Transcript News to Know

News to
Know
Office of Student Financial
Assistance
Florida Department of Education
August 2005
OSFA Welcomes Levis Hughes
OSFA is pleased to announce that Levis Hughes
has joined OSFA as the Director of FFELP
Operations. Levis is most recently from Nelnet,
serving for 16 years in a multitude of operational
and client services roles. He is committed to
improving the operational support of the agency
by assisting schools with their needs.You may
contact Levis at 850.410.6842 or via e-mail at
[email protected].
On Site Assistance
Fall is one of the most hectic time of years!
Please remember that your Outreach Team
is here to work for you. If we can be of any
assistance to you and your staff, please do
not hesitate to call on us. We will gladly
arrange to spend time on your campus to
help you and your staff!
Exit Counseling Requirements
A school must ensure that exit counseling is conducted shortly before any Stafford loan
borrower ceases enrollment on at least a half-time basis. The exit counseling may be
conducted in person, by audiovisual presentation, or by interactive electronic
means. The school must ensure that an individual with expertise in Title IV programs is
reasonably available shortly after the exit counseling has been conducted to answer the
student borrower's questions. If a student borrower withdraws without the school's prior
knowledge, or fails to complete the required exit counseling, the school must ensure that
exit counseling is provided through interactive electronic means or by mailing written
materials to the student borrower at his or her last know address within 30 days after
learning that the student borrower withdrew from school or failed to complete the exit
counseling as required. For a student borrower enrolled in a study-abroad program that
the home institution school may, as an alternative to in-person, audiovisual, or
interactive electronic means, provide written exit counseling materials by mail within 30
days after the student completes the program. When counseling is conducted by another
party or by interactive electronic means, the school remains responsible for ensuring that
each student borrower receives the counseling materials and participates in and
completes exit counseling.
Common Manual, Chapter 4, Subsection 4.4.C., Federal
Regulations 682.604(g), Federal Student Financial Aid
Handbook, Vol. 2, Chapter 6, page 113
Hurricane Dennis Guidance
As everyone is aware, Florida has been hit by
Hurricane Dennis. Please reference Dear
Colleague Letter GEN-04-04 and Disaster Letter
99-28 for guidance in assisting Title IV
participants affected by a disaster. The following
counties have been designated as disaster areas in
order to assist schools, lenders, students and
borrowers. At this time FEMA has the following
listings:
Bay, Dixie, Escambia, Franklin, Gulf, Okaloosa, Santa
Rosa, Taylor, Wakulla, and Walton counties
Administrative Forbearance
An administrative forbearance may be granted to borrowers who
request temporary relief from their loan obligations because they have
been adversely affected by a natural disaster. A forbearance for up to 3
months may be granted based on the borrower's oral or written request
for assistance. The reason for the forbearance must be documented in
the borrower's loan file but does not need to have supporting
documentation or a signed written agreement from the borrower.
However, a continuation of the forbearance past the initial 3-month
period will require supporting documentation and a written agreement
with the borrower. Note: This regulatory relief applies to all Title IV
loan borrowers, students, and their families who, at the time of a
disaster, were residing in, employed in, or attending an institution
located in an area designated as a Federally-declared disaster area.
MYF Chat Events
We are pleased to announce the following
financial aid chats are available during the
remainder of 2005. These chats are FREE to you
and your students through our sponsorship of
Mapping Your Future!
September 13, 2005, Debt Management Strategies
November 15, 2005, Managing your student loans,
including repayment options, consolidation, and
cancellation
For more information on the MYF
Chats, visit the MYF Website!
2004/2005 FAFSA Deadlines
Corrections to 2004-2005 processed
applications, including signature pages,
must be received and accepted by the CPS
no later than midnight, September 15, 2005.
State Programs Training
Our Training Unit has added a new member
that is dedicated to State Programs. Eunice
Selewski is available to assist you in your
training needs. For more information or to
schedule a training appointment, please
contact Eunice Sewelski at 850-245-1972 or
via email at: [email protected]
SSFAD Guide for Postsecondary
Institutions
The SSFAD Guide for Postsecondary
Institutions has been updated and is
available on the web for your use! To
review the Guide, visit our OSFA-State
Programs website, and click on
Postsecondary Institutions, then SSFAD
Guide for Postsecondary Institutions.
FSAG 2005-2006 Funding
The 2005-2006 annual award increased this year
to $1,672
The maximum award amount (round up to the
nearest dollar first term awarded)
Semester ( $836 and $836 )
Quarter ( $558, $557 and $557 )
The EFC cutoffs remained the same
Public – 3850
Private – 5820
Postsecondary - 5282
2005-06 Florida Bright Futures
Private School Award Amounts
The Private School Bright Futures award
amounts are now available. To review the
amounts, visit our OSFA - State Programs
website, click on Postsecondary Institutions,
and then Private School Award Amounts for
Bright Futures, then select your institution
type.
Summer Grade and Hours Reporting
The 2005-2006 OSFA Summer G&H Report is available by batch
or online via the OSFA - State Programs website. The only students
found on this report are Bright Futures students disbursed in the
2004-2005 academic year who failed to meet the renewal criteria
due to:
grade point average (GPA) and/or hours requirements, or
dropping from Florida Academic Scholar to Florida Medallion
Scholar.
Grade and hours for these students are only reported upon request
from the student and should indicate hours earned in the summer
term(s) and the new institutional cumulative GPA through the 2005
summer term. The submission of this information will result in the
re-evaluation of Bright Futures for the 2005-2006 academic year.
The deadline for these reports is September 30, 2005.
Grade and Hour Reporting
Enhancements
Enhancements to the 2004-2005 Grade and Hours
Report include a Report Query that allows users to
view their entire institutional list of students
needing Grade and Hours on one page.
This format is consistent with the current view
options for the Disbursement Eligibility Report
(DER). This is an additional option for users that
will coexist with the search function that allows
users to work records individually.
SSFAD Student Identifiers
The current SSFAD system uses a student’s Social Security
Number (SSN) or a Psuedo SSN (such as a student ID
number) as a Student Identifier.
OSFA has enhanced the SSFAD to accept the Student
Identifier submitted by the postsecondary institution (PSI)
as the primary identifier. If a PSI submits a Student
Identifier that differs from what exists in the SSFAD
internal systems, the PSI’s data will overlay the SSFAD
internal identifier.
This enhancement assists in resolving matching and edit
issues that occur when PSI data in SSFAD internal systems
is not identical to what is submitted by the PSI.
Online Reinstatement and
Restoration Information
The Online Reinstatement/Restoration Application for
students is now enhanced and fully functional on the
SSFAD.
Students must utilize their USER IDs and PINs to
ensure a secure login. Following a successful login,
demographic information for the student pre-fills the
application. Once the pre-filled data appears, it can be
updated on the actual application and subsequently
stored in the SSFAD.
Reinstatement applicants not needing certifications can
immediately view eligibility results online.
GPA Certification for Bright
Futures Restoration Applicants
To expedite and simplify the process for BF
restoration applicants, PSI certification of grade point
averages (GPAs) for BF restoration applicants is now
exclusively available online.
To access this web-based certification page, please
visit the OSFA- State Programs website, select Postsecondary Institutions, Initial/Renewal Reporting,
Certification Reports, and Student.
Utilize your secure login and follow the on-screen
instructions. Paper transcripts are no longer required
from eligible Florida Bright Futures schools. The
certifying institution will be the PSI the student last
attended.
Master Eligibility List (MEL)
We now offer the MELs for all centralized programs exclusively on
the SSFAD. MELs can be accessed via the:
Web,
Downloadable Zip Files, and
Northwest Regional Data Center (NWRDC) for automatic
processing.
We are enhancing the system so that the downloadable zip files are
available by individual PSI in the near future.
For institutions using their existing connectivity to NWRDC to
automatically process the file, the file naming convention for the
2005-06 “Bright Futures Only MEL” remains as it was in prior
years. The naming convention for the All Programs MEL is
OBF.H4.F30122.ALLPGM.ALLPSI.Y0506.
All institutions should be utilizing the new file layout posted on the
OSFA website with a character length of 139 versus 125.
MEL - Authorization to Fund
Remember that the MEL serves as official authorization
from OSFA to institutions to disburse funds to eligible
students per specified centralized programs.
It is especially important for the Bright Futures program
that each institution match non-disbursed enrollments
against the entire “Bright Futures Only MEL” to identify,
fund and report financial aid awards via the DER.
Schools are authorized to add students to any program
DER when an eligible student is located on the MEL
but not found on the DER. This review of all students on
the MEL ensures that all eligible students receive timely
funding at the institution where they actually attend.
Important 2005 FASFAA Dates
September 29, 2005
FASFAA Graduate/Professional Financial Aid Symposium
Tampa
October 6, 2005
FASFAA Region I Fall Workshop
Marianna
October 11, 2005
FASFAA Region VI Fall Workshop
Location TBD
October 12, 2005
FASFAA Region V Fall Workshop
For more information
West Palm Beach
October 13, 2005
on these events and
FASFAA Region III Fall Workshop
other future
Kissimmee
scheduled events,
October 25 - 28, 2005
visit the FASFAA
FASFAA Fall Training Conference
Website and click on
Orlando
“Calendar”
Mission Statement
The Florida Department of Education, Office of
Student Financial Assistance (OSFA), serves as a
guarantor for the Federal Family Education Loan
Program (FFELP), and the administrator of
Florida’s scholarship and grant programs. The
OSFA Mission is to facilitate higher education
access and services by providing exemplary
customer attention, comprehensive financial aid
information, and convenient and efficient
products.
Philosophy
As a public agency, OSFA has the ability to offer its partners and
customers something few guarantors can: the ability to shape
OSFA programs and services based on their specific concerns.
Earnings generated from OSFA’s loan programs are used to help
fund scholarship and grant programs, financial aid workshops and
publications, and to provide better services for our participants.
When schools and students choose to use the OSFA guarantee for
student loans, they are actually helping countless other needy and
deserving students by investing in education programs. So, if a
participant has a problem or suggestion, OSFA management
listens and does whatever it takes to implement a solution that
meets their needs. Public dollars deserve that kind of
accountability in education finance.
Outreach Team Contact
Information
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Ernest Smith, Director of Market Development
850-322-6498
Jacqueline Hill, Default Prevention Manager
850-212-1108
Lori Auxier, Manager of Outreach Services
850-212-2997
Karen Hurrell, Senior Outreach Representative
904-745-3091
Stephanie Durdley, Outreach Representative
850-322-6219
Kelly Bernhardt, Outreach Representative
850-277-2331
Robin Blank, Outreach Representative
850-264-6008
Regional Contact Information
Lori Auxier
Manager of Outreach
Services
850-212-2997
[email protected]