Region 1 Regional Notes/Report

Notes/Report: DATE: January 1, 2006 - REGION 1 MInutes 9/28/06 NYSFAAA Region 1 Meeting 9/28/06 Houghton College Minutes Attendance: Kevin Ryan University at Buffalo Carrie Newman Nelnet Stephanie Atti D’Youville College Abby Lisner Nellie Mae Kayann Gutekunst Houghton College Marc Woolf HESC Darcie Stephens Bank of America Mary Jo Brockel St. Bonaventure University Troy Martin Houghton College Laura Worley Citibank Debi Mansour Citibank Katrina Delgrosso Nellie Mae Sherrie Sheppard HSBC Leigh Fiorenzo M&T Bank Karen Blackenburg Wachovia Brian Levy Student Loan Xpress Dan Dunn Student Capital Corporation Anne Barton NSLP Jack Rafferty HESC Rachel Barker AFC Dawn Langdon HESC Diane Sturzenbecker Jamestown Business College Kristen Carey AFC Brent McEnroe University at Buffalo Jerome Moss Key Bank Sandy Stevenson First Niagara Bank Kathleen O’Connell M&T Bank Thanks to Troy Martin for having the meeting at Houghton College Meetings and General Information: • Please utilize the calendar regarding events and meeting times located at the NYSFAAA Website • 2006-07 Meetings: o October-10/26 Hilbert College o November is the Conference- No meeting o December tentatively 12/12 or 12/19 or 12/20 o January -No meeting, o February-2/22- Location TBA o March 3/15 Canisius College o April -4/5-Buffalo State College o May 5/24-St. Bonaventure University- • Please continue to check the calendar for updates and training. Sponsorship: • Katrina is development chair-sponsorship will take place once a year for NYSFAAA-support staff workshop is under state funding & school counselor workshop. There is now a regional training account • Abby-at this time we have not received information from our new state treasurer-it should be forthcoming. • Anyone planning events and if you need vendor information-visit NYSFAAA website for information. Be sure to thank lenders (Katrina). • The process for receiving funding from the regional training account is being worked out. We may have to request the amount, and then the funds will be pulled from the account set up for NYSFAAA regional events. This is to streamline the process and try to make it fair for all regions with the funding. • Kevin reiterated that we are a non- profit-NYSFAAA and Region 1 is following appropriate steps. December Meeting: Laura • Suggested sites : Salvatore’s, Tempo, Shanghai Reds-Laura will look into the location for the meeting. Any suggestions welcomed • Kevin suggested we do the Toys for Tots again this year and everyone agreed. There will be a $10 limit again. • December meeting-funds possibly set aside for the event-Kevin will research Lake Placid Conference: Brian Levy and Karen Blackenburg • 19 people from Region 1 taking the bus for the conference; ECC North behind Building S lot 10 or 8-try to park by a light pole-off from Werhle (Karen and Rachel) • Karen reminded us that if you would like to change the decision to ride the bus you can, do that via the NYSFAAA website. Looking for a bus captain-any volunteers contact Karen B. • Kristen announced the 5k Run/Walk is Tuesday morning 7am either run or walk-$10, the funds will be collected at the event and the money goes to the Cleary Education Foundation. • Brain announced that the Best Western is now sold out-the Hilton is the only hotel that has availability • Tuesday night-is Jersey Night and be sure to wear a team hockey jersey Future Conference Locations and Discussions: Kevin Ryan • 2008 & 2010 in Buffalo, NY at the Adam’s Mark • 2009 Saratoga; • Maybe 2012 in Buffalo-under discussion because all places need to be able to accommodate the conferences. Suggested that Niagara Falls be evaluated after EASFAA conference is completed. Admissions Advisor Workshop: Kevin Ryan • If you would like to chair or co-chair the Admissions Advisor Workshop for the 2007- 2008 year. Contact Kevin Ryan. • We need a Regional Training development representative from Region 1-contact Kevin if you would like to be considered. • Kevin will speak with Maria Barlaman for what the position entails. High School Counselor Workshop: Brian Levy 11/16 Classics V Restaurant 11/17 St. Bonaventure University • Possible Topics: Public school vs. private schools-contact Brian Levy or Kathy at NCCC if you would like to help. • Middle school counselors will not be invited because of spacing issues and Buffalo region has great participation Membership Report – Carrie Newman • Membership-June 30, 2006 1417 in our organization • Anne mentioned the Long Island Conference may have increased NYSFAAA membership because of the day trippers from that area. • Region 1 our membership is currently 210 (162 actually signed up)-The conference may increase our region membership. • Karen asked if those who are not members or don’t renew-will there be a reach out to those? Carrie-will try to target those. • Carrie stated there might be membership changes in the near future regarding those who can be members of NYSFAAA More information forthcoming. Anne stated that this is to protect the integrity of our organization. Newsletter: • Laura state that we need to submit articles for fall 2006 as soon as possible. State and Federal Capital Visits: • Carrie discussed the possibility of visiting the capital from the regions. Would NYSFAAA support a bus trip and training for this when they visit in February. Kevin will follow up with Jim V to see about training and NYSFAAA might be able to assist with funding a bus to head for the hill. News and Updates: • Anne stated on 10/4/06 NSLP how to pay for college web cast and you can still register for it. • SUNY Geneseo-Senior Financial Aid Advisor position available- • Assistant Director at Nazareth College Round Table: • ACG/ SMART Grant discussions-all files, eliminated PELL first, then determined who would be eligible • Kevin-student who entered UB with 30 credit hours as a new student because he took college classes in high school, not eligible- Troy Houghton-Admissions would review to let financial aid know-How do you get the money?-not until December or January to submit request for funds (Diane). • Some students self-identified, but a small number • Federal training in Syracuse at Syracuse University-10/17/06 Training-IFAP Dept. of Ed Training • Nomination requests for the NYSFAAA Scholarship-is region 1 submitting a good share of applications for the scholarship-also a refresher for nominations for our region • Inner city school students may not file for financial aid or attend because they think they may not qualify-as an organization should be promote or provide a workshop to reach this population? Kevin - Stephanie-GEAR UP • Medaille College is hosting College Bowl Sunday-to help prospective students who may not consider college-February 2007-Rachel-Laura-it is federally funded, NYSFAAA doesn’t contribute at this time HESC Update-September 2006- Jack Rafferty HESC Web Site HESC will soon announce improvements to the HESC Web site, which will include three links on our homepage for Students/Families, College Administrators, and Lenders. These portals will lead to areas of interest depending on the link chosen. Students and Families will be able to click on a link, which will bring them directly to the page that will allow them to easily choose the required task, such as the e-MPN process, completing TAP on the Web, or login to HESC to check the status of their TAP or loans, etc. To avoid any confusion for the schools and students, HESC will insert a new flyer with the school or HESC loan wrap indicating the HESC Web screens have changed and may be different from the instructions printed on the enclosed wrap. The bookmarks used by schools and lenders to send borrowers to the HESC e-MPN process will also change. These bookmarks will be available with the formal announcement of the new Web site. Financial Literacy Tools for Students HESC recently unveiled new financial literacy tools, which focus on our Financial Awareness and Consumer Training for Students (FACTS) program. FACTS is a financial literacy curriculum for students which are presented as modules, each targeted toward a different age level or concentration. The presentations are rich in content, yet easy to understand, and the respective literacy modules can be downloaded at any time. For more information, visit the “What’s New” link at www.hesc.org. Grants and Scholarship/TAP Update Consolidated Scholarship Roster and Scholarship Remittance Advice The following is summarized in HESC Financial Aid Services Bulletin 2006-010: Beginning with the 2006-07 academic year, the Consolidated Scholarship Roster/CSR (SU8069) used to certify eligibility and process payments, and the Consolidated Scholarship Remittance Advice/CSRA (SU8071) can be viewed and printed via the HESC Web site. Therefore CSR’s will no longer be mailed to schools. CSR’s are completed and submitted to HESC by the TAP certifying officer. The CSR is similar to the traditional TAP Certification Roster and is the new certification document for scholarships paid outside the TAP process. The CSR displays the scholarship identification number, name, award amounts and eligibility points for each student. Students holding more than one scholarship/grant will have a separate line entry for each program and each one must be certified. The CSR report is not available as an electronic file. The CSRA displays all certification activity for a particular Consolidated Scholarship Roster and an itemized list of total dollars paid for each scholarship, supplemental payments to schools as well as refund amounts which must be returned to HESC. The CSRA report is not available as an electronic file. For more information regarding the Consolidated Scholarship Roster Process, contact John DeFazio at jdefazio@hesc.com. September Grants and Scholarships/TAP Schedule HESC recently posted the September Grants and Scholarships/TAP Schedule for Rosters, Remittance Advices, Accounting Documents and Student Status Listings. Also, as a reminder, the 2005-06 State Budget requires that payments for accelerated study be deferred until October 1, 2006. The September 2006 schedule is as follows: September 1st 2006-07 Remittance Advice/Accounting Documents 2006-07 Student Status Listing September 2nd 2005-06 Remittance Advice/Accounting Documents September 6th 2005-06 Remittance Advice/Accounting Documents (Deferred Payment of Accelerated Study*) September 8th 2006-07 Remittance Advice/Accounting Documents 2006-07 Student Status Listing September 12th 2005-06 Student Status Listing September 13th 2006-07 Roster September 15th 2005-06 Remittance Advice/Accounting Documents 2006-07 Student Status Listing September 22nd 2006-07 Remittance Advice/Accounting Documents 2006-07 Student Status Listing September 27th 2005-06 Roster September 29th 2005-06 Remittance Advice/Accounting Documents 2006-07 Student Status Listing Files will be available for retrieval the following morning. Payments will be mailed or electronically transferred within three to five weeks of the date of the associated Roster or Accounting Documents. Reports will be available for printing and viewing on the HESC website. Loan Processing Changes HESC recently moved the following changes to production: Stafford and PLUS loans, Guarantee and Print (GP) Serial Loan Code Some schools require their borrowers complete a new MPN for each loan. Schools indicate this by sending a “N” (New) in the Serial Loan field in the CommonLine (CL) Application Send file. Schools are finding borrowers are completing a new MPN before the schools sends their certifications in the Application Send file. Since the school has indicated these records required a new MPN, the borrower is contacted to complete a new MPN. To assist schools and borrowers, HESC changed the loan processing program to find the new MPN the borrower has already completed. The system can be set up to look back a specific number of days to find an MPN completed by the borrower. Change effective August 2006: PLUS Credit Check and eMPN HESC changed the PLUS Credit Check and e-MPN process to allow borrowers to complete an e-MPN when their credit check is denied. If the borrower requests a “second look” and credit is subsequently approved, the loan may be processed since an e-MPN is on file. For more information on Loan Processing Updates for the 2006/07 Academic Year, please refer to Financial Aid Services Bulletin 2006 – 007. Treasurers Report- Brent McEnroe 5/9/06 Ending Balance $4,039.79. 5/15/06 Minus: Check #488 $110.00 Auxilary Services (ECC South Region 1 Meeting 4/20/06) $110.00 Equals: $3929.79 6/08/06 Minus: Check Image Fee $2.00 Equals: $3,927.79 6/12/06 Minus: Check #489 $215.00 Sodexho (Buffalo State College Region 1 Meeting 5/18/06) Equals: $3,712.79 6/28/06 Minus: Check #491 $1,495.40 Buffalo Charter Inc. (Region 1 Meeting 6/28/06) Equals: $2,217.39 Minus: Check #492 $454.79 Reimbursement Admissions Staff Workshop Materials (Kevin Ryan) Equals: $1,762.60 7/07/06 Minus: Check #493 $1,100.00 Classics V Admissions Advisor Workshop 6/26/06 Equals: $662.60 Minus: Check Image Fee $2.00 Equals: $660.60 7/14/06 Plus: Deposit $490.00 Members fee for June 28, 2006 Region 1 Meeting Equals: $1,150.60 Plus: Deposit $90.00 Members fee for June 28, 2006 Region 1 Meeting Equals: $1,240.60 7/19/06 Minus: Check #490 $34.00 University at Buffalo FSA (Admissions Workshop Meeting 6/12/06) Equals: $1,206.60 8/07/06 Plus: Deposit $1,776.00 From NYSFAAA (Training Funds) Equals: $2,982.60 8/08/06 Minus: Check Image Fee $2.00 Equals: $2,980.60 Balance as of 08/08/06 Equals: $2,980.60 Executive Council Report- Kevin • Kevin noted that Executive Council meetings are open, check the calendar and know that you can participate. NYSFAAA Executive Council Meeting-September 14 – 15, 2006 Conference Report – There will be one bus from Buffalo area and one bus from Long Island. A shuttle between hotels will be provided. There is still availability at the Best Western and Hilton Hotels. A 5K run/walk will be held one morning with proceeds going to local charity. 3 ½ days of solid program. President’s Report – A Diversity Committee formed. *Conferences – 2007 NYC – Is there interest from the region for a bus? 2008/2010 Adams Mark 2009 Saratoga *Proposal for 2012 Conference back to Adams Mark – they are making a terrific deal at current prices – Space situation for hotels in the state is the problem – can’t accommodate our size group *Need reaction from district – need to get back to Executive Council. (Region 1 would not be responsible for it at this date) Region reports were given – Janet gave report for Region 1 and also report on excellent Admissions Financial Aid Workshop given by Region 1(folders available) NYSFAAA will help regions put this on. It has not been budgeted for this year for a state-wide event. If regions are interested in pursuing this as state-wide will be considered for next year. Rochester Business Institute name changed to Everest Institute as of Oct 9, 2006 Region 5 is exploring doing a meeting on the Web Development committee – submitted recommendations for NYSFAAA activity (list serve and training) by vendors and vendor sponsorship. Passed by Executive Council and will be posted on the web. *Katrina DelGrosso is committee chair and will be at NYSFAAA meeting. Guidance Counselor Workshops – Important to review requirements for ACG/SMART grants and get information to local guidance counselor organizations so that students are taking specific courses for qualification. Regions to decide on need of middle school counselors invited or a separate conference. There are over 1600 middle school counselors. Membership Committee – June 30, 2006 total membership 1417 (up 17% over previous year). Mass email reminders were sent for conference and membership payments due. Remind members to pay and renew to NYSFAAA list serve – access ends 11/15/06 Novice Training Workshop – 36th annual workshop was held at SUNY Cobleskill June 2006. 118 novices participated. Overall results were excellent. Some weather (rain, temp not over 55) and campus issues going on at the time, but still a great training workshop. Looking for small group leaders for next year. Some suggestions: Shortening the week; don’t start on Saturday; don’t have free time. President Elect – Executive Council meetings were set as follows: (Put on calendar)* 12/14-15/06 Newburgh 2/5-6/06 Albany 6/13-15/06 TBA 9/10-11/06 TBA 12/13-14/06 TBA Early Awareness Committee – “The Path to College” brochure printed and arrived in time for State Fair. Regions 2,3,4 & and 8 agreed to joint middle school and high school guidance counselor workshop for the Fall. State Fair –. NYSFAAA at the State Fair this year was a huge success. Location was changed and was in front. Very favorable response. Brochures, wrist bands, pamphlets and scholarship information available. POSTED BY: Kevin Ryan