2. News to Know April 2004 Office of Student Financial Assistance Florida Department of Education

3. Regional Training Workshops The Regional Training Workshops have been completed and we are confident that they are the foundation to building an effective training base for the future. If you were unable to attend, and would like to receive the workshop materials, please contact your Outreach Representative and they will mail you one today! If you have suggestions, comments, or ideas for future workshops, please pass them along! We would love to hear from you!

4. Host Site Recognition Thank you to the institutions that graciously agreed to host our Regional Training Workshops! We truly appreciate your assistance in making these workshops available throughout the state.  Florida State University  Keiser College  Miami Dade College  University of Phoenix

5. Sponsor Recognition  1Student Financial  AmSouth Bank  Bank of America  College Loan Corporation (CLC)  EdAmerica  National Education  SouthTrust Bank  SunTrust Thank you to the lender partners that sponsored the meal functions during our Regional Training Workshops! We truly appreciate your assistance in making these workshops a success!

6. Bonnie Pirkle Fundraiser  AmSouth Bank  Bank One  Bank of America  College Loan Corporation (CLC)  EdFirst/Chase  Educaid/Wachovia  Fleet Bank  Key Bank  NelNet  National Education  Regions Bank  SouthTrust Bank  Southwest Student Services Corporation  SunTrust Bank A big round of applause goes out to all of our lender and servicer partners that sponsored door prizes for the Bonnie Pirkle Fundraiser held during the workshops! Thank you for your continued support of this great cause!

7. Guarantee Fee At this time, there has been no decision to reestablish a guarantee fee for loans processed by OSFA. However, there are conditions under which the issue will be revisited. Among the conditions are a potential requirement passed by the Congress in the reauthorization process for the purpose of insuring uniformity of costs among the guarantors. There is another issue regarding the guarantee fee and that relates to the apparent silence in the law and regulations regarding who pays the guarantee fee. It may turn out that the fee is reestablished, but paid by some party other than the student. We must also bear in mind that President Bush's budget is reported to have language that assumes that all guaranty agencies would charge a guarantee fee. As you know, the budget is submitted to Congress for consideration and amendment. At this point, the restoration of a national fee is a "recommendation," and would affect all guarantors nationwide, not just OSFA.

8. Default Prevention and Default Aversion - How Can We Help You? Contact your Outreach Representative today to find out how we can assist you in your Default Prevention and Default Aversion plan. Call today to schedule this informative presentation!

9. SSFAD Log On’s If you are the SSFAD Security Designee for your institution, it’s now time to do your SPRING CLEANING! Please verify the users that you have assigned ID’s to and notify Neil Walter at: Neil.Walter@fldoe.org if you need to make any changes, additions, or deletions today!

10. Specialized Reporting Functions Would you like to receive monthly reports that detail your loan activity? If we collect the information, we can generate a report on it! All FFEL program participants can request FFEL reports by submitting a formal records request to your Outreach Representative. Include in your request the verbiage, “I wish to receive this report on a monthly basis for the remainder of the fiscal year.”

11. Congratulations! Congratulations to our very own Karen Hurrell! She just received the good news that she has been elected as the FASFAA Region II Representative!

12. OSFA NSLDS Submission - March 2004  OSFA's March 2004 monthly submission was transmitted to NSLDS and was processed by NSLDS on March 24, 2004.  The updates to NSLDS appeared on NSLDS, March 25, 2004.  Data contained in this month's submission reflects data extracted from our system on March 22, 2004.  The SMRY screen has been refreshed and now displays the NSLDS Loan Statuses that appeared in NSLDS on March 25, 2004.  OSFA’s April 2004 monthly submission will be transmitted to NSLDS on April 28, 2004.

13. NCHELP Integrated Common Manual NCHELP’s Integrated Common ManualNCHELP’s Integrated Common Manual is an excellent on line resource. Bookmark it today!

14. Professional Judgement Guide Mark Kantrowitz, Publisher - FinAid and EduPASS, has compiled a guide to best practices for Professional Judgement. A first draft of this guide is available at: www.finaid.org/educators/pj/

15. Proposed Changes to the 2005-2006 FAFSA The first draft of the proposed 2005-2006 FAFSA is available for comment. Comments can be made regarding the proposal through May 12, 2004. The draft can be viewed at: http://ifap.ed.gov/eannouncements/attachments/0312new fasfa0506.pdf

16. Recent “Notices Inviting Applications” Recent “Notices Inviting Applications” (grant opportunities) from the U.S. Department of Education (ED) include those related to: Federal Perkins Loan, Federal Work-Study, & Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant Program (CFDA#s 84.038, 84.033, & 84.007) For more information, please visit: www.ed.gov/fund/landing.jhtml

17. Releasing a Transcript Florida Statutes Chapter 1009, Part III - Financial Assistance, Section 95, item number 5 (F.S. 1009.95(5)). "No individual borrower who has been determined to be in default in making legally required scholarship loan, student loan, or guaranteed loan repayments shall be furnished with his or her academic transcripts or other student records until such time as the loan is paid in full or the default status has been removed."

18. Important Dates  4/28-4/30, 2004 - Mapping Your Future Annual Conference  6-9-6/11, 2004 - FASFAA Spring Conference  6/20-6/25, 2004 - SASFAA New Aid Officer Workshop  7/18-7/21, 2004 - NASFAA Annual Conference  11/1-11/4, 2004 - SFA Electronic Access Conference  11/10 - 11/12, 2004 - FASFAA Fall Conference For more information on these upcoming events, check out the calendar on www.fasfaa.org www.fasfaa.org

19. Mission Statement The Florida Department of Education, Office of Student Financial Assistance (OSFA), serves as a guarantor for the Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP), and the administrator of Florida’s scholarship and grant programs. The OSFA Mission is to facilitate higher education access and services by providing exemplary customer attention, comprehensive financial aid information, and convenient and efficient products.

20. Outreach Representative Contact Information:  Customer Service is our #1 Priority! Call us today!  Lori Auxier, OSFA Outreach Representative u 3715 Kirkwood Circle u Boynton Beach, FL 33436 u 561-434-3993 (office)