Standing Firm in the Winds of Change: A P&P Manual Lisanne Masterson Director, Financial Aid Brevard College

Agenda A Policy & Procedures Manual – Who? Where? Why? What Is Required? What Are The Obstacles? How Do You Get Started? Updating

Definitions POLICY Answers the “what” and “why”; influences procedures PROCEDURE Answers the “how”

Why Have a P&P Manual? 8. To Keep You On Your Toes 7. To Let You Sleep At Night 6. To Keep Administration Away 5. To Keep Your School Compliant 4. To Run An Efficient & Effective Office 3. To Keep The “Feds” Happy 2. To Keep Your Job 1. It’s Required

“Real” Reasons For A P&P Manual Training Consistency Clarification Communication Compliance Documentation

Who Needs To Be Involved? Financial Aid Director Financial Aid Staff Academic Affairs Bursar (Finance Office) Athletics Housing Administration

Where To House Your P&P? Make sure it is accessible to all staff – Hard Copy – Electronic Copy Decide on access rights Notify other offices of any changes

Making Choices Determine what works best for your institution – Size – Type – Organization Assign tasks – Who works on what portion of the manual (provides sense of ownership, opportunity for cooperation) Decide on Required Vs. Optional Parts

What Is It Based Upon? Federal laws and regulations State laws and regulations Institutional policies and definitions

Required Policies & Procedures FA Applications/Forms Verification Establishing Costs of Attendance Awarding/Packaging Aid Professional Judgment Disbursements Satisfactory Academic Progress Withdrawals Refunds Fraud

Example - Verification You MUST have written policies & procedures for: – Deadlines for submitting documentation – How you will notify students of changes – How corrections will be made – How you will calculate the AGI & Tax Paid for a single parent from a joint return – How you handle tax extensions & follow-up re-verification You should describe how you will collect the information (use ED’s worksheet or create an institutional form)

Getting Started Obstacles – Time – Fear Size of Task, Doing It Wrong, Missing Something Tips – Don’t Start From Scratch – Plan Ahead – Take One Step At A Time – Distinguish Between Required and Optional

Where Do You Go? Document What You Are Currently Doing Old Manuals, Memos, s, Current P&Ps State Agency Colleagues NASFAA’s Policies & Procedures Tools Introduction and Instructions Formulating, Implementing & Evaluating P&Ps Template for your Policies & Procedures Manual Regulatory Resources Guide

Step 1 Review current policies – Can they be improved? – Work with other offices – Are changes necessary/encouraged? Review current procedures – If changes are needed, policy & procedure must go hand in hand “say what you do” and then “do what you say” write in all exceptions to the rules

Step 2 Your design should flow easily Choose your wording carefully Remember your users Include all exceptions Make uniform format changes

NASFAA’s Model NASFAA Resources (right hand side) “Management” “Policies and Procedures Tool” Introduction and Instructions Formulating, Implementing & Evaluating P&Ps Template for your Policies & Procedures Manual Regulatory Resources Guide

Updating Review Annually Make Automatic Adjustments Be Aware of Institutional Policy Changes Notify Appropriate Offices/Personnel Keep It Current

Questions