What Makes a Good Award Notice HOW TO BLEND NEW REQUIREMENTS WITH EXISTING CONTENT… AND ATTEMPT TO MINIMIZE

Rick Gardner Associate Director of Operations Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships JAMES MADISON UNIVERSITY - HARRISONBURG, VIRGINIA

Confusion…  Definition: The state of being bewildered or unclear in one’s mind about something  Link between Vitamin D deficiencies and cognitive impairment which includes memory loss and a foggy brain  Confusion may result from drug side effects  Confusion may result from a relatively sudden brain dysfunction…

Confusion…  Definition: The state of being bewildered or unclear in one’s mind about something  Link between Vitamin D deficiencies and cognitive impairment which includes memory loss and a foggy brain  Confusion may result from drug side effects  Confusion may result from a relatively sudden brain dysfunction… often initiated by trying to comply with Federal Regulations, or reading an award notice that complies with Federal Regulations

Apparently Confused

Presentation Outline  New Requirements (Shopping Sheet)  Rules (Why, What, Who, When)  Benefits and Drawbacks  What makes a Good Financial Aid Award Notice for JMU?  JMU’s goals for the new Award Notice format  Content and formatting strategies  Example - JMU’s Award Notice  Q & A

Why... is the Shopping Sheet Award Notice important?  Shopping sheet is intended to make it easier for students/families to make informed decisions about school choice. A standardized format makes it easy to compare different school’s:  Out-of-Pocket costs (COA less “gift aid”)  Work Options  Loan Options  Other Options (EFC, Parent PLUS Loans, Military/National Service, etc.)  Executive Order  Transparency

What... is the Shopping Sheet Award Notice?  The Shopping Sheet is a consumer tool that utilizes a standardized form which facilitates cost comparison between schools  Simplifies/standardizes the information that prospective students receive about costs and financial aid  Intended to make it easier to compare cost of attending “School A” to the cost of attending “School B”  The Shopping Sheet may be used in place of or as a supplemental cover sheet to an institution’s existing financial aid award letter. Overall goal is to make it easier for students/families to make more informed decisions about where to attend, as it pertains to school cost.

Institutional Metric File can be found at

Institutional Metric Data Sources  Graduation Rate The graduation rate is for first-time, full-time degree or certificate-seeking undergraduate students who began at the institution. For primarily bachelor’s degree-granting institutions, the graduation rate displayed is for students beginning in Fall 2005 and seeking a bachelor’s degree. For primarily associate’s degree-granting institutions and primarily certificate-granting institutions, the graduation rate displayed is for students beginning in Fall Data used to calculate an institution’s graduation rate come from the institution’s annual submission to the U.S. Department of Education’s Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS). The institution’s graduation rate is displayed with an indication of how it compares with graduation rates among institutions that primarily grant the same level of award. For example, the comparison group for an institution that primarily awards bachelor’s degrees is all institutions that primarily award bachelor’s degrees. Data from the IPEDS Completions component is used to determine each institution’s group.  Loan Default Rate Loan default rate refers to the institution’s three-year cohort default rate. This is the percentage of an institution’s borrowers who entered repayment on certain Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program or William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan (Direct Loan) Program loans in Federal fiscal year 2009 (between October 1, 2008 and September 30, 2009) and who defaulted before September 30, Data used to calculate an institution’s cohort default rate come from ED’s National Student Data System (NSLDS).  Median Borrowing Median borrowing refers to the median amount of Federal student loans borrowed by students for their undergraduate study at the institution. Data used to calculate the median amount of Federal student loans borrowed by students for their undergraduate study come from ED’s NSLDS. The estimated monthly repayment amount has been calculated using the Department’s standard, extended, and graduated repayment calculator based on an interest rate of 6.8%.

No Modifications  Institutions that adopt the Shopping Sheet may NOT modify the form to remove programs from which the student will not be receiving funding  Recommend putting “N/A” for things like Pell Grant amounts for graduate students  It is OK to change the static (green area) information for graduate students if data is available specific to graduates (graduation rate, default rate, median borrowing)

Other Shopping Sheet Trivia  Recommended Loan Amount Definition - You are expected to evaluate the student’s financial circumstances and provide a recommended loan amount, even if it is zero. This may be different than the amount a student is eligible for. In most cases, you will include the loan amount that you recommend on the student’s award letter.  As of Dec 2012, over 600 institutions had committed to adopting the Shopping Sheet. If your school is joining this list, you should contact the Dept. of Education and let them know.

Shopping Sheet Reference Information 

Who... should get a Shopping Sheet Award Notice  Required for Federal Military and veterans educational benefits  Undergraduate and graduate service members, veterans, military spouses, other military family members covered by EO  As described in Dear Colleague Letters GEN and GEN 12-17, all institutions are encouraged to use the Shopping Sheet format for financial aid award letters beginning with the award year.  For schools that “voluntarily” adopt Shopping Sheet they must provide it to  Any student who completes a FASFA

When… should it be sent?  Shopping Sheet should be delivered prior to enrollment (Preliminary Award Notices)  Schools are “encouraged” to use the Shopping Sheet whenever award packages are revised.

Benefits and Drawbacks  Benefits  Standardized Form  Consistent across many schools  Ability to interpret the information on the Shopping Sheet will become more common as time passes  Drawbacks  Terminology may be new or inconsistent with existing terminology  Format and make-up of summarized data may not match your existing format  Potential for the change to create more questions than it answers

What makes a Good Financial Aid Award Notice for JMU (Rick)?  Award Notice must  Meet regulatory requirements  Be transparent – Give the whole financial picture  Be easy to use and understand (only include applicable info)  Be consistent (NASFAA Award Letter Task Force’s definitions)  Be short (wishing this presentation was shorter?)

A GOOD AWARD NOTICE IS ONE THAT DOES NOT GENERATE UNNECESSARY PHONE CALLS What makes a Good Financial Aid Award Notice for JMU (Rick)?  Award Notice must  Meet regulatory requirements  Be transparent – Give the whole financial picture  Be easy to use and understand (only include applicable info)  Be consistent (NASFAA Award Letter Task Force’s definitions)  Be short (wishing this presentation was shorter?)

JMU’s Approach  Use Shopping Sheet as a cover page to our Award Notice  Reformat our Award Notice to match Shopping Sheet terminology and layout  Provide definitions, details and explanations JMU’s Preliminary Award Notice

JMU’s Approach - Summary Use Shopping Sheet as a cover page to our Award Notice Reformat our Award Notice to match Shopping Sheet terminology and layout Provide definitions, details and explanations Avoid providing information that does not apply Q & A