I think verifying the contact information and relationship of the references as the time at enrollment and withdrawal/graduation would be a very powerful tool for making sure a student stays up to date with loan management.

Has anyone used an outside source to educate students on succesful budgeting / finance managing and what was your experience? For example, created a partnership with a bank or credit union to offer bank accounts with perks or on campus workshops?

I found it interesting that the customer complaints sections recommends to never say to the student "I don't know". I've found that's acceptable as long as I also tell the student that I will either find the answer or get them to the person who knows the answer. Of course, I would never just say "I don't know" and just leave them hanging...

A situation that I struggle with as far as communicating with students and/or parents is when a student (or parent) is married and they file seperately as head of household. I explain that they need to file an amended tax return just to hear that I am not a tax professional. Any tips?

I am reading the posts as it applies to physical financial aid and admissions offices. Does anyone have suggestions for an online institution? I think relating financial aid to credit checks done by employers is a great example of making the money students are using "real" to them and hopefully they will take it very seriously.

we need to give the student a good services and help to make the best decision when the such a program

One of our biggest struggles is getting students back into the office for their appointments. I know communication, excellent customer service and getting into relationship are key factors while working with our students. Our Financial Aid department meets with every student who shows interest in our program and when we complete our initial meeting they leave excited. What are some strategies for keeping the student's excitement and getting them back in for their follow up appointments?

Audits can be helpful and rewarding to a degree. They signal weaknesses and strengths as well. As a whole, our organization welcomes audits, they help us evaluate what we are doing. We try to be as organized and prepared as well. We also implemented a checks and balance so there is a peer review.

I firmly believe that if you meet regulation requirements then a program review is able to be avoided. However, there are times when accrediting bodies come to inspect the school and those cannot be avoided. I think as in most things, by being prepared then there is nothing to fear. Inspections and audits can come and go if one is prepared and not have a problem.

When the R2T4 process changes, it was tedious to get adjusted to the new changes, but now it has become quite easy. We had to regroup and once it was clearly explained it became second nature. Another issue that has been recently occuring at our facility is the difficulty to receive the exit counseling when a student withdraws. It has been extremely difficult to get students to comply once they have decided to leave the school. Any suggestions on how to have students comply?

One of the biggest issues we have is that the financial aid officers struggle to give good service yet finish things on a timely basis.We try to stress the fact that prompt service is often not worth the issues created by careless errors. However, the students do not understand the internal framework that entails. We currently have a checks and balance put in place in order to avoid mistakes. This works well because the advisors work in pairs and check each other's work.

I do notice that students take out loans when they can, knowing it could help pay their program costs for the periods they are enrolled in, but don't always "care". What ways has your school's faculty and/or staff helped in getting the students involved in taking ownership of their loans in the beginning of their enrollment so they do care about their future debt? I LOVE the idea of having a poster contest for the students to explain their rights and responsibilities and importance of paying the student loans back. I truly think this will give the faculty and staff a better understanding of how the student perceives Financial Aid, loans specifically. The instructors could be involved in the judging of the message (since they don't know the ins and outs of financial aid) to see how well THEY understand loan repayment too!

we do our entrance interview after they start, not before they start. we just touch on the basics before they start

Maintaining current student information is critical to knowing where students are, so we can keep in contact with them

The refund calculation information was great from working in the Financial Aid office it gave me a better idea of what happens in the Business Office when a student withdraws.

I agree. You need to give quality time and service to the student and make sure you give it to yourself, also. Because time and accuracy is a big part of the process. It also makes the process go smoothly without silly mistakes being made.

i knew very little in this topic but after reading. the little i knew really opended my eyes to what has to go into RT IV calcultions. great information!

We at the branch schools provide information for audits, but do not participate directly. However it is very rewarding to get the results

What are the sccrediting and reporting differences, or are their any?

Our school has several campuses. All Financial Aid is directed through one campus, so communication is vital.