Lisa Blazer, PhD Student Financial Aid And Enrollment Services Tuition and Fee Committee November 2009

Financial Aid Awarding Federal Awards Grants – PELL, FSEOG, ACG, SMART Work-Study Student Loans – Direct Loan Program Parent Loans State Awards Grants – TEXAS Grant, Top 10%, SLEAP, LEAP Work-Study College Access Loan – alternative Institutional Awards Grants – Set Asides Work-Study – Set Asides Scholarships – Donor related and Set Asides

Institutional Financial Aid Awarding – Set Asides Statutory Set-Asides Texas Public Education Grant Limited pot of money to award First-come, first-serve until funds are exhausted Low to medium Expected Family Contributions (Need-based) Typically awarded alongside federal and state grants Undergraduate Residents, Undergraduate Non-Residents, Graduate Residents, Graduate Non-Residents

Institutional Financial Aid Awarding – Set Asides Designated Set- Asides UTSA Grant Need-based First priority to students that are not receiving any other grants Scholarships Need-based (help for recruiting/admissions) Work-Study Need-based Added several hundred positions during the summer and increased total allocation and positions across campus $1.2 designated for

Special Programs Offered UTSAccess – tuition and fee guarantee for students with loan income ($30K or less) Receiving grants/scholarships to cover tuition and fees Additional resources in collaboration with Academic Affairs for tutoring, advising Work-study awarded

Special Programs Offered Graduation Incentive Grant – funds to graduate on-time Welcome Back Program – funds to return to school and finish Education Loan Forgiveness Program – 0% interest loan that can be forgiven if working in high need, low income schools Non-need based grant – middle income students – early applicants

Education and Accountability Students Education: We will continue to offer several different avenues for students to learn about the financial aid and enrollment services processes through – web, online forms, Facebook, Twitter, Chats, Outreach, Counseling, Correspondence Accountability: As a result of the learning, students are accountable and responsible for ensuring paperwork is complete, deadlines are met, thus receiving better financial aid packages and getting paperwork completed on time

Education and Accountability Staff Education: We continue to provide quality training to the staff that includes new regulations, policies, procedures, customer service, etc. so that they are knowledgeable Accountability: We expect our staff to be accountable for the information that they have learned and to use it accordingly when working with students or when processing data and paperwork

Current Services Provided to Students Enrollment Services Call Center – 200,000 calls a year Open 8:00-6:00 M-Th, 8:00-5:00 Fr, 1 st Sat each month 9-1 Financial Aid Registrar Admissions Fiscal Services (payments by phone and questions) Enrollment Services Counters –Main 81,000 students served – DT 34,000 students served Open 8:00-6:00 M-Th, 8:00-5:00 Fr Financial Aid Registrar Admissions Responded to over 14,000 s for financial aid and registrar

Current Services Provided to Students Financial Aid Processing $180 Million in aid each year; 20,000 students receiving some form of aid Compliance with federal and state regulations (constantly changing) Special Circumstances for students experiencing hardship – loss of income, family situations, additional living costs, etc.

Current Services to Students Book/Cash Loans Give out approximately book loans at the beginning of each semester for $500 each Mid-semester loans – students in extreme situations can borrow up to $500 Tuition and Fee Loans (Emergency Loans) Cover tuition and fees at the beginning of semester 90 Days to pay back (during given semester) Late financial aid applicants

Current Services to Students Outreach/Inreach We have a team working with prospective and current students Information to students about applying for aid, types of aid available, etc.

New Initiatives Expanding Outreach/Inreach Financial Aid is on Facebook and Twitter Researching the possibility of chat rooms Fall Financial Aid Round-up – focused on specific type of FA application Expanding Financial Literacy Students understanding consequences of additional loan borrowing – Special Circumstances and Cash Loans Collaborating with Academic Affairs on several events and official Financial Literacy Plan Default Prevention: additional contacts to students that are delinquent – beginning 2010

New Initiatives Intelliresponse 24/7 Frequently Asked Question Service Knowledge-based software Financial Aid, Registrar and Fiscal Services Should be up and running before the end of 2009