Get Your Students Hired
Todd,
Great point - assessing the overall status of a department is often about more than just application and processes it includes the people. The departments within college need to be evaluate in people, process and technology to ensure the quality of the job being performed.
Sincerely,
Chyrl Ayers
While we are attempting to continually refine the process in the Business Office it seems that the people are more antiquated than the processes. It is sometimes difficult to teach old dog new tricks.
Sean,
A school may pay credit balances throuhg an electronic funds transfer (EFT) to a bank account designated by the student or parent so this is an option that would available to your school. However, if a student selects to not participate in this process the school will have to issue the credit balance through the manual process of a check. There is some very good guidance on the required standards of EFT in the 2012/13 FSA handbook pages 4 - 17 through 4 - 19. This information would allow you to explore your options (if your school was interested).
Sincerely,
Chyrl Ayers
Issuing of stipends/refunds to students with a credit balance tends to be a long drawn out process. It requires corporate approval and then a check is mailed back to the campus within 7-10 days. I think if we used some kind of EFT it would shorten the processing time.
Jack,
Interesting thoughts on the need to share best practices and look for training opportunities to keep fresh on new ideas and approaches. Your response to this questions not only looks at your technology but gives others ideas on the importance of networking in the FA Community. Great insight on the potentials that lies with others.
Sincerely,
Chyrl Ayers
Danica,
Great way to stay on the cutting edge of technology opportunities. It is important to have the students working in envirnoments that make the process smoother and easier to accomplish. As Aid Administrators it is our responsibility to guide our students forward in the processes that lead to success.
Sincerely,
Chyrl Ayers
I dont feel our processes are outdated in the Business Office but with all of the constant changes occurring in Financial Aid it is definitely important to keep up with the changes. Communication and sharing information between schools is very important, as well as sharing best practices. Training plays a big role too.
I do not think that our processes are outdated. We have recently been changing and are having the students do everything online to make the whole financial aid process quicker. Before, we would do the paper version of everything to make sure it was accurate before submitting, but with all the changes in financial aid, it is now easier to electronic.
Maria,
It is important to know that your internal systems and processes are current and performing efficiently. This will ensure that students are handled in the most prudent manner and records are accurately maintained.
Sincerely,
Chyrl Ayers
Wendy,
It is important that you and your team evaluate periodically the system and processes to ensure compliance and efficiencies. Any time you can incorporate electronic processes you have a better chance of reaching younger students. It is important to make the process fun and filled with important and beneficial facts related to their loan process.
Good job!
Sincerely,
Chyrl Ayers
For the most part, most the the processes are good. There is always room for improvement. One thing is we do Exit Counseling as a group. We show a video from the Dept. of Ed as well as hand out a packet to the students with information on their loans. I am always trying to find new ideas and ways for them to better understand their loans and what they need to pay back.
In their office, there is no interface between the students account module and the accounts payable module. First, the students accounts are credited with the financial aid amounts, resulting in a credit balance. Then, they have to create an invoice to debit each credit, and enter this into the accounts payable module to process checks. For some reason, our system does not link automatically between both modules. This process takes a lot of man hours to complete.
Kerry,
I am familiar with most SIS that are used in the educational space; however, most of the clients I work with that have clock hour programs have internally developed Student Information Systems. At this time I do not have a recommendation but possible one of the other students may have one that is successful for them and their process.
Sincerely,
Chyrl Ayers
Can you make any suggestions for a management system specific to clock hour programs? Our current syestem does not accurately calculate SAP, expected completion dates, etc. and our provider is slow and unresponsive to our needs.
Allison,
What Student Information Management System do you use? Most of these providers have an internal area where you can add notes to a student's account and that would allow each department to know if another department needs to speak with a specific student. If not, does your school offer any computer programming courses? If so, there may be an instructor or a student that could write you a program that allows this type of student tracking.
I definitely see this as a concern that would require a method to manage to ensure that students are getting the best service.
Sincerely,
Chyrl Ayers
I find that even though we are a small school, we still have problems keeping track of prospective students. We had an issue recently where up to 3 departments were calling a particular student and we had no idea. The student only returned one call, leaving the other 2 departments unanswered. I just wish there was some sort of user-friendly flow chart for each student, where every dept would have access to it. That way we can all know what interactions we are having, or need to have with the student, and can easily refer students to other departments. For example, if Admissions is looking for a call back, they would post it on the student flow chart. That way, if the student calls me about FinAid, I can easily keep the student on the line and transfer them to Admissions. This would make each dept more efficient and help the student not become overwhelmed with numerous phone calls.
Gilda,
Reviews and audits are a great way to ensure that your process and procedures are working; however, it is important to periodically evaluate your internal procedures to guarantee up-to-date processes. All of us should look for ways to better service our students and meet their needs.
Sincerely,
Chyrl Ayers
We have recently complete an accrediting audit and no errors were found with our policies and rocedures. Therefore I find no process cumbersome or antiquated.
LAUREN,
Any measures that you can take to make your office more efficient is an important tool. It is great that your campus has an online system that allows for the elimnation of paper and repetitive processes.
Sincerely,
Chyrl Ayers