Florida Department of Education Office of Student Financial Assistance Academic and Career Advisement Webinar September 2011 Barbara Dombrowski Director, Training/Information Florida Department of Education Office of Student Financial Assistance (OSFA) State Scholarship and Grant Programs 1

Florida Department of Education Office of Student Financial Assistance Agenda 2011 Legislative Changes to State Scholarships & Grants Bright Futures Evaluations Student Financial Aid Website OSFA Trainings Contacts 2

Florida Department of Education Office of Student Financial Assistance 2011 Florida Legislative Update Robert C. Byrd Honors Scholarship No award for the federal academic year Children/Spouses of Deceased or Disabled Veterans (CSDDV) awards Public institution = tuition & fees Private institution = fixed award equivalent to public tuition & fees Bright Futures award = amount per credit hour

Florida Department of Education Office of Student Financial Assistance 2011 Florida Legislative Update Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) Required for Bright Futures, FRAG, and ABLE awards FAFSA must be complete and error-free (= a valid EFC ) Federal verification not required by state for these funds Eligible non-citizens who have no social security number should work with their postsecondary institutions to complete the FAFSA requirement File hard copy FAFSA with all zeros in SSN field Document from Social Security Administration unable to get SSN Postsecondary institution may then override the FAFSA after residency evaluation 4

Florida Department of Education Office of Student Financial Assistance HS Graduates HS Graduates HS Graduates Funding SAT/ACT Funding SAT/ACT Funding SAT/ACT Minimum Test Score Percentiles FAS1270/281280/281290/2989th FMS980/211020/221170/2675th FMS Home Ed ( without official transcript ) 1070/ /27

Florida Department of Education Office of Student Financial Assistance 2011 Florida Legislative Update Community Service - Bright Futures Initial Students Hours increase for HS graduates Must be completed by high school graduation Florida Academic Scholars – 100 hours (from 75) Florida Medallion Scholars – 75 hours (from 0) Gold Seal Vocational Scholars – 30 hours (from 0) Public/Private High Schools submit via Electronic Transcript on Online Transcript Entry System 6

Florida Department of Education Office of Student Financial Assistance 2011 Florida Legislative Update 7 Home Education Community Service Hours Requires submission of documents for Department of Education Approval Districts have electronic access to submit documented applicable hours Agencies where the community service hours were earned must provide documentation on agency letterhead number of hours served dates of service Community service hours may not be hours that benefit the student financially or materially provide service to family members

Florida Department of Education Office of Student Financial Assistance Bright Futures Evaluations Math Courses Students are required to take 4 specified math courses to graduate from high school (HS) and earn a Bright Futures Scholarship Entering grade 9 in – Pass End of Course Assessment to earn Algebra 1 credit Earn one Geometry or a series of courses equivalent to Geometry Entering grade 9 in – Pass End of Course Assessment to earn Geometry credit Entering grade 9 in – Earn Algebra II or series of courses equivalent to Algebra II 8

Florida Department of Education Office of Student Financial Assistance Bright Futures Evaluations Math Courses HS graduates in and can use the following sequences as two HS credits; these sequences return to ONE high school credit for the class of Algebra IA and Algebra IB Applied Math I and Applied Math II The following courses CANNOT be used as one of the four required for Bright Futures for FAS or FMS awards: Liberal Arts Math Consumer Math Business Math Math for College Success Applied Math III Informal Geometry Explorations in Math I & II Pre-Algebra 9

Florida Department of Education Office of Student Financial Assistance Online Transcript Entry and Evaluation System Messages Please stay informed by reading the Bright Futures System Messages on the Online Transcript Entry and Evaluation System 10

Florida Department of Education Office of Student Financial Assistance Gold Seal Vocational (GSV) Scholars Testing Requirements GSV Students may take the ACT or SAT or CPT However, the CPT is being phased out and replaced with the PERT at most Florida Colleges The PERT is NOT YET Accepted for GSV Eligibility DOE has not yet approved minimum PERT scores Approved scores are not anticipated for this year We encourage students to take the ACT or SAT if possible If counselors send students to a Florida College for the GSV testing, please specifically request CPT not PERT. 11

Florida Department of Education Office of Student Financial Assistance Course Authorization & Resources (CCD, Counseling Handbook, CCT) Course Code Directory (CCD) This is the official Florida Department of Education document with high school courses approved by the State Board of Education 12

Florida Department of Education Office of Student Financial Assistance Course Authorization & Resources (CCD, Counseling Handbook, CCT) Florida Counseling for Future Education Handbook This is the resource that lists the courses approved for FAS and FMS core requirements Link on line to the document via and Counselors & Educators tab 13

Florida Department of Education Office of Student Financial Assistance Course Authorization & Resources (CCD, Counseling Handbook, CCT) Comprehensive Course Table (CCT) This is the Florida Bright Futures listing of the CCD approved high school courses with indicators for eligibility of the FAS, FMS and GSV awards Go to Administrator Quick Link via OSFA homepage at Aid.org/SSFAD/bf/ 14

Florida Department of Education Office of Student Financial Assistance Website Information State Grants, Scholarships & Applications

Florida Department of Education Office of Student Financial Assistance Bright Futures Homepage What’s New Eligibility and Award Information Students View Student Financial Aid History Requirements by HS Graduation Date Administrators Counselor Access Timeline Comprehensive Course Table 16

Florida Department of Education Office of Student Financial Assistance BF Evaluation - Timeline 17

Florida Department of Education Office of Student Financial Assistance Bright Futures Evaluation - Timeline After 7 th semester (mid-year / fall term) Production/Official evaluations are based on Transcript coursework completed by end of 7 th semester Coursework in progress for spring semester Test scores for tests taken through Jan 31, and o No re-evaluations for 7 th semester are done with tests taken after Jan 31 Community Service Hours completed by end of fall term 18

Florida Department of Education Office of Student Financial Assistance Bright Futures Evaluation - Timeline After 8 th semester (graduation) Production/Official evaluations are based on Transcript coursework completed by end of 8 th semester/graduation Test scores for all tests taken through June 30, and Community Service Hours completed by graduation 19

Florida Department of Education Office of Student Financial Assistance Bright Futures Evaluation How Your Students Can Track Progress throughout High School 20 Public high school students – Visit Choose “High School Students” from the main menu Choose “Check Bright Futures Scholarship Eligibility” Notice the “Transcript Submission Date” Private high school students – Ask guidance counselor for Copy of his/her Bright Futures Student Evaluation Report and Key

Florida Department of Education Office of Student Financial Assistance Website Information Student Loans - Information for Students, Parents, Schools and Lenders Guidance Counselors Tab OSFA Trainings State Grants, Scholarships & Applications Program Information, Student Applications and FAQ’s Student Financial Aid History Screen Bright Futures Homepage Counselor Access to Student Records Department of Education Educators Tab High School resources 21

Florida Department of Education Office of Student Financial Assistance Training and Materials for You Student Loans: Information for Students, Parents, Schools & Lenders Free materials and training found under Guidance Counselor tab 22

Florida Department of Education Office of Student Financial Assistance Training and Materials for You 23 Resources for your students: Mapping Your Future Navigating Your Future Training for counselors OSFA Training

Florida Department of Education Office of Student Financial Assistance Student Resources Mapping Your Future 24

Florida Department of Education Office of Student Financial Assistance Student Resources Navigating Your Future 25

Florida Department of Education Office of Student Financial Assistance  WebEx training provided September through May  OSFA/BF Initial Eligibility Requirements for High School Guidance Counselors  OSFA/BF CCT--Comprehensive Course Table for High School Guidance Counselors  OSFA/BF Priv HS Online Transcript Entry & Evaluation System for Private School Guidance Counselors  OSFA/BF Pub HS Online Transcript Entry & Evaluation System for Public School Guidance Counselors  OSFA/SSFAD State Student Financial Aid Database for High School Guidance Counselors  Register Online: 26 OSFA Training Webinars for Guidance Counselors Bright Futures Initial Eligibility

Florida Department of Education Office of Student Financial Assistance Contact Information Customer Service Option 1 for general questions/students Option 2 for guidance line Bright Futures Public Schools Specialist Bright Futures Private Schools Specialist Jerolyn Barnhart, Bright Futures Director Theresa Antworth – Director, State Scholarships & Grants 27