1. FASFAA Spring 2015 Workshop
Office of Student Financial Assistance (OSFA)
Region V/ April 15, 2016

2. Preview
Legislative Activity
Calendar Events
Website and Resources

3. Legislative Activity Session January 12 – March 11
Final conference budget – from the House
No bills are final until signed by the Governor
Session was held early this year because of redistricting and elections. This year, the budget will be finalized through the House.
Although session is slated for completion on March 11, bills and the budget are not final until either signed by the Governor, vetoed by the Governor, or allowed to become law without his signature (a bill must be signed within a specified time period or it automatically becomes law).
OSFA will send a memo to all financial aid directors regarding any changes to state scholarships and grants. At this time, it is difficult to predict what will or will not pass.

4. Calendar Events Term 2 Refunds/Reconciliation March
Program Compliance Audit
Institutional Renewal
Bright Futures Refunds
Grade & Hours
Reconciliation
March
May
June
All of these calendar events can be found in the online calendar and in the Postsecondary Resources. I’ll show you later in the presentation.
These events make up the major statutory reporting requirements for the spring/winter term at your institution. Let’s take a look at each of these tools and requirements.

5. Calendar Events
The Postsecondary Institutions web page where all your reporting and information is held. You need security credentials to login to this information. The reports on this page are your tools we have provided for you to complete your administrative responsibilities.

6. Term 2 Refunds/Reconciliation
Due within 60 days after the last day of drop/add for that term
Reconciliation Report allows you to view your Disbursement Eligibility Report activity by year, term, program, and student
The earliest event this spring is to reconcile any term 2 funds. We reconcile at the end of each term and again at the end of the academic year, after the spring term.

7. Term 2 Refunds/Reconciliation
The Payment Summary screen displays tracked institutional funds from the state by year, program and term
Allows the institution to review and acknowledge the accuracy of the funds by selecting
You might regard the payment summary screen as a giant checkbook ledger for your institution’s state scholarship and grant allocation and funding activities. Let’s look at the next two slides for a sample payment summary.

8. Payment Summary
Section 1 of the screen provides totals and a balance.

9. Payment Summary
Notice the totals in the last row. If you owe funds to OSFA, you may submit your Refund Transmittal Form to Cheryl Morgan.
The Student Refund Report is used to submit refunds from students who have dropped courses paid for by Bright Futures. The student submits payment to your institution’s office and your office submits the funds to OSFA.

10. Program Compliance Audits
March 31 – Audits due from private institutions
See Memo OSFA-STATE: #15-16:01, July 1, 2015
Audits are required of each institution that disburses state scholarship and grant funds. The Audit site, found from the State Programs home page, provides a copy of the memo, instructions for auditors, a link to the Reconciliation Report Request Form (which the auditor submits to OSFA) and a link the Florida Statute and State Board of Education Rule governing state financial aid audits.

11. Institutional Renewal
Institutions required to apply for renewal to participate in state financial aid annually
Online application opens May 1 – Due June 8
Length reduced and most data prefilled
Update any changes in information
Private institutions add tuition/fees and cost of attendance
Carl Vinson for assistance
Although the look and feel of the Institutional Renewal Application is the same, the workload related to this application has been cut in half! Your favorite part of the application – the statistical questions - are completely gone! We no longer are asking for tuition and fees from the public sector.
All you need to do is to verify that the prefilled data is still correct – contacts, licensure, ownership, accreditation
11….and make changes to update if needed. Add the cost of attendance and term dates for Submit! Remember, you have only until June 8. After that date, the application is taken offline and your institution will not be able to receive state funds next year.
We encourage you to call Carl Vinson ( ) if you have any questions about the data on the application or the questions.
If your institution does not currently participate in state scholarship and grant programs and would like to, please call Carl. He can walk you through the process and give you an idea of what criteria your institution may need to meet for eligibility.

12. Bright Futures Drop/Withdrawal Funds
Students are required to repay the cost of any courses dropped or withdrawn after the last day of drop/add
Students repay the institution
The institution remits funds to OSFA within 30 days of the institution's last day of each term

13. Grade & Hours Report Due 30 days after the end of spring term
Drop dead deadline – June 30
Submit institutional undergraduate cumulative GPA and earned hours for all disbursed students for the fall and spring of the academic year
G&H Report populated with same students you submitted on your DERs at the beginning of each term
Although you have until June 30 to complete your Grade and Hours reporting, please know that the earlier you turn these into OSFA, the sooner OSFA can determine renewal eligibility for students receiving the Rosewood Family Scholarship, the Jose Mart Scholarship, the Scholarships for Children/Spouses of Deceased or Disabled Veterans, or Bright Futures. Most institutions have completed their academic year in May and can send this report earlier.
If your 30 days after the end of the spring term is after June 30, your institution is still required to meet this statutory deadline.
OSFA posts all renewal notification on the students’ online Financial Aid Recipient History screen.

14. Final Reconciliation
Reconciliation of all monies for the academic year due by June 1
Same process as reconciliation for end of term
All monies for the academic year are reconciled
Carry-over of funds to next academic year not permitted

15. Website Resources
Your Reporting/Sources
Resources on the website at
Student History Screen
FACT Sheets
FACT Sheets
All the information we covered so far can be accessed through the State Programs website, seen here.
Note the sources for students…the Student Financial Aid History screen. Students can update their choice of institution, see the Grade and Hours you reported for them, see their state disbursements, see their scholarship status (eligible, ineligible, hours or terms remaining on the program), view their EFC, and view all communications from our office.
Note the resources for Administrators. Your auditors will find their information behind the Program Compliance Audit. You may access your reporting tab from this section or by selecting the Postsecondary Institutions tab from the top of the page.

16. Postsecondary Menu
Once you select the Postsecondary Institution tab or link under Administrators, you be taken to the login page.
New institutions can find information at the beginning of the page.
Under Eligible Institution Information, your students can view lists of participating institutions for each program or pull down the name of an institution to see their program participation.
Your auditors may access their information here, as well.

17. Postsecondary Menu Your institution’s details HELP is on the way!
Once you login, you will find all your reports….such as the reconciliation and grade and hours….and the eligibility lists….such as the MEL. We reviewed those earlier in this presentation.
Now, let’s look at the resources available to you.
Under Institution Information, you can find not only a list of programs for which you are eligible, but also will find links on that site to PDFs of your institution’s eligibility letters. Sometimes, an auditor will need these.
You also can view the fee details you provided to OSFA via your renewal application.
You have the ability to update any contact information if staff has moved or responsibilities have changed and the security designee at your institution has the ability to change staff access to the State Student Financial Aid Database (SSFAD).
The calendar, resources (used to be called the Postsecondary Institution Guide), and Policy Manual are here for your use. All memo sent are provided as well. If you still have questions, feel free to use the Program Contacts list.
HELP is on the way!

18. Statutes, Rules & Reports
Don’t forget to look at the State Programs Link tab.

19. Training & Resources Webinars designed just for you!
Call Ariel Floyd
Specific questions can be directed to a specialist

20. Contacts