WHAT’S CHANGING AND WHAT IT MEANS FOR YOUR STUDENTS 2012 Financial Aid Changes

BIG CHANGES A LOOK AT THE NUMBERS

Unduplicated Numbers

8 Year Comparison YearCredit Enrollment Number of BOG Fee Waivers Dollar Value of BOG Fee Waivers Number of Pell Grants Dollar Value of Pell Grants Dollar Value of All Aid Programs ,690,594597,286$102,726,455239,925$533,720,693$895,275, ,453,486639,105$168,185,622246,093$566,248,344$1,018,060, ,439,443699,015$266,390,548259,958$605,956,126$1,170,057, ,471,501716,796$273,785,746254,603$589,892,151$1,170,094, ,529,893715,516$249,021,634247,143$573,914,323$1,132,521, ,687,314761,968$225,305,123270,098$668,170,200$1,242,937, ,816,261870,318$253,942,628321,066$881,680,875$1,553,328, ,675,3791,023,645$369,297,507418,775$1,356,231,619$2,228,378, ,551,2091,130,845$410,709,338491,577$1,623,367,005$2,546,557,910 8 year +/--139,385533,559307,982,883251,6521,089,646,3121,651,282,241 8 year % +/--5.2%89.3%299.8%104.9%204.2%184.4%

Policy Decisions and the Budget Decisions about Financial Aid eligibility and access to college and other requirements should be made as policy decisions—BASED ON DATA and what is best for the STUDENTS. More and more the decisions develop as part of budget policy. CASE IN POINT: The federal budget act passed in mid-December included a number of dramatic changes to Financial Aid policy.

HAPPENING NOW FEDERAL CHANGES

6 FT Year Limit on Pell Grant 6 FT Years or 600% of Pell in a LIFETIME At any college Department of Ed keeps the calculator and will block anyone over 6 FT Years  So, some of your students are out of Pell or will run out before they get their BA  Reinforces the SSTF recommendation to FOCUS the students early

Elimination of ATB Effective July 1, 2012, students must have a high school diploma or the equivalent (i.e. GED or California High School Proficiency Exam) to be eligible to receive federal student aid.

Interest Subsidy for Student Loans New loans made on or after July 1, 2012, and before July 1, 2014, will not be eligible for interest subsidy during the six month grace period. Interest on a student loan just rose to 6.8% despite prime rate below 2%

Verification Changes Biggest Change is that some students and parents can import their information from the IRS to their FAFSA. If they opt not to, or are not allowed to, they will have to get an IRS Tax Transcript. This will delay aid for some students. We must also start to verify child support and food stamps as well.

Satisfactory Academic Progress Your campus probably made BIG changes this year. Minimum requirements are 2.0 GPA (term and cum.) Minimum completion rate of 67% (term and cum.) Your campus may opt to be stricter Students who are disqualified must go without aid except in exceptional cases of unforeseen extreme issues which can be verified.

Course Repeats THIS IS DIFFERENT FROM THE NEW STATE RULES ON REPEATS!! A student may be paid federal aid to repeat a course they did not pass, until they either pass the class or are disqualified from aid. A student who passed the class (and the feds define a ‘D’ as passed) and want to improve their grade, can only be paid to repeat it ONCE no matter what.

Cohort Default Rates They are going to 3 years from 2 years—so most campuses will see dramatic increases! CCCs are ‘low participation’ colleges. With less than 40% of our students taking loans, we can apply for a waiver of sanctions.

Clock Hours Changes There is still much negotiation on this but:  New definition of Credit hour for Federal Aid purposes  Also indicated that if a state or federal licensing agency requires a certain number of hours before a student can take an exam—the certificate or degree program must be in Clock Hours

Gainful Employment Report Many of you have probably already been involved in discussions about the requirement to report data on all Vocational Certificate Programs. But-did you know that the State of California passed SB-70 which affects a schools ability to participate in the Cal-Grant programs?

Proposals Floating Increase in Federal Work Study IF the institution places students off campus Elimination of Auto Zero EFC which will reduce the number of students receiving FT Pell

COMING IN State Changes

BOG Fee Waiver Changes No more $1 of need eligibility! Student must have $1104 dollars of need 24 units X $46= $1104

Dream Acts AB 130 and 131 Effective January 1 st 2013 AB-130 allows institutions to grant NON-public funds/scholarships to AB-540 students AB-131 makes AB-540 students eligible for BOG Fee Waivers AB-131 also makes AB-540 students eligible for Cal Grants.

SSTF Recommendations Max Unit Cap on BOG Fee Waivers-110? Student must meet A&R academic and progress standards Students must declare a degree, certificate or career advancement goal.

CIOs: Help Connect Faculty to FA Changes Ask questions and understand the implications Ensure communication to students (flyers, , Portal, etc.) Have FA director and staff interact with faculty Communicate with Academic Senate regularly

Some Dilemmas Should students be advised to get more than one degree given Pell limitations? How soon can students realistically develop a meaningful program of study? Should students be allowed multiple ed plans for FA purposes? What can Instruction do to help students complete courses faster?

Questions