Fort Valley State University-[node:field-date:custom:Y]--Financial Aid Interventions, -Financial Risk Alerts

High Impact Strategy

Intrusive Financial Aid Advising:  Identify and implement initiatives to address financial needs of students from these populations in a timely fashion. Proposed efforts will include seeking external funds for more scholarships, changing policies on campus, and providing financial literacy education. All students will receive the financial literacy courses during their first semester at FVSU.

Related Goal

Goal 4:  Provide intrusive advising to keep students on track to graduate.

Summary of Activities

The reorganization of the Office of Financial Aid, to include the addition of a Banner Systems Analyst, has resulted in the development of a proper business plan for Financial Aid operations. This includes the timely notification of students who have been selected for verification; placed on SAP dismissal, need to submit missing documentation, etc. The University has contracted with a default management firm to provide financial literacy education to students and their parents and to decrease the FVSU Cohort Default Rate. The Office of Institutional Research Planning and Effectiveness worked to develop flow charts to outline Financial Aid Processes. This was done to identify gaps in the processes that could cause conflicts with students completing the overall process in a timely manner. Additionally, this will aid the department in identifying issues for the non-traditional students in the educational pipeline as well.

Baseline Status

Eighty-Three Percent (83.5%) of FVSU students receive Pell Grants and 92.6% of students receive some type of loan. Thirty-Seven Percent (37.3%) of the enrolled population was considered paid on the first day of class.

Interim Measures of Progress

Enhance the effectiveness of the Financial Aid Office and the processes involved with getting students in the paid category prior to class starting in the Fall Semester by 30%.

Measures of Success

Sixty-Seven Percent (67%) of enrolled students on the first day of class will be in the paid category and their accounts satisfied. Additionally, students will continue to provide their perceptions of the effectiveness of the Financial Aid office through the FVSU Listens Survey and the Student Satisfaction Survey. At least 85% of students surveyed will state that they are satisfied or above-satisfied with the effectiveness of the Financial Aid Office.

Lessons Learned

Many technology lessons have been learned as FVSU has transformed its processes to eliminate long lines and frustrated students. Retention is impacted by financial aid especially at FVSU where a high number of our students receive some type of financial aid. With this in mind, a new Vice President of Student Success and a new Director of Financial Aid were hired and many of the challenges are being eliminated.