1. Policies and Procedures Brian Murphy Clinton Tony Erwin Northeastern University

2. Office of Student Financial Services Disclaimer This presentation does not reflect the thoughts or opinions of either of us, our institution, my friends, or my cat; don't quote me on that; don't quote me on anything; all rights reserved; this document is distribution copyrighted to the extent that you may distribute this posting and all its associated parts freely but you may not make a profit from it or include the article or parts of it in commercial publications, or as part of any fee-based services or products; further redistribution’s only allowed unedited and in its entirety by electronic transfer (anonymous FTP, Gopher, WWW and mail servers), storage media, and printed copy as long as this notice is included and no monetary fee is charged; subject to change without notice; text is slightly enlarged to show detail; resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is unintentional and coincidental; all models are over 18 years of age; dry clean only; do not bend, fold, or mutilate; anchovies or jalapenos added upon request; your mileage may vary; no substitutions are allowed; for a limited time only while supplies last; offer void where prohibited; is provided "as is" without any warranties expressed or implied; user assumes full liabilities; not liable for damages due to use or misuse; equal opportunity joke employer; no shoes, no shirt, no jokes; caveat emptor; read at your own risk; may contain material some readers find objectionable; parental advisory: explicit lyrics; keep away from pets and small children; limit one-per-family please; no money down; no purchase necessary; ask us about our trade-in plan; you need not be present to win; some assembly required; batteries not included; action figures sold separately; jokes were packed full, contents may have settled during mailing; sanitized and sealed for your protection; do not use if safety seal is broken; do not use while operating a motor vehicle or heavy equipment; safety goggles may be required during use; call before you dig; use only with proper ventilation; for external use only; if a swelling, redness, rash, or irritation develops, discontinue use; do not place near a flammable or magnetic source; keep away from open flames; avoid inhaling fumes or contact with mucous membranes; contents under pressure, may explode if incinerated; smoking these may be hazardous to your health; the best safeguard, second only to abstinence, is the use of a good laugh; text is made from 100% recycled electrons and magnetic particles; no animals were used to test the, no salt, MSG, preservatives, artificial color or flavor added; if ingested, do not induce vomiting, if symptoms persist, consult a someone who cares; are ribbed for your pleasure; slippery when wet; must be 18 to enter; possible penalties for early withdrawal; one size fits all; offer is valid only at participating Internet sites; slightly higher west of the Rockies; allow four to six weeks for delivery; if defects are found, do not try to fix them yourself, but return to an authorized service center; please remain seated until the we have come to a complete stop; objects in the mirror may be funnier than they appear; this disclaimer does not cover hurricanes, floods, earthquakes, and other Acts of God, sonic boom vibrations, electromagnetic radiation from nuclear blasts, unauthorized repair, improper installation, misuse, typos, misspelled words, missing or altered signatures, and incidents owing to computer or disk failure, accidental file deletions, or milk coming out of your nose due to laughing while drinking; other restrictions may apply. If something offends you, lighten up, get a life, and move on.

3. Office of Student Financial Services Need for policies and procedures It’s required by law!!! –Various citations in the Code of Federal Regulations 34 CFR §668.14 34 CFR §668.16 34 CFR §668.53 –Dept. of Education Blue Book Recommends that schools create policy and procedures manuals that cover the school’s participation in Title IV programs

4. Office of Student Financial Services Need for on line policies and procedures Policies inconsistently applied without documentation New staff needs to be trained Management changes Staff members didn’t keep up with changes

5. Office of Student Financial Services How the Process works at NEU... Policy and Procedure Committee formed –Membership Cross section of levels and responsibilities Chaired by a superstar manager! –Meetings Scheduled monthly meeting Ad hoc meetings to discuss new changes or urgent matters

6. Office of Student Financial Services Policies and Procedures Committee Review current polices Draft new policies Monitor compliance Complain about management!

7. Office of Student Financial Services Current Policies Review on periodic basis –Specific items determined by aid cycle Monitor Compliance Updates for new award year

8. Office of Student Financial Services New Policies Research by Committee members using Federal Student Aid Handbook, Regulations, NASFAA, peer institutions, contacts Proposal drafted by Committee members and proposed to the full Committee Committee reviews and comes to a consensus –After long arguments and fist-fights

9. Office of Student Financial Services New Policies Proposal is then brought to the Student Financial Services managers. Managers then: –A. Grill Brian on every item in the proposal –B. Ignore request for weeks –C. Schedule discussion for a future meeting –D. Approve as proposed –E. Return draft to Committee with questions or changes

10. Office of Student Financial Services New Policies If approved by Managers: –Policy is published on the intranet –Policy is reviewed at an all staff meeting –Policy announcement is sent to staff by email –Staff continues to ignore published policies and asks managers for answers to questions. –Some polices are reviewed annually at the start of the processing season

11. Office of Student Financial Services New policies If not approved by managers: –Committee complains about manager’s decisions! –Committee reviews suggestions or questions –Changes are made to draft –New draft is sent to managers for approval

12. Office of Student Financial Services Benefits to Committee Way to involve all levels of staff Delegation opportunity Improved buy in for new polices Allows for input from policy end users Teaches people how to do research and benchmarking

13. Office of Student Financial Services Drawbacks to Committee Can take a long time to get a new policy approved and in place Scheduling of Committee meetings is hard certain times of year Debate of issues can take up a good deal of time Focus of the managers can differ from that of the Committee Committee members must deal with Brian

14. Office of Student Financial Services Benefits to Online P&P manual No paper! Allows for frequent updates, including fixing errors or providing technical updates easily Easily archived so polices in effect in prior years are available indefinitely Available anywhere Ability to highlight new or changed items

15. Office of Student Financial Services Benefits to Online P&P manual (cont) And the biggest benefit: –The “Gail Holt” Effect Gives managers the opportunity to answer every question with: “You can find that on the intranet!”

16. Office of Student Financial Services Drawbacks to Online P&P Requires some level of web design Must make sure that polices match public website Staff can easily point out in management makes a wrong decision!

17. Office of Student Financial Services This system works at NEU because... We rock! Large staff allows for delegation of assignments Staff members familiar with web design Veteran FAAs with knowledge of regulations There are always naive rookies willing to volunteer for P&P Committee!

18. Office of Student Financial Services What if I work in a small office? P&P still needs to be done! –Even more important as knowledge base housed within a few individuals Schedule “retreat days” for entire staff to work on P&P manual Rely on work-study or student workers for web- based skills

19. Office of Student Financial Services Thoughts on policies If you wouldn’t document it, consider why you are doing it. Make time to create policies –Don’t procrastinate; Just get it over with! Don’t reinvent the wheel –On-line resources –Ask colleagues

20. Office of Student Financial Services Resources