Get Your Students Hired
Margaret, Any way you can think of to improve and strengthen the process is important. Whatever process works best for you is what you should use. Communication between each department or internally in a department is key to success.
Regards,
David McGuffee
Daniela,
It sounds like your FA office and Business office have an excelent process in place to ensure students are up to date on where they are in the cost of their education. I agree that communication is the key to the overall success of both offices.
Regards,
David McGuffee
Katie, Although online exit counseling is an important tool for providing students with easy access to counseling, nothing can take the place of face-to-face counseling. Your there to respond to all questions the student may have regarding their loan responsibilities both during and after they leave college.
Regards,
David McGuffee
Katie, It is great that you are able to track your student's status as they go through the FA process. The Campusvue student information system does have some very usefull option tools to allow each department to do their job more effectlively.
Regards,
David McGuffee
We are a small school and in the process of becoming up to date - Since some of us wear more than one hat what is important to one area is not always thought to be in another - we are working at getting everyone on the same page
Our Business Office has made significant strides over the past year. Over the last year, policies have been put in place to help prevent students from carrying balances forward. We adopted a 30-60-90 day process where after 90 days of delinquency the student could potentially be withdrawn from school. At each point, delinquent students are contacted via phone and email to try to assist them in coming current on their payment plan. This process has helped tremendously to reduce bad debt. One area that needs improvement however is communication between the Financial Aid and Business Office team. FA assists in meeting with students to take payments and servicing delinquent students. It is crucial that conversations had between Business Office staff members and delinquent students or FA staff and students gets documented in our data system so that if that student were to meet with a different staff member that employee can pick up where their co-worker left off. Both teams are getting better at documenting meetings and conversations however improvement is still needed so that we can continue to provide outstanding customer service to our students. I feel that continued training can assist with this.
The online exit counseling is very beneficial, however, we do have students that still have questions if they complete it on their own. It is really helpful that we have a department dedicated to exit counseling / default management because they take additional steps to make sure the student is well educated about their student loans. One thing we do is have Exit Counseling workshops for our graduate students which really helps address additional questions that a student has when it comes to repayment. If a student is withdrawing our registrars department gives the student a form to fill out which requires them to meet with their program manager, financial aid, financial literacy and the business office to make sure the student is aware of any financial & academic obligations. Each department needs to initial off on the form showing that the student has met with each department.
One of the things that we struggle with is communication and documentation between Financial Aid and the Business Office. At the college I work for, the Financial Aid department does help our business office with some of their duties, for example, delinquent students who are late on making payments on their payment plan. We will periodically have students come in and we have no idea why they are here. We recently moved to using campusvue about a year and half ago for our student tracking. Campusevue has made a tremendous difference in tracking students compared to our older system. A simple fix to the communication and documentation aspect is to write a simple note in the proper activity about what needs to be done with the student's situation. This type of documentation has been a change for everyone that works here because they weren't use to it with the older system we had. With campusvue in place, whomever sees the student next will know what to do or at least know why they are here if properly documented. We all do get very busy and wrapped up in our daily duties and it can get tough to remember to document a situation. However, I don't think busyness is a proper excuse and this is something that really needs to be reiterated with proper training so that it eventually becomes a habit. We are getting there as a college and it has gotten better over time, but there is still more work that needs to be done, such as making sure all documentation is more cohesive across all departments.
Daisy,
It is important to have confidence in your team to ensure that all areas is processing currently and timely. It is good to know you have faith in your team.
Sincerely, Chyrl
Chyrl Ayers
No, I don't feel any of the processes in our Business Office are outdated. The staff that work in the Business Office are very knowledge and our home office staff are always improving their processes by making use of technology.
Daisy Debs
I feel that some of our processes are a little outdated. Although we do have a student website that takes payments online, I do think we should have a more customer friendly payment option to use credit cards/debit cards at the campus level.
Also the way we put holds on students that owe money and are delinquent is also outdated. We need to have a better system of getting these students to fulfill their commitments or have a Plan B, rather than chasing them down in the classroom constantly.
Frances,
I agree with you. Most students would prefer and benefit from having account access at their fingertips. Until you get to that point it is important that you try to find workarounds that will help resolve the problem. Good customer service suffers when the administrator is hindered from helping the student in a timely manner.
Regards,
David McGuffee
I would have to say technology. We don't have an online portal for students to access. This could benefit both students and staff. Anytime a student needs to check on their account or Financial Aid they have to come and see us. Sometimes we are in appointments and can't meet with them right away. I think the students would prefer to have it at their fingertips.
TANIA,
That is a great position to take to ensure understanding with the most current technology and professional growth. Do you have any recommendation for others on professional development that has been beneficial to your college.
Sincerely, Chyrl
Chyrl Ayers
We require that our staff be constantly updating their professional development, and our college is always on top on acquiring up to date technology and methodology that helps our staff and students throughout the process.
Todd, Most third party servicers have set procedures regarding the processing of student information for their clients. It all goes back to the timeliness of the client submitting the student information to the servicer and how accurate the information is when submitted. As long as the information is accurate there should be no delay in title iv funds disbursing.
Thanks,
David McGuffee
Cumbersome fits our student accounts department more than antiquated. It is hard to have a discussion with a student about why or when something is going to be accomplished when most of the processes are conducted off site at a third party service. Especially when the student isn't allowed to contact the off site facility.
Susan,
It is important that each of us understand the benefits and weaknesses of our Student Management System. There is not a problem with a workaround unless it prevents you or your team from providing good customer service or accurate information to your students. You never want your system's shortcomings to create an issue when taking care of the student.
Sincerely,
Chyrl Ayers
Sometimes, technology can get the better of us. Our business office utilizes a pretty outdated student management system which makes it less efficient when having to keep track of student records. Although it's manageable because you find alternative ways of completing the same tasks, a new records management system would not only free up time from the staff, but also provide assurances to students that a clear process is utilized when managing their individual information.
Michael,
This forum is really designed to make you think about your processes and look for ways to improve in areas that require strengthening. Based on your answer it appears you have a very open and forthright opinion on where you are and why. I think it is improve to look for areas of improvement but to ensure you focus on the ones that meet regulatory requirements and student experience first.
Sincerely,
Chyrl Ayers