1. The FAFSA Mobile App: How to Engage Differing Demographics
Robert Muhammad, Financial Aid Director, Winston-Salem State University
Michael A. O’Grady, Financial Aid Services, Atlanta, Georgia

2. A New Tool in the Financial Aid Process: October 2018 Snapshot
myStudentAid mobile app downloaded 180,000
10% of FAFSA filers
(Source: FSA)

3. Since When is the FAFSA Completion Process Called?
”Pretty Snazzy!”
“Quick”
“Fun”

4. Brief History of Centralized Financial Aid Application Process
College Board's ”Financial Aid Form” or FAF
ACT financial aid form
Free FAFSA Form (College Board continues in the market with the Profile form that includes data previously available in the FAF for a fee)
ELM –Develops the first FAFSA electronic application. (Floppy disc)
Department of Education electronic FAFSA application
ED FAFSA Mobile Application

5. NextGen for First Gen??? Effectuating the FAFSA Mobile App with First Gen Students
95% have mobile phones
Counseling intermediaries and organizations impact?
Non-traditional families’ perspective
Intention for app use outside FAFSA

6. Mystudentaid: mobile app
Ability to complete, save, and submit the FAFSA from the app

7. Mystudentaid: mobile app
Information protected the same as FOTW
Prompts applicant to create a save key, allowing completion at later time

8. Mystudentaid: mobile app
FAFSA completion tracked
Successful completion of each section indicated

9. Mystudentaid: mobile app
Digital signature box is NOT the official signature. Student and parent MUST use the FSA ID to “sign”
Confirmation of submission
Estimated EFC calculated and displayed

10. FIU Office of Financial Aid
42,537 UGRD students across 5 campuses and Online.
Minority Majority institution.
64% Hispanic, 12% Black, 13% Other, 11% White
Approx. 44% Independent, 56% Dependent for Undergraduates.
Financial Aid stats:
Undergraduate Loaded ISIR applications – 33,380
Undergraduate Aided Students 31,917
% of enrolled students who receive aid – 75%
Undergraduate Disbursed - $327 M (Pell - $105.6M Loans - $122M)
27 OFA Full-Time Staff*, 35 FWS*. (*Transferred 12 OFA staff to OneStop when it went to full operation August 2015, All walk-in and most phone FA contacts are now with OneStop, 6 FA FWS handle Live Chat.

11. Winston Salem State University
Historically Black University
4,668 undergraduates
Racial makeup
75.9% African-American
12.4% Caucasian
3.6% Hispanic/Latino
3.6% Two or more races
Financial Aid
$15 million Pell Grant (3,4242 recipients)
$34 million in Federal Loans (8,563 loans)
$475,000 FSEOG
$500,000 FWS
$6 million approximate in other aid including State
Staff
11 including director and managers
5 Federal Work-Studies
1 remote part-time IT person

12. Viewing the Complete Financial Aid Process and Potential ”Speedbumps”
Awareness and Completing FAFSA and other Applications
FAFSA Completion and Corrections
Verification process
Best practices to avoid “Verification melt”
Tangential off ramps to enrollment (immunization, etc.)
Winston-Salem’s “Rapid Outreach” pilot

13. Multi-pronged Campaigns
Develop and engagement/outreach calendar
Call campaigns both internal and with third-part vendors
Targeted postcard campaigns
On and off campus (delivered to residence halls and postal mail)
Partnerships
Special populations – athletics, band, TRiO
Housing and Residence Life
First Year Experience
Review and work data, address anomalies, identify trends

14. Spring Conference April 7 – 10, 2019
Data Snapshots
Spring Conference April 7 – 10, 2019

15. Round Table Observations
Execution observations?
On the ground data?
Other Speed bumps?

16. NCASFAA would like to thank our vendors for their support.
Please visit them and let them know how much we appreciate them.

17. Please remember to complete the session evaluation.

18. Spring Conference April 7 – 10, 2019