Outsourcing the Financial Aid Verification and C-Code Process

Agenda

• Who we are• What we did• Why we did it• Process Flow• Results• Questions

Who we arePam Shuttlesworth•District Director for Advising and Communications

• 30 years Financial Aid Experience• 87,000 students systemwide• DataTel Student Information

System

Carolyn J. Jones•Financial Aid/VA Technical Coordinator

• 16 years experience• In charge of all technical issues

except Loan program• Computer system is Banner 8.12• Enrollment is 45,000 with 25,000

financial aid applicants

Justin Allen•Account Executive

• Assist Institutions with deployment and continuous process improvement

What we did

What we did

• Redesign FA Document Process– Re-design student document submission process to make it more intuitive. – Create paperless verification worksheet and c-code document submission process,

driven by student.• Better for student• Better for College staff• Better for cycle times, errors, and student accountability

– Student can submit documents online• Upload• Camera phone• Fax barcode

What we did

• Shared Service Center for File Review– Federal Title IV is a standardized process– Ensure consistency of processing across campus = Ensure compliance– Ensure consistent student experience– Leverage economies of scale– Reduce need for hiring, staffing, retaining and training at each College– Leverage centralized people, process and technology– Colleges retain control of special cases, escalations, etc.

– Outsourced process to Global FAS

Why we did it

Why we did it

DCCCD

• Application Growth– 58,503 total FA applications received

for 2009-10• 92% increase over 2007-08

• Pell Awards– $69 million in Federal Pell awards

paid for 2009-10• 84% increase over 2008-09

• Staff– Staffing resources are not growing at

a fast enough rate to manage application growth

Collin College

• Application Growth– 18,047 total FA applications received

for 2009-10• 85% increase over 2007-08

• Pell Awards– $17 million in Federal Pell awards

paid for 2009-10• 127% increase over 2008-09

• Staff– Staffing resources are not growing at

a fast enough rate to manage application growth

Why we did it

• Regulatory Changes/Economic Factors– Percentage of applications selected for verification is increasing faster than total volume

increase (approximately 55%, up from about 45% average for several years)– Increasing complexity of Pell regulations has decreased the ability to program

automation– Increasing diversity between state and federal general eligibility criteria

• Student Experience– 6-8 week file review backlog becoming norm - creating problems for tuition loss, student

service and negative impact to College staff– Not intuitive process for students– File review paperwork is dropped off, sits in piles and has to be imaged, then

manipulated and re-printed in another system– eConnect/MIL letter disconnect with File Review– MIL letters only every 30 days

Process Flow

Centralized File Review

Student File placed back into Award processStudent File placed back into Award process

Student Log In

Student Home Page

Verification Worksheet

Global Admin

Results

Results• Student Experience

– Paperless– Online– First student verified on day 1

• Awards– 10,000 more students awarded in Dallas

• Speed– Files reviewed in under 5 days

Dallas Community College District

• Global Partnership– Backlog of students– Training

• Central vs. College specific– Call Center– Client Service Support

Collin College

• Global Partnership– IT bandwidth (SFTP, import, export)– Resources

• Phone bank• Selecting ISIRs

– Training– Current on Files– Client Service Support

Thank youJustin Allen Global Financial Aid Services Account Executive JAllen@GlobalFAS.com 228-243-1086

Please, stop by our booth to discuss lessons learned, best practices, and how to determine if this makes sense for your institution.