Student Financial Aid Programs INTEGRITY, ACCOUNTABILITY & RESPONSIBILITY

Presented By California Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators CASFAA California Community Colleges Student Financial Aid Administrators Association CCCSFAAA California Lenders for Education CLFE

INTEGRITY, ACCOUNTABILITY & RESPONSIBILITY Federal funds administered for students in the State of California $5.3 billion annually

INTEGRITY, ACCOUNTABILITY & RESPONSIBILITY State funds administered for students in the State of California approaches $1 billion annually

INTEGRITY, ACCOUNTABILITY & RESPONSIBILITY In addition, California institutions also administer institutional and private scholarships (merit only) $6.4 billion

INTEGRITY, ACCOUNTABILITY & RESPONSIBILITY Verification Overview Verification of student & parent information required on at least 30% of all FAFSA filed

INTEGRITY, ACCOUNTABILITY & RESPONSIBILITY In addition, if conflicting information exists, institutions routinely select additional applications for verification

INTEGRITY, ACCOUNTABILITY & RESPONSIBILITY Components of Required Verification

INTEGRITY, ACCOUNTABILITY & RESPONSIBILITY CSAC has historically piggybacked on federal verification requirements

INTEGRITY, ACCOUNTABILITY & RESPONSIBILITY IRS Federal Tax Return Student Student Students spouse, if applicable Students spouse, if applicable Parent(s) Parent(s)

INTEGRITY, ACCOUNTABILITY & RESPONSIBILITY Department of Homeland Security Department of Homeland Security Citizenship Citizenship

INTEGRITY, ACCOUNTABILITY & RESPONSIBILITY Social Security Administration Citizenship Citizenship Change of Name Change of Name

INTEGRITY, ACCOUNTABILITY & RESPONSIBILITY Independent Living Program Foster Youth Certification Foster Youth Certification Dependency Status Dependency Status

INTEGRITY, ACCOUNTABILITY & RESPONSIBILITY Department of Social Services Untaxed Income & Benefits Untaxed Income & Benefits

INTEGRITY, ACCOUNTABILITY & RESPONSIBILITY Employment Development Department Unemployment Benefits Unemployment Benefits

INTEGRITY, ACCOUNTABILITY & RESPONSIBILITY Veterans Administration DD 214 (Discharge) DD 214 (Discharge) Verify Veterans Benefits, Eligibility & Amount Verify Veterans Benefits, Eligibility & Amount

INTEGRITY, ACCOUNTABILITY & RESPONSIBILITY Selective Service Administration Verify Selective Service Registration Verify Selective Service Registration

INTEGRITY, ACCOUNTABILITY & RESPONSIBILITY County Recorders Office Birth Certificate Birth Certificate Marriage Certificate Marriage Certificate Death Certificate Death Certificate

INTEGRITY, ACCOUNTABILITY & RESPONSIBILITY Program/Fund Administrator Verification of Assets Verification of Assets

INTEGRITY, ACCOUNTABILITY & RESPONSIBILITY Accountant Verification of Income & Assets Verification of Income & Assets Copy of 1040 Federal Tax Return, including all schedules and W-2s Copy of 1040 Federal Tax Return, including all schedules and W-2s

INTEGRITY, ACCOUNTABILITY & RESPONSIBILITY NSLDS (National Student Loan Data System) No Prior Loan Default No Prior Loan Default No Grant Repayment Owed No Grant Repayment Owed

INTEGRITY, ACCOUNTABILITY & RESPONSIBILITY Accountability Annual Audit Submission Required by Federal Regulation Required by Federal Regulation Samples Title IV Recipients Samples Title IV Recipients

INTEGRITY, ACCOUNTABILITY & RESPONSIBILITY Annual Audit Business Practices Business Practices Segregation of Duties Segregation of Duties Financial Aid/Business Office Relationship Financial Aid/Business Office Relationship

INTEGRITY, ACCOUNTABILITY & RESPONSIBILITY Annual Audit Cash Management Cash Management

INTEGRITY, ACCOUNTABILITY & RESPONSIBILITY Federal Audits Paid by Institutions Paid by Institutions Federal Auditor Federal Auditor

INTEGRITY, ACCOUNTABILITY & RESPONSIBILITY State Audits CSAC Audits CSAC Audits EdFund Audits EdFund Audits Other Guarantee Agency Audits Other Guarantee Agency Audits

INTEGRITY, ACCOUNTABILITY & RESPONSIBILITY More Audits Veterans Administration Audits Veterans Administration Audits Office of Inspector General Audits Office of Inspector General Audits

INTEGRITY, ACCOUNTABILITY & RESPONSIBILITY And More Audits Private Scholarship Foundation Audits Private Scholarship Foundation Audits WICHE & Other State Agency Audits WICHE & Other State Agency Audits

INTEGRITY, ACCOUNTABILITY & RESPONSIBILITY Still More Audits NCAA Audits NCAA Audits Institutional Audits Institutional Audits

Audit, Audit, Audit…

INTEGRITY, ACCOUNTABILITY & RESPONSIBILITY We constantly, and consistently, prove that we are good stewards of public funds

INTEGRITY, ACCOUNTABILITY & RESPONSIBILITY The Program Review

INTEGRITY, ACCOUNTABILITY & RESPONSIBILITY After Integrity and Accountability Comes Responsibility

INTEGRITY, ACCOUNTABILITY & RESPONSIBILITY Responsibility to… First to serve our students First to serve our students Second to serve our institutions Second to serve our institutions

INTEGRITY, ACCOUNTABILITY & RESPONSIBILITY We have already proven our responsibility to the federal and state governments through integrity & accountability of our programs

INTEGRITY, ACCOUNTABILITY & RESPONSIBILITY Responsibility to… Assist students with FAFSA completion Assist students with FAFSA completion Counsel to help with emergencies Counsel to help with emergencies Counsel to help with dependency problems Counsel to help with dependency problems

INTEGRITY, ACCOUNTABILITY & RESPONSIBILITY Responsibility to… Counsel students with loan problems Counsel students with loan problems Counsel students with debt problems Counsel students with debt problems Encourage students to file for non-need based scholarships Encourage students to file for non-need based scholarships Advise students who had base year income, but quit work to attend college Advise students who had base year income, but quit work to attend college

VERIFICATION Federal Student Eligibility & State of California CONFIRMATION Prior to Cal Grant Entitlement Program (2001) After Cal Grant Entitlement Program (2001+) Adjusted Gross Income – CA Income Ceiling (1040) Same Assets (1040 & other documents in file) CA Asset Ceiling Same Household Size – (1040, Federal Verification Form) Same Number in College – (Federal Verification Form) Same Untaxed Income (1040, W-2, Federal Verification Form) Same Eligible Non-Citizen (Federal ISIR) Same Unemployment Benefits (1040, EDD Notice, 1040, Federal Verification Form) Same Social Security Benefits (1040, Federal Verification Form) Same

State of California CONFIRMATION Requirements Prior to Cal Grant Entitlement Program (2001) After Cal Grant Entitlement Program (2001+) Conflicting Information - The following are examples of common conflicting information related to California Cal Grant Requirements (State specific): If the student is receiving a 5 th year award, the institution must ensure that the student is in an eligible program of study Same Student does not have a bachelors degree Same Continued on next slide …

State of California CONFIRMATION Requirements California Residency: General: Based on information existing in the students financial aid file: If parent and/or student address out- of-state If parent and/or student address out- of-state Non-California state income tax return in student file Non-California state income tax return in student file If a students is paying out-of-state tuition (at public institutions) If a students is paying out-of-state tuition (at public institutions) Same Prior to Cal Grant Entitlement Program (2001) After Cal Grant Entitlement Program (2001+)

Disbursement/Reconciliation Prior to Cal Grant Entitlement Program (2001) After Cal Grant Entitlement Program (2001+) CSAC sent a roster of students names, Cal Grant awards and Individual Checks, payable to students, to institutions Change: ~1994 State of California Master Check mailed to Institutions (Payable to the Institution & the Institution deposited Check) Roster identified students eligible for funds Change: ~2002 State of California Electronic Deposit of Funds for those students Cal Grant awards directly into an Institutions bank account Same

Disbursement/Reconciliation The institutions confirm that students are enrolled in appropriate units (enrollment status) Same The institutions release the CSAC check to the student (1994 continued) The institution disburses funds to the student either by directly crediting the students account or by writing an institutional check and releasing it to the student Same Prior to Cal Grant Entitlement Program (2001) After Cal Grant Entitlement Program (2001+)

Disbursement/Reconciliation Institutions report payments to students using the paper roster provided by CSAC CSAC inputs the data into CSACs data base Change: ~2002 Institutions report payments to CSAC using CSACs WebGrant system Institutions assigned responsibility for the data entry of student enrollment status and amount paid into CSAC s data base Institutions assigned responsibility for the data entry of student enrollment status and amount paid into CSAC s data base Institutions and CSAC reconcile payments to students with records of awards Same Prior to Cal Grant Entitlement Program (2001) After Cal Grant Entitlement Program (2001+)

Agencies The Student Must Contact To Obtain Documentation AgencyPurpose Department of Homeland SecurityCitizenship Social Security AdministrationCitizenship, Change of Name High SchoolGPA, Academic Competitiveness Grant Independent Living ProgramFoster Youth Certification, Dependency Status Welfare DepartmentUntaxed Income Confirmation Employment Development DeptUnemployment Benefits Internal Revenue ServiceTax Return

Agencies The Student Must Contact To Obtain Documentation AgencyPurpose Veterans AdministrationDD214 (Discharge) Selective Service AdministrationSelective Service Registration County Recorder OfficeBirth, Death or Marriage Certificate Program/Fund AdministratorVerification of Assets AccountantVerification of Income & Assets, Copy of 1040 Prior CollegesAcademic Transcripts

Impact on Students Student Verification Process Visual

Student Verification Process AFTER Completing the FAFSA

The End