1. Mississippi Office of Student Financial Aid
State Aid Update

2. FY 2018 SFA Appropriation – SB 2596
Source
Amount Requested (MBR)
SB 2956
Difference
General Funds
$ 49,541,174
$ 37,661,346
-$ 11,879,828
Spending Authority - Collections
$ 1,500,000
$ 2,500,000
$1,000,000
Spending Authority from Special Source
$ ,000 $
TOTAL AVAILABLE
$ 51,430,174
$ 40,550,346
-$ 10,879,828
-21.2%

3. Measures to Reduce Operating Budget
Measures to Reduce Shortfall
# of Students Impacted
Projected Budget Reduction
Shortfall
Shortfall based on MBR projections (July ‘16)
$10,879,828
Revised Legislative projections (Spring ‘17)
$2,802,750
Shortfall at time of AOB (April ‘17)
$8,949,830
LEGISLATIVE CHANGE: Eliminate "stacking"
3,410
$1,537,626
LEGISLATIVE CHANGE: Check GPAs by term
430
$2,109,172
LEGISLATIVE CHANGE: No new awards: PMGT, MED, DENT, STSC, HCP, and SWOR 47
$1,039,632
LEGISLATIVE CHANGE: Reduce SREB seats 2
$37,400
STATUTORY GUIDANCE: Renewal loans only
1,002
$4,226,000
Remaining Shortfall $-
TOTAL Reduction
4,891

4. Legislative Changes
Stacking, Term GPA Checks, and Program Eliminations

5. Eliminate “Stacking” One grant awarded
Aid awarded through the grant program that awards the most
Projected impact: 3,400 students will lose MTAG
Students can still receive one grant with one loan

6. Term GPA Checks Check GPAs every term for all programs
Already check hours every term
Already check MTAG GPA every term
Now check MESG and HELP GPA every term
Projected impact: 430 students lose one term of MESG or HELP

7. Discontinued Programs
No new awards after
Discontinued programs with no current recipients: Public Management Graduate Intern (PMGT) and Family Protection Specialist Social Worker Forgivable Loan (SWOR)
Discontinued programs with potential renewals: State Medical and Dental Education Forgivable Loans (MED/DENT), Out-of-state Graduate and Professional Degree Forgivable Loan (STSC), and Health Care Professions Forgivable Loan (HCP)

8. Policies and Procedures
Updates and Reminders

9. Grade/Enrollment Reporting
Process for determining eligibility based on full-time enrollment:
Determine initial eligibility using enrolled hours in ENRLHRS field on Enrollment Report
Determine continuing eligibility using earned hours in SEMEARN field PLUS remedial hours in SEMREM field on Grade Report

10. Grade/Enrollment Reporting
Reporting change for ALL schools
Add SEMREM field to Grade Report
IF school treats remedial hours as pass/fail
Old way: reported remedial hours with all other pass/fail hours in SEMOTHR on Grade Report
NEW way: report remedial hours separately from all other pass/fail hours in SEMREM on Grade Report
IF school assigns letter grade to remedial hours
No change needed; leave SEMREM field empty

11. Grade/Enrollment Reporting
IMPORTANT REMINDERS!
Follow same rules to report via the electronic verification forms as to report via the term Grade and Enrollment Reports
Co-op field designations, etc. related to Take 15 “Special Terms” (Student Teaching, Clinicals, Practicums) must be included on Enrollment Report and Grade Report

12. Take 15 Exceptions for
Only students with credit hours remaining may appeal for an exception
Exceptions will be considered for a single term only  
No appeal will be accepted and no aid will be disbursed for any semester carrying less than 6 hours

13. Continuous Full-time Enrollment
Fifteen (15) earned semester hours or nine (9) earned trimester hours each academic term (excluding summer)
Hours must be reported by a single institution
Hours may be undergraduate or graduate course hours as long as the student is pursuing an undergraduate degree

14. Grade Point Average
The Office accepts the overall cumulative college GPA, as calculated and certified by the registrar at the end of each term or year
Law specifies overall cumulative
Policy allows for variations in grade policies
The Office will not calculate GPAs, but will accept the GPA calculated by the college

15. SFA Policies & Procedures Manual
Online:
Contents:
Authority and Responsibilities, pages 1-14
Administration Policies (FOI, Notices, Opinions), pgs
General Administration Rules & Regulations, pgs
Residency and dependency, page 30
Continuous full-time enrollment, page 34
Grades and other special circumstances (consortium agreements, study abroad, SAP, etc.), page 36
Program-specific Rules and Regulations, begin pg. 46

16. State Financial Aid Redesign
Project History and Updates

17. Redesign Project History
NSPARC Report (annual)
6-year completion rates for state aid recipients
Population
6-Yr Grad. Rate
MTAG Recipients
66%
MESG Recipients
80%
HELP Recipients
81%
All Students
49%

18. Redesign Project History
Mississippi Economic Policy Center: “Investing in Our Future: How to Strengthen & Update Mississippi’s Financial Aid Programs for Today’s College Students” (January 2014)
Most MS aid does not go to students with need. Remove MTAG exclusions for full Pell recipients and raise income threshold for HELP.
Enrollment has risen and diversified. Make aid available to adults & part-time enrollees.
Loan debt persists. Increase overall higher education funding.

19. Redesign Project History
Harvard Data Project : “Financial Aid in Mississippi: How Three State-funded Programs Affect College Enrollment and Degree Attainment” (March 2015)
MTAG impact on enrollment and completion
MESG impact on in-state enrollment and completion

20. Redesign Project History
Education Commission of the States: “Redesigning State Financial Aid: Opportunities for the State of Mississippi” (March 2016)
Principle 1: Aid should be student-centered with greater focus on need-based aid
Principle 2: Programs should be eliminated or consolidated because aid should be goal-driven and data-informed
Principle 3: Reconsider deadlines to ensure aid is timely & flexible
Principle 4: Reconsider full-time enrollment requirements, because aid should be broadly inclusive

21. State Aid Effectiveness Study
Lifetracks, State Longitudinal Data System
Phase 1 (late summer/early fall): Published report on various indicators (completion rates, retention rates, employment profiles, comparisons between aid recipients/nonrecipients etc.)
Phase 2 (next year): Dashboards, both public and private
Next steps

22. Open Forum
Needs, Requests, and Questions