Hit a Home Run with your FAFSA Outreach Efforts

Hit a Home Run with your FAFSA Outreach Efforts
Lindsay Mitchell Assistant Director of Financial Aid/Data Systems North Park University Champions of Financial Aid ILASFAA Conference

Champions of Financial Aid - 2017 ILASFAA Conference
Agenda Team Profile The Game Plan Highlight Reel Final Score Post Game Show Champions of Financial Aid ILASFAA Conference

Team Profile Champions of Financial Aid ILASFAA Conference

Team Profile North Park University is a small, private, liberal arts college in Chicago. Undergraduate, adult degree completion, and graduate programs are offered on campus and online. Fall 2016 enrollment was 3051. Over $49 million in financial aid posted 15/16. Staff size of five FT, one PT, and one work study student. Champions of Financial Aid ILASFAA Conference

The Game Plan Our first meeting with members of the Admissions staff and the Senior Team took place in February 2016. Lots of inspiration and guidance was gained at NASFAA in July 2016. Admissions, Marketing, and Financial Aid met throughout the summer as well. Financial Aid finalized campaign in August. Champions of Financial Aid ILASFAA Conference

Game Plan One of our major goals was making sure that departments across campus knew about the new FAFSA filing date: Admission, Athletics, Student Engagement, Student Administrative Services. Campaign was to be multi-media: Website, social media, posters, mailings, events, video, s, and T-Shirts. Campaign theme was sports. Champions of Financial Aid ILASFAA Conference

Highlight Reel Information was posted in the parent newsletter, sent out by Student Engagement, the first week of the semester (late August) and first week of the second quad (late October). The FAFSA game plan has changed for 17/18! Don’t let your student end up in the penalty box for next year (yes, we’re talking about next year already)! In the past, the FAFSA has opened on January 1 for the academic year starting in August. However, for 17/18, instead of going live on 1/1/17, the FAFSA go live on 10/1/16. In addition to the date change, the FAFSA will now be using “prior prior year” income, which means that you will be using your/your student’s 2015 income information, rather than 2016 information. As a result, more of you will be able to pull your tax information directly from the IRS using the IRS Data Retrieval Tool (DRT) since most of you should have already filed your 2015 as of 10/1/16. Using the DRT should lower your student’s chances of being selected for verification and having to submit additional paperwork to the Financial Aid Office. We strongly recommend that Illinois Residents file their 17/18 FAFSAs by 11/1/16 so that they don’t miss out on the Illinois Map Grant for next year. We will be doing lots of communications and special events around this topic as the fall term gets underway, so please encourage your student to stay connected to the Financial Aid Office for more information. If you have questions, don’t hesitate to get in touch, Champions of Financial Aid ILASFAA Conference

Highlight Reel NASFAA press kit was sent to departments across campus that have contact with prospective and current students in both early September and again in early October. Champions of Financial Aid ILASFAA Conference

Highlight Reel Student Administrative Services made a FAFSA video that was posted on homepage, as well as variety of University Facebook and Instagram pages, for the month of October. Champions of Financial Aid ILASFAA Conference

Highlight Reel This was the story that accompanied the FAFSA video on our website: The FAFSA game plan has changed for ! Don’t end up in a timeout for next year (yes, we’re talking about next year already)! In the past, the FAFSA has opened on January 1 for the academic year starting in August. However, for , instead of going live on 1/1/17, the FAFSA go live on 10/1/16. In addition to the date change, the FAFSA will now be using “prior prior year” income, which means that you will be entering 2015 income information, rather than 2016 information, on your FAFSA. As a result, more of you will be able to pull your tax information directly from the IRS to your FAFSA using the IRS Data Retrieval Tool (DRT) since most of you should have already filed your 2015 as of 10/1/16. Using the DRT should lower your chances of being selected for verification and having to submit additional paperwork to the Financial Aid Office. If you are an Illinois Resident, we strongly recommend that you file your 17/18 FAFSAs by 11/1/16 so that you don’t miss out on the Illinois Map Grant for next year. Need a fun way to remember the new filing details? Check out this video and make sure that you join the Financial Aid Facebook Group for more exciting reminders about the new FAFSA filing date throughout the fall semester. If you have questions, don’t hesitate to get in touch with your coaches in Financial Aid, Champions of Financial Aid ILASFAA Conference

Highlight Reel Prior to the unveiling of the FAFSA video, we posted photos from the video shoot to tease our audience about its launch. Champions of Financial Aid ILASFAA Conference

Highlight Reel Student Administrative Services made FAFSA T-Shirts and wore them every Friday from mid-September through October, and then got key campus figures in the shirts on social media throughout the semester with the following request: As you may or may not know, the date on which the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) goes live is moving from 1/1 to 10/1. We have a variety of campaigns planned to promote this change and the early filing of the FAFSA, which is especially important for our undergraduate students from Illinois who may be considered for the Illinois MAP Grant. One of the things we did was create a FAFSA T-Shirt for members of the Student Administrative Services team. I have some extras, so I’m hoping to get prominent members of the campus community to wear a shirt for a photo that we will use in social media as part of our FAFSA marketing blitz. I’d like to invite you to participate in this project. I will bring the t-shirt, along with a sign/slogan of some kind, and take your picture, which will be posted online sometime in October/November. Please let me know if you are available. Thank you, in advance, for your participation as we provide this critical outreach to our students. Lindsay Mitchell Assistant Director of Financial Aid/Data Systems Champions of Financial Aid ILASFAA Conference

Highlight Reel Champions of Financial Aid ILASFAA Conference

Highlight Reel In late September, postcards were mailed to the homes of all of our undergrad IL residents. In mid-October, postcards were slid under the doors of all resident students. Champions of Financial Aid ILASFAA Conference

Highlight Reel Signs were posted in common areas across campus. Different slogans on brightly colored paper were used for two weeks each month in October, November, and December. Champions of Financial Aid ILASFAA Conference

Highlight Reel Lawn signs were posted in the central green space on campus for the first week of October. Sidewalk chalk covered the campus the first week of October as well. Champions of Financial Aid ILASFAA Conference

Highlight Reel Sports memes were created and posted on social media throughout the fall. Champions of Financial Aid ILASFAA Conference

Highlight Reel On September 30, we set up shop in the lobby of one of the main campus buildings, handing out popcorn with FAFSA stickers on the bags to remind students of the new FAFSA date. Champions of Financial Aid ILASFAA Conference

Highlight Reel On October 7, we hosted Games on the Greenspace, complete with tunes and snacks, to advertise the new FAFSA date. Champions of Financial Aid ILASFAA Conference

Highlight Reel A link to the FAFSA was added to the signature of every Student Administrative Service staffer starting in mid-September. s were sent to all IL undergrads once the MAP Deadline of 12/21/16 was announced. Information was posted in the Daily Announcements both for students and staffers throughout the fall term. Champions of Financial Aid ILASFAA Conference

Final Score As of 1/30/17, we have /18 ISIRS on file (for students who are associated with NPU). At this point in the 16/17 FAFSA application cycle, we had 1856 ISIRs on file. 302 students filed the 17/18 FAFSA on 10/1/ students filed the 16/17 FAFSA on 1/1/16. 1494 students submitted the 17/18 FAFSA in the first month of filing season vs. 936 in the first month of the 16/17 filing season. Champions of Financial Aid ILASFAA Conference

What were some of your winning plays this fall?
Post Game Show What were some of your winning plays this fall? Champions of Financial Aid ILASFAA Conference

Post Game Show Lindsay Mitchell Assistant Director of Financial Aid/Data Systems Champions of Financial Aid ILASFAA Conference

Hit a Home Run with your FAFSA Outreach Efforts

Similar presentations

Presentation on theme: "Hit a Home Run with your FAFSA Outreach Efforts"— Presentation transcript:

Similar presentations

About project

Feedback

Log in

Auth with social network:

Hit a Home Run with your FAFSA Outreach Efforts

Similar presentations

Presentation on theme: "Hit a Home Run with your FAFSA Outreach Efforts"— Presentation transcript:

Similar presentations

About project

Feedback