Mississippi Office of Student Financial Aid State Aid Update

FY 2018 SFA Appropriation – SB 2596 Source Amount Requested (MBR) SB 2956 Difference General Funds $ 49,541,174 $ 37,661,346 -$ 11,879,828 Spending Authority - Collections $ 1,500,000 $ 2,500,000 $1,000,000 Spending Authority from Special Source $ 389,000 $ 0 TOTAL AVAILABLE $ 51,430,174 $ 40,550,346 -$ 10,879,828 -21.2%

Measures to Reduce Operating Budget Measures to Reduce Shortfall # of Students Impacted Projected Budget Reduction Shortfall Shortfall based on MBR projections (July ‘16)   $10,879,828 Revised Legislative projections (Spring ‘17) $2,802,750 Shortfall at time of AOB (April ‘17) $8,949,830 LEGISLATIVE CHANGE: Eliminate "stacking" 3,410 $1,537,626 LEGISLATIVE CHANGE: Check GPAs by term 430 $2,109,172 LEGISLATIVE CHANGE: No new awards: PMGT, MED, DENT, STSC, HCP, and SWOR 47 $1,039,632 LEGISLATIVE CHANGE: Reduce SREB seats 2 $37,400 STATUTORY GUIDANCE: Renewal loans only 1,002 $4,226,000 Remaining Shortfall $- TOTAL Reduction 4,891

Legislative Changes Stacking, Term GPA Checks, and Program Eliminations

Eliminate “Stacking” One grant awarded Aid awarded through the grant program that awards the most Projected impact: 3,400 students will lose MTAG Students can still receive one grant with one loan

Term GPA Checks Check GPAs every term for all programs Already check hours every term Already check MTAG GPA every term Now check MESG and HELP GPA every term Projected impact: 430 students lose one term of MESG or HELP

Discontinued Programs No new awards after 2016-17 Discontinued programs with no current recipients: Public Management Graduate Intern (PMGT) and Family Protection Specialist Social Worker Forgivable Loan (SWOR) Discontinued programs with potential renewals: State Medical and Dental Education Forgivable Loans (MED/DENT), Out-of-state Graduate and Professional Degree Forgivable Loan (STSC), and Health Care Professions Forgivable Loan (HCP)

Policies and Procedures Updates and Reminders

Grade/Enrollment Reporting Process for determining eligibility based on full-time enrollment: Determine initial eligibility using enrolled hours in ENRLHRS field on Enrollment Report Determine continuing eligibility using earned hours in SEMEARN field PLUS remedial hours in SEMREM field on Grade Report

Grade/Enrollment Reporting Reporting change for ALL schools Add SEMREM field to Grade Report IF school treats remedial hours as pass/fail Old way: reported remedial hours with all other pass/fail hours in SEMOTHR on Grade Report NEW way: report remedial hours separately from all other pass/fail hours in SEMREM on Grade Report IF school assigns letter grade to remedial hours No change needed; leave SEMREM field empty

Grade/Enrollment Reporting IMPORTANT REMINDERS! Follow same rules to report via the electronic verification forms as to report via the term Grade and Enrollment Reports Co-op field designations, etc. related to Take 15 “Special Terms” (Student Teaching, Clinicals, Practicums) must be included on Enrollment Report and Grade Report

Take 15 Exceptions for 2017-18 Only students with 6 - 14 credit hours remaining may appeal for an exception Exceptions will be considered for a single term only   No appeal will be accepted and no aid will be disbursed for any semester carrying less than 6 hours

Continuous Full-time Enrollment Fifteen (15) earned semester hours or nine (9) earned trimester hours each academic term (excluding summer) Hours must be reported by a single institution Hours may be undergraduate or graduate course hours as long as the student is pursuing an undergraduate degree

Grade Point Average The Office accepts the overall cumulative college GPA, as calculated and certified by the registrar at the end of each term or year Law specifies overall cumulative Policy allows for variations in grade policies The Office will not calculate GPAs, but will accept the GPA calculated by the college

SFA Policies & Procedures Manual Online: http://riseupms.com/state-aid/reports-policies/policy-and-procedures-manual/ Contents: Authority and Responsibilities, pages 1-14 Administration Policies (FOI, Notices, Opinions), pgs. 15-21 General Administration Rules & Regulations, pgs. 22-45 Residency and dependency, page 30 Continuous full-time enrollment, page 34 Grades and other special circumstances (consortium agreements, study abroad, SAP, etc.), page 36 Program-specific Rules and Regulations, begin pg. 46

State Financial Aid Redesign Project History and Updates

Redesign Project History NSPARC Report (annual) 6-year completion rates for state aid recipients Population 6-Yr Grad. Rate MTAG Recipients 66% MESG Recipients 80% HELP Recipients 81% All Students 49%

Redesign Project History Mississippi Economic Policy Center: “Investing in Our Future: How to Strengthen & Update Mississippi’s Financial Aid Programs for Today’s College Students” (January 2014) Most MS aid does not go to students with need. Remove MTAG exclusions for full Pell recipients and raise income threshold for HELP. Enrollment has risen and diversified. Make aid available to adults & part-time enrollees. Loan debt persists. Increase overall higher education funding.

Redesign Project History Harvard Data Project : “Financial Aid in Mississippi: How Three State-funded Programs Affect College Enrollment and Degree Attainment” (March 2015) MTAG impact on enrollment and completion MESG impact on in-state enrollment and completion

Redesign Project History Education Commission of the States: “Redesigning State Financial Aid: Opportunities for the State of Mississippi” (March 2016) Principle 1: Aid should be student-centered with greater focus on need-based aid Principle 2: Programs should be eliminated or consolidated because aid should be goal-driven and data-informed Principle 3: Reconsider deadlines to ensure aid is timely & flexible Principle 4: Reconsider full-time enrollment requirements, because aid should be broadly inclusive

State Aid Effectiveness Study Lifetracks, State Longitudinal Data System Phase 1 (late summer/early fall): Published report on various indicators (completion rates, retention rates, employment profiles, comparisons between aid recipients/nonrecipients etc.) Phase 2 (next year): Dashboards, both public and private Next steps

Open Forum Needs, Requests, and Questions