May 18, 2010 EASFAA Conference 2010

 Irvin Bodofsky ◦ Director of Financial Aid Emeritus ◦ SUNY Upstate Medical University  Dr. William Irwin ◦ Director of Financial Aid Emeritus ◦ Lock Haven University  Michael McGraw ◦ Director of Financial Aid Emeritus ◦ Tompkins Cortland Community College

 To share with you what we have learned in the past couple of years about outsourcing and how to make it work for you.  In the interest of transparency… ◦ We do consulting, both independently and for companies. ◦ We are receiving financial compensation for being here from ProEducation Solutions, LLC.

 Increased applications  Increased federal regulations  Reduced resources  Direct Loan legislation  Need for training

 Increased applications caused by Negative economy Rising costs Parent and student uncertainty

 Increased federal regulations Verification increased selection of Pell eligible how do you track 30% More cases of conflicting information 2 Pell Grants per year

 Reduced resources: Staffing Training Hardware, software and IT support

 Direct Loan transition Impact on staff time Assignments

 Need for training For professional and support staff, regardless of tenure Cost of training? Does your institution support training?

It’s time to re-think your business practices. The status quo will not continue to be productive.

 Hire new staff?  Overtime for current staff?  Hire temporary staff?  Close office for processing?  Hire consultants?  Outsource?

 Hire new staff? Economic conditions prohibit this  Overtime for current staff? Burnout issues Impact on retirement benefits  Hire temporary staff? Do you have a pool of qualified people?

 Close the office for processing? Bad for customer service Make problems worse  Hire Consultants? Costly  Outsource? Negative image

 Access to qualified staff  You can control costs - you know how much you will be paying  Another set of eyes may find ways to streamline and improve your process  May help you see things that are slipping by (regs, policies, etc.)  Can be for a defined period of time, or ongoing

 Image is negative  How do you insure quality control  Contract process  Buy-in from staff, supervisors, other offices  Union concerns  issues - regulatory process

 Cost considerations – additional expenses for travel and lodging  IT considerations - remote access, security

 Carefully define the scope of work (cost, processes, etc.)  What about insurance/bonding, confidentiality documents/training?  Customer service issues - processing time can now be devoted to customer service.

 Need to have solid policies and procedures.  How will consultants be trained?  How will quality be controlled?  Get buy in from other offices, especially IT!  Add third party servicers to ECAR asap.

It’s time to re-think your business practices. The status quo will not continue to be productive.