Transcript IM vs. FM - Welcome | PASFAA

Should you move to Institutional
Methodology (IM) ?
...A few things to consider!
Bonnie Lee Behm
Director of Financial Assistance
Villanova University
October, 2014
What I will cover today?
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What is Institutional Methodology (IM)?
What is the CSS/ Financial Aid PROFILE ?
Villanova University’s decision to implement IM
Benefits to the institution
Implementing IM
Challenges
Outcomes
Best Practices
What is Institutional Methodology (IM)?
• Provides the school with an Expected Family Contribution as a
result of student/family completing the CSS PROFILE
• Provides a more in-depth interpretation of a family’s financial
resources used to determine the family’s ability to pay
• More comprehensive than Federal Methodology (FM)
• Covers a broader base of information than FAFSA
• Offer opportunity to calculate a Noncustodial Parent
Contribution (NCP)
• Allows for more flexibility for individual circumstances
IM vs. FM
Federal Methodology
Institutional Methodology
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Written into law by Congress
Tables are based on 1967 BLS data
updated for inflation
Reflect spending pattern in 1967
Used to determine federal and/or
state eligibility
Simple Needs Test and Automatic
Zero EFC (no assets)
Relies on AGI as measure of family
income
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Formula is overseen by FA
professionals
Tables are based on annual
Consumer Expenditure Survey (CES)
Data
Reflect current family economic
circumstances
Used to award Non-federal funds
All sources or income and assets are
analyzed
What is the College Scholarship
Service (CSS) PROFILE?
Fee-for-service form but low income students are given fee waiver
• Provides the school with a student and parent EFC
• Provides an in-depth interpretation of a family’s financial
resources
• More comprehensive (lengthier) than FAFSA
• The PROFILE asks questions about multiple years
• Offer opportunity to calculate a Noncustodial Parent Contribution
(NCP)
• Allows for more flexibility for individual circumstances
• Ability to ask questions specific to your institution
Other IM options/Advantages
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Net Worth of Home
Other Real Estate and Investment Net worth
Business Net Worth – regardless of size of business
Student’s Assets caputured
Family Household Grid with information on names, colleges,
ages, costs of other schools family members attend
• Free form area for family to tell their story
FM EFC vs. IM EFC
Outcome (EFC) can be very different
•Most important concept to remember:
 FM EFC = Federal aid eligibility
Federal Pell Grant, Federal Campus-based & Federal Direct
Loans
 IM EFC = Institutional need-based aid eligibility
University/Institutional Need based Grant
CANNOT use IM to determine eligibility for federal aid
Some VU History
• Prior to the 2010-2011 Academic Year VU was a FAFSA only
school with an institutional application
• Villanova’s emphasis is on NEED based aid
• Needy student population continued to grow as did aid
budget but not with enough resources to keep pace
• Our Peer schools were already requiring CSS PROFILE
• Our predicament: How do we award Villanova Grant to as
many needy students as possible in the most equitable way
within the limits of our institutionally funded increase in
need based aid?
Goal
May or may not increase or decrease individual award amounts
but identify the appropriate population of students to receive
the institutional aid
Redistribute the limited dollars to students who demonstrate
the inability to pay and not just ‘eligible’ based on limited
information on the FAFSA
Benefits for Villanova
• CSS PROFILE provides flexibility and freedom to institutions that
FM did not provide
• Institutions can decide which PROFILE questions are relevant or
choose additional questions needed for distribution of your
resources
• Institution chose the PROFILE eligibility criteria (i.e., desired
student population) to ask only specific students to file if so
desired
• Peer institutions were already using PROFILE
Partners involved in helping us
make our decision
College Board
Senior Leaders
Budget Office
OFA Staff
Office of Admission
Other College Board Institutions
Software vendor
Bursar’s Office
Registrar’s Office
Information Technology Staff
Implementing IM
• Began in the 2010-2011 academic year
• Systematically rolled out the process with Freshmen
• Subsequently required it for each new class – took 4 years
before everyone was on-board
• Required training and support from our Software vendor
(Banner)
• Staff and Campus Partners
• College Board Representative visited VU for staff trainings
Implementing IM
•Users – the #1 population
Clear and timely communication to students and parents
with information regarding PROFILE application process
High school counselors also considered users
•Other items to consider
Communications need to be revised - Print, Web, voice
messages
Did we want Part-time students or other special groups to
use PROFILE? Current students?
Application, Selection and Renewal Process
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Incoming Freshman Year
Pre-Selection (invited to complete CSS PROFILE)
Application
Review discrepant data issues with FAFSA
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Subsequent Years
Renewal process
Challenges
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Reluctant partners and users
Student participation
Internal processes
Learning curve for OFA staff and campus partners
Communication to students & parents
Timeframe in which communications are sent
Discrepant data and resolution of the data
Other processes such as ISIR reviews, Tax
verifications
• Decisions: What if IM EFC is less than FM EFC?
Outcomes
• OFA’s goal to spend institutional aid in a more strategic way
and distribute institutional need based grant funds to a
broader range of students has been met.
• Looking towards the next few years to revisit our current
Service Options and see if we can utilize more of PROFILE’s
functionality to reallocate resources even more to achieve
the University’s enrollment goals.
Best Practices
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Do your research – ask questions
Know your population & your competition
Involve Senior Leaders and Budget office early on in the process
Choose a small population of students for your first year of
implementation
Partnerships (on and off-campus) are vital to your success
Stay simple in the beginning – you can always add in future years
Automate as much as you possibly can
Be comfortable with change – your process will evolve