties

Duties not specifically assigned,

decided by the Director Administration Daily X

Overpayment Review

Overpayment Review that Federal Aid has been Paid (COA Report for Loon Coordinator & Title IV Report for Scholarship/State Coordinator) Compliance Daily X

Packaging Awarding of Student Packaging Daily X

Packaging: Review List

Review SSN, DOB, Graduate,

Bachelors, or Citizen Issues. Packaging Daily X

Packaging: REVOTH Review

Review Asset, SELSER, Martial Status, Dependency Status, HHNUM, & DD214 Packaging Daily X

Position Job DescriptionsThe Assistant Director of Scholarships & New York State (NYS) Grants is responsible to the Director of Financial Aid for assisting in the administration of federal, state and institutional financial aid funds. He/she has the authority to make decisions, subject to the approval of the Director of Financial Aid to award within the authority delegated by the Director of Financial Aid, “financial aid packages” and perform all other necessary duties assigned to or required of the Assistant Director. This position will also be responsible for the administration of all institutional as well as outside scholarships. He/she will also be the integral position that works directly with the other offices on campus for the proper administration of the New York State Tuition Aid Program (TAP) and Aid for Part-time Study Program (APTS).

RESPONSIBILITIES

Assist the Director in administration of all financial aid at the institution

Administer federal, state and institutional financial aid

Complete the verification process and award students on a continuous basis

Counsel and advise students applying for funds offered through the College’s financial aid programs

In some cases assist in preparing, and in other cases prepare routine and periodic reports to state and federal levels, prepare and assist in preparing reports requested by the Director of Financial Aid

Continuously update his/her knowledge and understanding of federal, state and institutional policies, procedures and regulations and assess their impact on the College’s financial aid programs, making appropriate recommendations on the basis of that assessment

Exercise supervision of the support and student aid staff in the absence of the Director and Associate Director

Visit schools and agencies within the local area, promoting an awareness of the College’s financial aid programs and lend support to “outreach” efforts initiated by other campus offices.

Tasks Time Line: State & Scholarships

Daily

TIV Over-Award Review (All)

APTS (5)

Counseling/Phones

INCHRV

Verification Review (15 a Day)

Spring Review Reports (All)

Summer Review Reports (All)

Counselor Phone Calls from List

PJ Review

FWS/RJASEAR

Request for Aid (FWS) Housing Package

Review

Review List

REVOTH

Weekly

Conklin Scholarships (Friday)

Convocation & Outside Scholarships

(Wednesday)

TAP Status Listing (AppWorx-Friday)

TAP Remittance (AppWorx-Friday)

NYS Aid Not Paid-Argos (Thursday)

Scholarship Aid Not Paid-Argos

(Thursday)

Conklin Not Paid-Argos (Thursday)

State & Scholarship Meeting

UEH

Housing Spring Packaging Review

G845

Monthly/Semester/Yearly

Financial Aid Seminars (Semester)

High School nights (Semester)

TAP certification (Monthly)

HESC Scholarships Certification

(Monthly)

TAP Enrollment Report (January)

TAP Tuition Costs (March)

APTS Certification/Grade/Under 10%

(January & June)

APTS Recipient List (November & March)

APTS & TAP Reconciliation (January &

June)

Wait List SEOG (Semester)

Housing Add/Drop Budget Review

(September & February)

Housing No Longer In Housing Review

(September & February)

Job Stream

Another Job Stream• ISIR Data load using TDClient

• COD Imports using TDClient

• RSRENRL for each semester

• Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) Processing

• Batch Posting and Grouping

• ISIR Correction Import using TDClient (unlock,

relock ISIRs)

• Packaging and Award Notifications

• ISIR Correction Extract/Export using TDClient

• Grant and Loan Origination Creation

• COD Extract/Export using TDClient

• Entrance and Exit Counseling Batch Post Processing

• Email Communication (document requests and SAP

notifications)

• Reports (various discrepancy and general

processing reports)

AM Processing Chain (morning run):

• COD Import using TDClient

• Pell LEU Processing

• Entrance and Exit Counseling Processing

• Disbursement

• Scholarship (AcademicWorks) Processing

• Work Study Processing

• Reports (various discrepancy and general

processing reports)

• Output to Work Folders on Departmental File

Share-Drives

Tools of the Trade

• Manuals

• Explain the process flow

• Instructions

• Schedule of Workflow

• Timing is important

• Calendars

• Deadlines

• Review Processes

• Build for the majority

• Create reports for the expectations

• Less review

Scheduling and Frequency of Jobs

PM Processing Jobs

• Runs Monday thru Friday evenings (starts 4:30pm)

• Duration: 4 to 8 hours depending on time of year

AM Processing Jobs

• Runs Monday thru Friday mornings (starts 12:00am)

• Duration: 4 to 8 hours depending on time of year

• Schedule Varies for Different Sub-JobsSome daily, some one day per week, some multiple times per day

Reasons for Scheduling/Frequency Choices

• Dependent upon business need

• To accommodate established maintenance windows andother departments’ processes

Tools of the Trade• Scheduler

• Automic Scheduler (AppWorx)

• Cron (IT)

• Calendar & Employee (Run Weekly)

• Report Writer

• Argos

• Access

• Excel

• Imaging

• Application Xtender

• Third Party Software

• Delivery System

• Email

• Other solutions that generate output to the staff

• Work Flow

• File Share

Google Drive

One Drive

Tools of the Trade: Programing Ideas

• Batch Posting

• Algorithmic Budgeting

• Algorithmic Packaging

• Algorithmic Aid Periods

• TAP Estimator

• State Certification & Remittance

• SQL

Example: Assign Verification Documents

Example: Assign Verification Documents

Examples of what to Automate

• Data Load: ISIRS, DL & Pell Files (TDClient)

• Paperless Verification

• Extra Checks on State Aid processing

• Automating PLUS Loan processing

• Packaging

• Budgets

• Tracking

• SAP process

• Individual Jobs (Multiple Parts)

• Setup in a scheduler

• Parameters setup in Banner INB

Other Items to Help Efficiency

• Self Service

• Online Forms

• Electronic Signatures

Tips & Tricks

• Duplicate process for Different Years

Make dynamic

Reduce hard coding aid years and terms

• Report Distribution

Email versus File Share (~OneDrive)

• Set up naming standards for Scheduled Jobs,

Calendars, Variables, Notifications, etc., and

enforce them

Thank You!

Contact Information:

Robert Zasso

Zasso@sunydutchess.edu

845-431-8033