INTEREST SESSIONS GEARED FOR BEGINNING FINANCIAL AID STAFF

The FASFA – Where it All Begins
Whether you are helping a student complete the FAFSA or using FAA Access to CPS Online, knowing how to correctly fill one out is vital to the process. Learn what documents may be needed, how to determine dependency and who is "the parent" for FAFSA purposes.

Expected Family Contribution (EFC)
The EFC is calculated by the CPS from information on the FAFSA, but how? Learn how to do the calculation, what affects the numbers, what FAFSA data drives the EFC and how professional judgment may or may not actually affect the EFC.

The Institutional Student Information Record (ISIR)
In this session participants will learn how to get the ISIR and what to do with it. Presenters will review the ISIR for eligibility and verification purposes. Presenters will also discuss acceptable documentation to resolve data match issues and participants will learn about verification in the financial aid process.

Awarding Aid
Once you have an accurate, official ISIR, the Packaging/Awarding process can begin. Learn about Cost of Attendance (COA) and how to use the EFC to determine a student's aid package. In this session participants will award Pell, campus-based, loans, and the new grants (ACG/SMART) using case studies.

Disbursing Aid
The process of drawdown, disbursing and reporting will be discussed in this session. By taking the aid packages you will have just completed, participants will learn what needs to be done prior to disbursing the aid such as enrollment issues, SAP and determining an eligible program.

IFAP, NSLDS, COD, FAA Access to CPS Online
This two-hour session will take you through each of the four systems utilized in the financial aid process. Learn how to access the systems, what they are used for and when they are used.

Financial Aid Professionals (FAP) Portal and Beyond – How We Communicate With You?
This session will introduce the portal for Financial Aid Professionals and how it can link you to IFAP (the Library!), Training registration, HERA information and ordering materials among other sites.

Uncover the Mysteries of How a Law Becomes Operational
How does a bill become a law? What's the Federal Register? What's the Blue Book? What is meant by "guidance"? These questions and others will be answered as you learn how to read the regulations, how to look for a Dear Colleague Letter (DCL) and how to find answers using the Federal Student Aid Handbook.

Free Time
Participants will have three interest session timeslots to attend other sessions of interest.

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