Dealing with students that drag their feet
Once in a while you have students that you have to chase to get all information in to complete their F/A.
Richard,
Do you have any techniques that are successful in getting students to stop by the FA or Business Office? When I was working in FA we would have an open house and serve refreshments and invite our incoming students to attend. It would be a nice opportunity for them to meet other new students and gave us one last opportunity to get the necessary documents to finalize their FA packages.
Best wishes in your continued education process.
Sincerely, Chyrl
Thank you for the reply! We usually capture them at the orientation. The laggers are then contacted to come in. The "Open House" idea sounds good, but we have so many starts per year that could get confusing. I guess that the orientation serves as an openhouse.
Wow, I love this topic. I believe that every financial aid representative has come accross students who typically take their time in returning necessary financial aid documentation. I believe follow up is key, at the campus we have what is called at risk meetings. The meeting typically is with all departments in the school.Each person will bring a list of students they are having difficulties with, we will discuss each student and partner together as a group to get the students into the office. i.e. if student finance needs documentation from a student he/she will mention it in the meeting the head of the academic's department will notify the students teacher and the teacher will be responsible for getting student finance the necessary documentation. One team one dream.
Kimberly,
This is a great way to ensure your students are providing the neccessary documentation. Your right. Unfortunitely we all have had to deal with this type of student at some point in our career. It always works better when you attack a problem as a team and not as an individual. Good luck in your financial aid experience. Sincerely, David
David McGuffee
we use a "Financial Aid Red Card" that is given to the teacher whom gives it to the student and is not able to return to class until someone in the financial aid office has signed it. seems to work so far
We are an online campus. This means that getting our students to comply with financial aid document requests is even more difficult than at a ground campus level. At a ground campus, a FA administrator can even stand in the doorway of the classroom to get a student's attention. Unfortunately, at an online campus, we only have the telephone, email and the online messaging system to get a student's attention. This means that we have to essentially hound our students for their documents and in many cases, threaten to block them from class if they do not respond. It is an ongoing frustrating situation and I'm curious if anyone else has any suggestions to make this process easier for an online campus.
Elysia,
Your comments are very true when working with online students. The clients that I work with have expressed the same concerns. They often feel their methods come across as negative; however, they do not want a student to be faced with tuition, books and fees that they cannot cover. I have worked with online institutions set an enroll in classes date and if the student has not made satisfactory arrangements for direct cost they will delay the enrollment in classes. This way they are dealing with the issue before the students are already attending their onlines classes.
Best wishes in your continued online education process.
Chyrl Ayers
We send out an email to all the academic advisors to let them know which students still need to complete their fafsa's. Then we call all the remaining students and tell them about the workshops that we have where we can assist them one on one with completing their fafsas and to answer any questions they may have. This way all of our attention is on them and any concerns they have. If they do not attend the workshops we just have them come in during their breaks from class to help them. This process with the help from their advisors works really good with our students.
Melissa,
You have a very thorough process to insure that your students are processed timely with their FAFSA. Your procedures seem to cover all potential for overlooking a student. This is a great effort being made by you and your team. Great job!
Chyrl Ayers
We also have a call out slip for our students and it seems to work. We also give them a letter that explains to them that if they do not have their Financial Aid completed by a specific date, that they will have to be pushed to the next start.
Yes, orientation is a great way to get your last minute students to get pending info. You just have to ensure that you are prepared with your list of students and files on that day. I always liked when each department got to see each student to sign in and this was the time we were able to complete their files and collect whatever we needed. Then they would proceed to one room where they would have orientation. This worked well for us.
I have worked in FA offices where they would have a meet and greet, and serve coffee and desserts to the existing students. This was a perfect time to meet all of our students and take advantage of letting them know if we needed anything from them.
I think what is also key is to always set the expectation up front with your students, this way their is a sense of urgency.
I think wekly meetings work well too. If you get together and discuss the students that are stil pending info and all team memebrs are on board, then its a team effort to get the student to do complete his FA. If everyone is aware then it helps.
lori, There are always going to be students that wait till the last minute to do what they need to do regarding the processing of their financial aid. The responsibility falls on the FA officer to ensure these students understand the urgency of getting their information to you. It could mean the difference of a student being able to enroll in school and paying for their education through grants and student loans, or paying in cash. Good luck in your online financial aid education.
Regards,
David McGuffee
lori, Orientation was used at my institution to get students to come in with their information also. Ntifications were sent to these students every day leading up to the orientation to ensure they did not forget the information we were needing to complete their FA application.
Regards,
David McGuffee
'Forgetful' students may create additional work for the FA office but it's also a good opportunity to create a positive relationship with the student. By the 2nd or 3rd student interaction, I have learned the students' face and name and I'm able to greet them in passing by their first name. It creates a positive lasting impression.
Brittany,
This is a great response to what can be negative experience. You are right - each encounter with a student gives one the opportunity to build a relationship that can lead to a more successful FA process. You have a great attitude and I am sure your students appreciate your positive nature.
Best wishes in your continues success in financial aid.
Sincerely,
Chyrl Ayers
I am fairly new to the FA postion at my campus, therefore, I have found that by "chasing" after a student every other day and asking them if they have their missing paperwork that it serves as a way to get to know the student and for them to know me. I always make sure to let them know how important it is to get back to me with their paperwork too. I think it's a great way to let the student know that Im here for them and that I am working on their FA file.
Jessica,
I completely agree that making a connection with your students is important to complete the process and maintain any future requirements. Also, it maybe helpful to your students if you develop a checklist for them with anticipated dates of delivery to keep them on task.
Sincerely,
Chyrl Ayers
