GS3. Keynote by the U.S. Under Secretary of Education Presented by James Kvaal
GS4. Federal Update The U.S. Department of Education (ED) will present information and updates about Title activities and initiatives, including information about ED’s regulatory efforts, major operational updates, and reminders. Presented by David Musser and Annmarie Weisman Download PDF of Presentation
GS5. Federal Update: FAFSA® Simplification In this session you will hear details of the FAFSA Simplification Act passed in December 2020. Specifically, this session will provide an in-depth, look into FSA's implementation, outreach, and community engagement plans.
Presented by Melanie Storey Download PDF of Presentation
Breakout Sessions
1. Understanding Prison Education Programs for Confined or Incarcerated Individuals What do you need to know if your school is considering offering a prison education program to incarcerated individuals? Join us as we discuss the statutory provisions in the FAFSA Simplification Act and what we have learned through the Department’s Second Chance Pell experiment about offering Title IV funds to students in a prison setting. We will also provide an update on the requirements for schools to offer prison education programs. Presented by Benedict Dorsey Download Presentation
2. Surviving a Cyber Attack: Does Your Institution Have What It Takes?
Even the best protected and largest institutions can be attacked. Ransomware and other incidents affect three institutions of higher education every day. Students and institutions suffer from attacks on privacy and suffer economic costs. Discover the most common and surprising entry points and causes of breaches. Explore best practices for preventing and mitigating attacks, and how to effectively mitigate an attack in progress and minimize the damage. Join FSA Chief Information Officer Meg Glick, along with successful IT professionals from your peer institutions, as they share success stories of responding to and preventing cybersecurity threats.
Presented by Margaret Glick Download Presentation
3. Protecting Student Data: The Facts, Stats, and Strategies for Preventing a Data Breach
Data breaches in the education sector often lead to devastating consequences on multiple fronts. Not only is sensitive, private student information compromised, but the average cost for institutions to respond and recover from a cyber breach is estimated at $3.79 million. In addition to technology, manpower, ransoms, and interruption of service costs, this price tag may include fines and lawsuits, as well as financial loss due to damaged reputation. Embracing a professional obligation to protect data and privacy is the key to successfully safeguarding an organization from cyber intruders and minimizing the potential damage. In this presentation, FSA Deputy CIO Dan Commons will delve into three recent cyber-attacks at U.S. universities to share lessons learned and cybersecurity best practices. He will discuss the elements of good cyber hygiene that are designed to help all institutes of higher education improve their security posture.
Presented by Daniel Commons Download Presentation
4. Update on Auditing Requirements for School Title IV Programs and Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF) Grants
The Office of the Inspector General (OIG) Non-Federal Team will discuss recent and upcoming changes in auditing requirements for proprietary, public, non-profit, and foreign schools. They will address auditing the Title IV programs and HEERF Grants. They will also go over recently-issued or proposed changes to audit guidance in both the compliance supplement and OIG audit guides.
Presented by Amy Bales and Mark Priebe Download Presentation
5. Maintaining Your Institutional Eligibility
This session will cover what financial aid administrators need to know about maintaining their school’s eligibility to participate in Title IV programs. Topics include the implementation of the FSA Partner Connect e-App; the Program Participation Agreement (PPA) signature requirement; the requirements and preparations schools should conduct in the three to six months prior to submitting their recertification application; what events trigger the need to submit an updated eligibility application; how a school must submit information for different types of eligibility applications; and errors and pitfalls to avoid while submitting eligibility applications.
Presented by Susan Bowder and Kai Kimbrough Download Presentation
6. Academic Calendars This session will describe how the structure of your institution’s academic programs, as well as the types of academic calendars for each program, impact the awarding and disbursing of Title IV assistance. We will provide guidance on the requirement for defining the Title IV academic year for each program and how terms are defined and used for Title IV purposes. This session will also include information about Direct Loan Standard Academic Years (SAY) and a Borrower-Based Academic Years (BBAY). Presented by Byron Scott Download Presentation
7. Title IV Administration for Non-term Credit Hour Programs This session will discuss how to administer Title IV programs for academic programs using a non-term credit hour academic calendar. We will include programs in which the Direct Loan Program must be administered using the rules applicable to non-term programs because the academic calendar has unequal nonstandard terms. The session will include information about determining payment periods based on the academic year definition and proper awarding and disbursing of Title IV funds. Presented by Byron Scott Download Presentation
8. COVID-19: What Now and What Next – An encore presentation from the 2021 FSA Training Conference In this session you will hear information and updates about ED’s COVID-19 higher education policy and related regulatory relief efforts as a result of the federally declared national emergency. Presented by Greg Martin and David Musser Download Presentation
9. FAFSA® Simplification: Use of Federal Tax Information
FAFSA Data Use and Consent (Applicant and Parent/Spouse) - what it means for schools and how they need to operate for consent.
Presented by Dennis Kramer Download Presentation
10. National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS) Website and Capabilities Demo
This session will provide an in depth demo of the new NSLDS website's functionality and capabilities.
Presented by Tina Hansen Download Presentation
12. The Fight Against Fraud: How You Can Help Prevent the Misuse of Education Funds
Listen to experienced criminal investigators from the Office of Inspector General (OIG) unravel the complex world of education fraud investigations. The presenters will discuss real cases and provide examples of fraud indicators to help you detect and prevent potential misuse of ED programs in your institutions. The presenters will also provide guidance on how to report potential fraud to the OIG. A question-and-answer period is planned as part of this presentation. Download Presentation
14.One-Time Income Driven Repayment (IDR) Account Adjustment and Fresh Start Initiatives
In this session, we will discuss the details of two exciting initiatives at Federal Student Aid: One-Time Income Driven Repayment (IDR) Account Adjustment and Fresh Start. The one-time IDR account adjustment will include a discussion of how FSA is conducting a onetime revision of every borrower’s IDR payment counter, permanently fixing IDR payment counting going forward and processing expedited loan forgiveness for impacted borrowers. We will also explore the impact of Fresh Start to both defaulted borrowers and to the Title IV community. Presented by Bruce Honer Download Presentation
15. 2024-25 FAFSA Processing/FAA Access Changes
The 2024-25 FAFSA processing session will cover changes to interfaces, outputs, and data of the FAFSA process along with changes and enhancements to FAA Access.
Presented by Rachel Coghland and Renee Wade Download Presentation
16. 2024-25 FAFSA Form/Experience Changes
FSA will provide an overview of planned changes to the 2024-25 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA®) form resulting from the FUTURE Act and FAFSA Simplification Act. This session will discuss the new FAFSA user experience and related updates, including a replacement of the IRS Data Retrieval Tool (IRS DRT) starting in 2024-25 and new user consent requirements for data sharing.
Presented by Manal Farooq and Kellis Robbins Download Presentation
17. StudentAid.gov Walkthrough and Upcoming Attractions
Get the latest information and updates on FSA’s key customer platform— StudentAid.gov. In this session, we will provide an overview of the website; and we will walk through features that continue to advance the vision of a more personalized, user-friendly experience for parents, students, and borrowers. We will also highlight improvements you and other FSA customers can expect in the future. Our focus is on highlights we would like FAAs to know about.
Presented by Tait Chamberlain and Nick Dvorscak Download Presentation
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18. Regulatory Update - Session 1
During this session, the Office of Postsecondary Education will discuss the proposed rule on topics including borrower defense, loan discharges, the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program, and pre-dispute arbitration. Presented by Tamy Abernathy and Rene Tiongquico Download Presentation
Regulatory Update - Session 2
During this session, the Office of Postsecondary Education will discuss the proposed rules on topics including prison education programs, changes in ownership, income-driven repayment plans, and the 90/10 rule.
Presented by Richard Blasen, and Gregory Martin Download Presentation
20. The Clery Act and Campus Safety and Security: What’s New
Campus safety continues to be a major issue for every school, large or small, urban, suburban, or rural, public or private. Ensuring that your safety program covers the everdeveloping risks on your campus is an essential part of your school’s overall risk management strategy and is one of the best ways to protect your “brand.” In this session, among other things, you will learn how to comply with the Clery Act’s requirements on sexual assault prevention and response and hate crime reporting and prevention. The focus will be on recent developments in the space and trends on campuses. Participants will also receive practical advice and effective strategies for developing and implementing vital campus safety and crime prevention policies, procedures, and programs.
Presented by Anna Archila, James Moore Download Presentation
21. Cohort Default Rate (CDR) Information Session
Federal student loans payments have been on pause for over two years. During this time, student loan borrowers have been exempted from making payments and the majority of schools have been exempted from any negative impacts on their CDRs. This pause reflects the significant decrease in the national CDR for the past few CDR cycles. This session will be a brief discussion to address the importance of reviewing the IHE Loan Record Detail Report (LRDR) postrelease of the draft and official CDRs. Also, we will emphasize the importance of reaching out to borrowers to provide them with loan repayment options before they go into default. We believe this session will better prepare schools with the tools to manage the possible increase in default rates in the coming years. With a thorough review of the LRDR and strong borrower contact initiative, a school may pre-empt a high CDR in the forthcoming Fiscal Years.
Presented by Marcus DeCosta and Kecia Merrick-Ross Download Presentation
22. FSA Partner Connect: Coming In 2023
Let's take a closer look at changes coming to Partner Connect in the next year! This winter, Partner Connect will be updated to include the new and approved e-App; the new Third Party Inquiry Form; and case management features to manage oversight actions with FSA. Next spring, Partner Connect will launch an updated version of the FSA Training Conference website that is designed to make it easier to access details about the annual conference. In the fall of 2023, Partner Connect will launch an improved account access management center and retire the existing Student Aid Internet Gateway web enrollment site. Hear about these exciting changes and ask questions about Partner Connect.
Presented by Trey Harrison and Amber Johnson Download Presentation
Learning Module Sessions
LMS1. Return of Title IV Funds (R2T4) - Essentials
We will discuss key definitions, provide a high-level overview of the R2T4 calculation steps, and address important concepts and time frames that take place throughout the R2T4 calculation. Topics include withdrawal dates, dates of determination, postwithdrawal disbursements, and grant overpayments. This session will also address some of the most popular R2T4 topics, including institutional charges, aid that could have been disbursed, and more!
Presented by: David Bartlett Download Presentation
LMS2. Return of Title IV Funds (R2T4) - Modules
We will define modules and withdrawals and then provide details on how module situations impact the R2T4 process. We will review examples of withdrawal scenarios in detail. The new R2T4 regulations effective July 1, 2021, will be discussed.
Presented by: Anita Olivencia Download Presentation
LMS3. Return of Title IV Funds (R2T4) - Clock Hours
The return of Title IV (R2T4) funds is an essential process on your campus. Please join us for this session which will focus on the R2T4 requirements for schools that have students enrolled in clock-hour programs.
Presented by: David Bartlett Download Presentation
LMS4. From Announcements to Regulations: Finding Answers Using FSA Resources
Financial Aid Administrators must know how to find and navigate various FSA resources to do their jobs effectively. teaches you “how to fish” for the answers you need. This session We will dive deep into a variety of resources on the Knowledge Center including the Electroni c Code of Federal Regulations (eCFR), the FSA Handbook, and more!
Presented by: Sara Vancil Download Presentation
Foreign Schools
FS1. Importing ISIRs Into EDExpress for Foreign Schools
THIS SESSION IS FOR FOREIGN SCHOOLS ONLY. Many foreign schools are not receiving Institutional Student Information Records (ISIRs) from the U.S. Department of Education (ED) electronically. Instead, they are relying on Student Aid Reports (SARs) from students or FAA Access to CPS Online. Receiving ISIRs electronically from ED enables schools to obtain current information about student eligibility.This session will provide introductory information on how to import and manage ISIRs using ED’s free EDExpress software.
Presented by: Byron Scott Download Presentation
