1. Improving Student Success Through the Multiple Disbursement of Financial Aid

2. Bay College Located in the UP of Michigan
Campuses in Iron Mountain and Escanaba
5 ½ hours from here
Fall 2018 Enrollment : 1,937
Travis

3. Who Are We? Ruth Carlson Travis Blume
Assistant Director of Financial Aid
Worked at Bay College for 15 years
Travis Blume
Vice President of Student Services
Previously the Registrar at Bay
Has worked at Bay for 4 years us

4. What Are Multiple Disbursements?
Divide student’s federal financial aid into portions as well as the charges on the student’s account – we use four disbursements
Goes beyond the financial aid requirement to disburse one semester loans in two disbursements
Give students a portion of their financial aid overage with each disbursement.
Ruth

5. Why? Assists students with budgeting their financial aid overage
Assists with Retention and Persistence
Assists with Return to Title IV (R2T4) process
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6. Who is Involved? Financial Aid Student Accounts IT Registrar Faculty
Ruth

7. Process Financial Aid coordinated the process.
Issues needed to be address before we could make multiple disbursements a reality.
We needed to give students their financial aid overage throughout the semester and not just hold it until the account was paid in full
We needed to know the student was attending their classes to make sure we were no longer funding a student who wasn’t attending
We needed to assure student data was reported accurately for each system with the Department of Education
We needed IT support and programming to assist in the processes
Ruth

8. Process Con’t
Business Office and Financial Aid determined steps to pay students a portion of their financial aid overage at a time.
Federal financial aid was set to disburse in four equal portions
Created a schedule every year. Federal funds disburse based on that schedule
Determined the process required steps outside of our system
Through reports from our system (Jenzabar EX) and Excel, we determine the amount of what the student should receive in an overage at each disbursement.
That information is imported back into our system to run checks
Example: 25% of the student’s tuition is paid with 25% of their financial aid. Students are sent any remaining portion of that calculation at that time.
ruth

9. Process Con’t
The Registrar’s Office, along with IT and Financial Aid, determined steps needed to gather attendance throughout the semester
A schedule is determined for each semester of what timeframes are monitored for attendance.
Faculty report if the student attended, literally went to class or completed a gradable assignment online, for each timeframe throughout the semester
Financial Aid monitors those who are reported as not attending and holds the financial aid disbursements if the student is no longer eligible for the funding.
Institutional Research and Financial Aid work together to make sure the information reported to NSC and Department of Education are the same.
Created a one week major freeze to allow for accurate reporting.
Travis end with Ruth

10. Communication was KEY! Faculty Students Staff
Faculty received training during the winter and summer terms leading up to the change
Reminded leading up the Fall semester, and during the semester
Students
Changes in the disbursement process were sent to students in multiple ways through the financial aid award and disbursement cycle
Disbursement Notice changes sent with every award letter
Information posted online
Information ed to students
Notices posted on our digital bulletin boards
Staff
Information about the new process was discussed at all campus meetings and reminders were sent via
Travis

11. Change is Hard Faculty Part Time and Full Time Staff Time and effort
Students
Change in how previous students got their money Us

12. Results
Student’s request for emergency funding late in the semester reduced
Return to Title IV (R2T4) decreased by more than $100,000
In we returned $150,353
In we returned $48,893
As a result, the college had less write-offs
Student began to stay in classes longer during a semester
Assisted with graduation rates increased
Ruth First, TB last 2

13. Way Forward Bay College plans to continue this process
Improvements planned
Move to daily attendance
Improved tools for staff to review information

14. Questions?

15. Ruth Carlson Ruth. Carlson@baycollege
Ruth Carlson Travis Blume