REGION 2 MEETING

FEBRUARY 15, 2006

M&T BANK

 

 

Attendance:

 

Cayuga-Onondaga BOCES & MSLOSPN:  Toni Greenlee

Chase Education Finance:  Michael Woody

Citibank:  Debi Mansour, Laura Worley

Continental School of Beauty:  Charla Buckner

Fifth Third Bank:  Marc Woolf

Finger Lakes Community College:  Nancy VanZetta

Genesee Community College:  Joe Bailey

HSBC Bank:  Sherrie Sheppard

Key Bank:  Kathleen O’Connell

Monroe Community College:  Mark Schwartz, Jerome St. Croix

M&T Bank:  Tony Goodwin

Nellie Mae:  Katrina Delgrosso, Abbey Linsner

Nazareth College:  Janice M. Scheutzow

NSLP:  Anne Barton

NYSHESC:  Ed Gilbert

Rochester Business Institute:  Mark Stoll

St. John Fisher College:  Susan Wisniewski, Lisa Hurst

Student Loan Xpress:  Brian Levy

SUNY Brockport:  Nora Bell

University of Rochester Med School:  Margaret Christian

USAFunds:  Debra Eddy

Wachovia:  Karen Blankenburg

 

Treasurer’s Report (Nora Bell):

§          Current balance:  $1,491.93

§          This includes recent revenue sharing check of $815 for the region 2 membership in 0506.

 

Secretary’s Report (Katrina Delgrosso):

§          Minutes from last meeting are on www.nysfaaa.org under Regional News for Region 2.

 

Membership Report (Margaret Christian):

§          No update

§          Call Margaret if you have any membership questions (585-475-4523).  Margaret_christian@urmc.rochester.edu

 

Executive Council Update (Jerome St. Croix & Katrina Delgrosso on behalf of Steve Dodds):

See minutes below these Region 2 minutes.  Other highlights include…

§          In reference to the section regarding Dave Canaski’s President-Elect Report, should we pursue trade marking our logo?  It apparently only costs about $200, but the search is expensive (closer to $1,500?).  Maybe we could have law students in NY work on this as a project?

§          In reference to the 2006 NYSFAAA Conference, the maximum registration will be capped at 550 people.  Also, there will be a survey coming out to see if anyone is interested in riding a bus from Buffalo/Rochester/Syracuse. 

 

HESC Update (Ed Gilbert):

§          Overture product is still available to schools—HESC can provide this free of charge to schools in NY.

§          See HESC Update below these Region 2 meeting minutes.

 

Lender/Vendor Updates:

§          Anne Barton:  NSLP--Federal Deficit Reduction Act web casts will be offered on 2/22 from 11:30 – 1:00 EST and 2/23 from 2:30 – 4:00 EST.  Register at:  http://apps.nslp.org/news/deficitreduction0206.asp

§          In addition, NSLP is offering a “Money Management Counseling” web cast on 3/8 at 2:00 EST.  Register at http://apps.nslp.org/news/moneymanagement0306.asp

§          In addition, NSLP is offering a “Loan Consolidation and Money Management for Students” web cast on 3/15 from 10:00 – 11:00 EST and 2:00 – 3:00 EST.  Register at http://apps.nslp.org/news/nywebcast0306.asp

§          Michael Woody:  Chase purchased Collegiate Funding Services—CFS specializes in loan consolidation. 

§          Debra Eddy:  USAF offering 2 workshops in April.  On 4/4 in Rochester, there will be a retention workshop.  On 4/13 in Syracuse, there will be the spring financial aid workshop.  More information at www.usafunds.org.

 

Committee Updates:

§          Support Staff Workshop (Karen Blankenburg)—haven’t had their first meeting yet.  To be continued…

 

Next Region 2 Meeting and Training:

§          Training at the Region 2 meeting on 3/29 will be on “Neutralizing Your Emotions”—ways to work with stress.  There will be a brief regional meeting, followed by this speaker.  The Executive Council rep can request funds from NYSFAAA for this training program (Steve Dodds, our Exec Council rep, will need to propose this to Exec Council).  The speaker’s cost will be about $400.  The speaker is from the FLCC Institute—Joanne Alibrandi.

 

Updates/Discussions:

§          Region 3 has invited Region 2 to attend the June meeting, which will be the summer outing.  There will be a great motivational speaker, Steve Morgan, who will be doing a presentation from 10:30 am – 12:30 pm and then we will have lunch.  Region 3 is having a quick regional meeting prior to this at 10:00 am and Region 2 could do the same.  NYSFAAA already provided funds for Steve Morgan, so we would just need to determine whether the region can help subsidize some of the cost of the food (breakfast and lunch).  We may try to obtain additional funding from NYSFAAA because if we try to encourage new people to join NYSFAAA, it may be allowable support from NYSFAAA.  Once we know the final cost of the food per person, we can vote on this in Region 2.  No one at the meeting opposed to this idea today.  It seems like a great opportunity.

 

Officer Elections—We Need Your Help!

§          The officer positions of Chair, Secretary and Treasurer are up for election for 0607 through 0708 (2 year commitments).  Executive Council is not up for reelection until next spring as that election is on the opposite year as these other 3 roles. 

§          Joan Shedd is not able to be the Elections Chairperson this spring.  Debi Mansour agreed to run the Election for nominations.  We should aim for nominations by 3/15/06.

§          We need to send notification to the region to nominate people.  You should talk with the person you are nominating to make sure they agree to run for the position.

§          There will be online voting after that.

 

Trainings/Workshops:

§          Tax training:  2/23 in Amherst; sign up by 2/17 on www.nysfaaa.org

§          Fiscal officer training:  register at www.ed.gov/offices/OSFAP/training/index.html

 

CAAN Update (Joe Bailey):

§          East High School FAFSA review took place on 2/7.  There were 20 people in attendance. 

 

Thank you to those who helped out presenting:

§          Nora Bell, SUNY Brockport

§          Nancy VanZetta, Finger Lakes Community College

§          Chris Alonzo, SUNY Brockport

§          Amanda Carter, University of Rochester

§          Andrea Mason, SUNY Geneseo

§          Toni Greenlee, BOCES

§          Andrea Mravlja, University of Rochester

§          Joe Bailey, Genesee Community College

 

Thank you to the vendors who supplied pens, pads, etc.:

§          Sallie Mae

§          Nellie Mae

§          Citibank

§          First Niagara Bank

 

Discussion:

§          Joe Bailey:  There was an article in the Democrat & Chronicle about a month ago regarding Paying for College.  They advertised a service that charges fees to complete the FAFSA—College Assistance Plus out of Honeoye Falls.  This is a continuous battle against these organizations who charge fees.  Verna Hazen, Director of Financial Aid at RIT, was quoted in the article at least, so that is good to have her perspective in the article. 

§          Joe went to their website and apparently, they franchise this business! 

§          Debi Mansour went to one of their presentations and they used scare tactics to get people to pay fees. 

§          Susan Wisniewski had issues at St. John Fisher last year because this group filled out FAFSAs and put student information in the parent section and vice versa.  Some of these families paid up to $1,400 for this service.

 

NYSFAAA Webletter (Laura Worley):

§          Posted today at http://www.nysfaaa.org/docs/toc_newadditions.html

 

Vacant Positions:

§          Finger Lakes Community College—will be posted late April—will be working with loans.

 

Today’s Training—Federal Update/Deficit Reduction Act Changes—moderated by Tony Goodwin, M&T Bank:

§          We had a good discussion regarding the Deficit Reduction Act and what this means to us in the financial aid, lending and guarantor arenas.  All of us will be affected by these changes.

§          There was a drafting error that needs to be corrected because the Direct PLUS loan interest rate (fixed rate) was listed as 7.9%, but it is actually 8.5%, the same as in FFELP PLUS as of 7/1/06.

§          The fixed Stafford rate will be 6.8% as of 7/1/06.

§          Special allowance still in effect for lenders to pay back to the government.

§          Loan origination fees will be phased out by 2010, beginning 7/1/06.

§          Guarantee fee of 1% has to be placed in the federal reserve fund for that guarantor.  That fee can’t be paid by federal funds.  So if the guarantor has other streams of income, they can afford to waive the 1% fee.  However, guarantors won’t necessarily be able to waive this fee long-term.  For a state like New York with so many schools/so much loan volume, this will be challenging to some guarantors—additional pressure to them.

§          Graduate PLUS loans—this will tremendously affect companies who only offer private loans and no other products, because their potential graduate private volume will be diminished as schools offer PLUS to their grad students as opposed to private loans.

§          Loan limit increase is not into affect until 7/1/07 – not 0607.  Freshman will be able to borrow $3,500 and sophomores will be able to borrower $4,500.  Juniors and seniors will remain at $5,500 per year. 

§          4/1/06:  School as lender program is going away.  If you haven’t originated and funded a loan by 4/1/06, then you will not be able to participate in the program.

§          In-school consolidation is no longer available.  You will see a rush on consolidation by 6/30/06. 

§          Spousal consolidation will no longer be available.

§          Single disbursements available to schools now.

§          Smart Grant program—Department working on more information for this.

§          Procedural issues—how will your financial aid management systems be handling the reduction in origination fees over time?  On 7/1/06, the origination fees for FFELP Stafford will be 2% and will go down from there over time.  For Direct Lending schools, the fees will be 3% in 0607 and will go down from there. 

§          Single holder rule will continue—if a lender of record offers consolidation, the student needs to consolidate with that lender.

§          Don’t forget to participate in the web casts that NSLP is offering to discuss the Deficit Reduction Act.  USAF is also offering this.  The more information you can hear, the better. 

 

 

 

 

NYSFAAA EXEC COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES

JANUARY 29-30, 2006

ALBANY, NY

 

 

 

Present:  Sue Aldrich, Rachel Barker, Dave Canaski, Carolyn Corcoran, Steve Dodds, Clair Jacobi, Pat Johnson, Bill Mack, Heather McDonnell, Janet McGrath, Sheryl Mihopulos,  Judi Miladin, Lisa Simpson, Nancy Teodecki, Angela Van Dekker, Sam Veeder,  Joan Warren, Mike Williams, Brenda Wright (Beth Post and Jim Vallee joined us on Monday, January 30th)

 

Unable to Attend:  Maria Barlaam, Sharon Karwowski

 

SECRETARY’S REPORT – Carolyn Corcoran

  • December 2005 meeting minutes were distributed beforehand via email and reviewed for changes/corrections.  Corrections and clarifications were noted and minutes updated accordingly.
  • MOTION; To approve December 2005 meeting minutes as amended; Dodds/McDonnell.  MOTION APPROVED.

 

MOTION; To accept Janet McGrath as new Region 1 representative to Executive Council (Rachel Barker had to resign as accepted new job with lender); McDonnell/Van Dekker.  MOTION APPROVED.

 

TREASURER’S REPORT – Sam Veeder

  • Distributed written report
  • Conference 2005 hotel bill paid
  • Investments are up a little
  • Final summary of 0506 sponsorship distributed
  • Dues are way up
  • CAAN support was down
  • Statewide Training and School Counselor support was way up
  • Revenue sharing checks have been cut but only Regions 3, 6, and 8 checks are in mail as Sam needs quarterly reports from other regions before mailing checks
  • Ready to go with credit card payments on-line; could be used first time with Novice Registration;  here it was emphasized that anytime a region is planning an event involving a fee, Paula at ATAC needs to be informed beforehand and regions need to be using the Events Management function of website
  • Mileage rate changed; prior to 1/1/06 rate was .485 and now is .445

 

VP MEMBERSHIP REPORT – Joan Warren

  • Distributed written report
  • We’re at 1304 members
  • Reminder that every regional officer can go into website and get membership data for his/her respective region

 

VP TRAINING REPORT – Heather McDonnell for Maria Barlaam

  • Update on Jim Briggs Tax Workshops include the following dates/locations:
    • February 23rd in Buffalo at Classic Five  (Kevin Ryan, coordinator)
    • February 22nd in Albany at Charter One Bank (Lisa Simpson)
    • February 21st in NYC at Lincoln Center (Sheryl Mihopulos/A.VanDekker)
    • Jim Briggs has 2/24 open and suggested a Syracuse area site; he also has the week of March 20th open

 

  • Intermediate Training set for Region 5 on March 31st at Italian American Club in Albany
    • Sheryl expressed concern about the 2/21/06 training event as they’re having problems getting event on website.  Suggestion made to coordinate so that regions’ tax workshop registration forms can be put on one form; for now everything should be channeled through Joan and Joan will contact Paula at ATAC; Judi will have Maria do an email to members about tax training information being on website
    • Sam suggested that vendor invoices for these workshops go through Sam and NOT through regional treasuries.  If a deposit or pre-payment is needed, contact Sam and keep Sam and Maria in the loop

 

  • Region 2 (SUNY Brockport) will host Region 1,2,3 Intermediate Training on a date to be announced

 

PRESIDENT’S REPORT – Judi Miladin

  • Signed Novice contract with Cobleskill; attorneys liked the contract as it’s loosely written
  • College Goal Sunday; we’ve been approved for exploratory grant; there will be training in Indianapolis; Judi solicited for state coordinator and has gotten responses.  Judi has asked Wayne Harewood (of CUNY/Kingsborough Community College) to be state coordinator and he’ll be meeting with Ken Storms, HESC’s representative for CG Sunday. 
  • Judi has appointed a committee to establish minimum qualifications for annual conference hotel site.  The committee includes Bruce Wooley, Chair, Lisa Simpson and Janet Grey.  The committee has been asked to report back to Judi by end of February so that she can share their information at April 2006 meeting
  • Kathy Flaherty will assume Chairmanship of Award Committee
  • Katrina Delgrosso will be new Development Chair
  • Earl Tretheway ahs resigned as Communications Chair; Judi has yet to appoint new one and Judi would like suggestions
  • Judi has written several articles for various publications
  • Wrote position paper on budget
  • Made contact with intern at Pierce Law School on trademark registration
  • Working on response to Senate Bill 1832 which is up for re-vote in House next week
  • Met with Cathy Patella on new Gear Up contracts; we are getting last year’s money without having to match it
  • Had a conference call with Nancy Teodecki and Sharon Karwowski on NASFAA award nomination; project pulled together

 

EARLY AWARENESS UPDATE – Nancy Teodecki

  • Has finalized committee; not all regions are represented
  • Had two conference calls meetings in January 2006
  • First project is to send information to middle-school counselors with the theme “Did You Know?” which includes posters and brochures; made contact with NY State Middle School Association
  • Second project is to plan for workshops for middle-school counselors; committee wants to focus first on getting information to middle-school counselors
  • 3000 more wristbands were ordered; holding for State Fair or if regions want some for regional events, they can contact Nancy
  • Nancy submitted information on costs for posters, brochures and was again advised not to let money stand in her committee’s way
  • They will meet the February 28th deadline for NASFAA award submission

 

NOVICE TRAINING UPDATE – Lisa Simpson, Bill Mack, Heather McDonnell

  • Committee met prior to Council meeting on January 29th
  • Details for 2006:  site is SUNY Cobleskill from June 3rd through June 9th
  • Participation will be capped at 120
  • They’re going with 12 small group leaders vs. 11 used last year
  • Received 8 applications for small group leader position
  • Joan clarified for Novice Committee that the earliest someone can register for membership for 0607 is April 1st

 

STATE FAIR UPDATE – No update

 

SCHOOL COUNSELOR WORKSHOP UPDATE – Pat Johnson

  • December 8th and 9th workshops had to be postponed due to weather; Region 6 had to reschedule for a February date and Region 4 has a workshop rescheduled in January
  • Pat is waiting for final reports from Regions 5 and 7
  • Idea was raised of  having a breakout session/workshop at statewide school counselor conference
  • Short discussion on giveaways at school counselor workshops; Pat will clarify with committee that regions need to keep monetary amount at a reasonable level and that regions need to exercise good judgment

 

PRESIDENT- ELECT REPORT – Dave Canaski

o        Dave pointed out that currently there’s no policy on membership management; discussion began.  Joan described what she currently does when receives new membership registration; she notifies applicants via email if they appear to be eligible for membership or not.  Joan has ability to cancel the membership application and suggested leaving the “unaffiliated” option on application

o        Dave presented a new proposed new policy with the purpose of managing the membership of the organization.  The proposed policy would mandate that “NYSFAAA will ensure that the membership is limited to those individuals who are actively engaged in (or retired from) student financial aid administration, and those others whose career interests are consistent with the organization’s principles, values and goals.” Extensive discussion followed and amendments were made to the proposed procedures to be used for enforcing this policy. The following procedures were agreed upon:

o        The Vice President for Membership is responsible for creating and maintaining a membership application process/system that operates in a manner consistent with the NYSFAAA constitution, by-laws, and this policy

o        All applicants for membership shall be required to list their employer’s name as part of the membership application process

o        Members are required to notify the Vice President upon any change in employer.  The Vice President will determine whether the individual’s membership status is affected by the change

o        Membership is limited to individuals employed at post-secondary educational institutions, retirees from those institutions, or employees of other entities approved by the Council.

o        The Vice President shall maintain a list (database) of all employers meeting the above criteria

o        An applicant whose employer is not on the approved list shall be asked to provide the Vice President with a written request for approval by the Council, which shall include an explanation of how the employer’s values, goals and actions are consistent with those of NYSFAAA.  The Vice President will distribute the request to the Council by the following Council meeting, where discussion and a vote will occur.

o        Any elected member of the Council has the right to petition for a re-evaluation of a previously-approved employer.  The Council member shall present to the Vice President, a written request for re-evaluation by the Council, which shall include a detailed explanation of why the Council member believes the employer’s values, goals, and/or actions are inconsistent with those of NYSFAAA.  The Vice President will distribute the request to the Council by the following Council meeting, where discussion and a vote will occur.

o        MOTION:   To approve the policy as written, with amendments; McDonnell/Veeder.  MOTION APPROVED UNANIMOUSLY.

o        MOTION:  That Council approves, under the new policy, all of the existing lenders, agencies, and servicers, as they exist in the current membership database.  All primary and secondary schools not in the current database are also approved; Canaski/McDonnell.  MOTION APPROVED.

o        Discussion on Joan’s list of “consultants” to determine if there’s a problem with their services being inconsistent with NYSFAAA mission.  There was extensive discussion on the process to be used for agencies to present how their services compare to mission of NYSFAAA

o        MOTION:  To approve the following entities under new membership policy:  American Credit Alliance Inc., Overture, SCT, College Board, CICU, Financial Aid Services, Inc., Adrienne King, MJS Associates, Noel-Levitz and The Spelman & Johnson Group; Canaski/McDonnell.  MOTION APPROVED.

o        Reference back to December 2005 meeting discussion on fundraising and issues involved related to our tax-exempt status and our mission/purpose;  fundraising going on at regional level is problematic and in violation of current policies and procedures; it was clarified that neither are regions or committees allowed to fundraise.  Brainstorming/discussion on the budget process that should be used for committee and regional budgets and how they currently get their funds

o        Sam predicted that it will be painful for Regional Chairs to have to go out and plan a budget a year in advance

o        Sam pointed out the other concern is giving appropriate credit to the vendors for their support

o        It was agreed that we need additional thought on budget process

o        MOTION:  To accept, as amended, the amendments, Sponsors and Vendors, Tax Exempt Status, and federal tax return; McDonnell/Dodds.  MOTION APPROVED.

o        Dave announced that he needs Council representatives to solicit from their regions for volunteer to serve on statewide election committee; the goal is to solicit support for people to run for statewide offices

o        Dave also encouraged Council rep’s to get their regional meetings out on the NYSFAAA website calendar as he’s trying to arrange to visit regional meetings in each region and if they’re on the calendar, it’s obviously easier to arrange

 

CONFERENCE 2007 REPORT – Clair Jacobi

  • Thanked Judi for support allowing Tony Olivera to continue as Co-Chair
  • Asked to have Conference 2005 Report as soon as possible as would be a better reference for budget making for 2007
    • Sheryl Mihopolus and Patty Herbst are trying to help Gail Drapala to get final report done for Conference 2005
    • Discussion on Conference 2005 and getting its final report
  • Bill Mack and Christine Falzaramo (Pace U.) are Co-Chairs of 2007 Program Committee; only people on the Program Committee are school aid people; plan is to focus on having a lot of federal staff there (USED, OIG, etc)
  • Theme will remain “NYSFAAA on Broadway” (there’s no concern with that)
  • All other committees have co-chairs identified
  • Sunday will be “Pre-Conference” Day for NYSFAAA/EASFAA training/ Novice/Non-Traditional Concerns (longer topics reserved for Sunday)
  • Monday will be first official day of conference and vendors set up for Monday
  • Joan emphasized that it’s important to get Co-Chair and Committee leader names and contact information on the website

 

GRADUATE CONCERNS UPDATE – Patrick Ziegler

  • Committee has no budget yet; has been inactive for awhile so co-chairs have been considering instead of doing workshops around the state, having a pre-conference event/session would be good way to re-introduce committee;  Sue and Carolyn informed Patrick that Conference 2006 is planning a pre-conference graduate symposium and that he’d be hearing soon from Program Committee Co-Chairs
  • Patrick talked about doing some type of graduate-related training prior to July 1st; Sam suggested that Patrick contact Maria Barlaam about coordinating and Sam told Patrick that budget is not a concern
  • Angela indicated that there’s been some interest in Region 6 for Health Professions-related training and Nancy Teodecki agreed; suggested that a survey be done statewide to measure interest in health-related training

 

COLLEGE GOAL SUNDAY UPDATE – Ken Storms, HESC

  • This is a Lumina Foundation grant-funded program.  Ken’s proposal to Lumina was to try to target population that is not using electronic aid  processes; he wants NYSFAAA to be a leading partner to help to get this population into the electronic aid process
  • Wayne Harewood is Statewide Coordinator
  • Ken will be putting together an Advisory Council that will include other agencies/partners to help; clarified is not trying to duplicate other organizations’ services but to try and service populations that aren’t being serviced
  • Judi asked Ken to clarify that the exploratory grant for this year is not a guarantee for future funding and Ken agreed that that’s probably true
  • Judi will share with EC representatives, the folks in their regions who have volunteered to help

 

 

REGIONAL REPORTS

  • Reports were given verbally and will be posted to the website for each region
  • Region 3 is requesting $1200 for June 2006 training (Steve Morgan is speaker); they’re inviting Regions 1 and 2 to the training
  • MOTION; That we approve $1200 in funding for June 2006 Region 3 training.  Canaski/Dodds; Motion approved.

 

 

HESC UPDATE – Tom Dalton

  • 192 applications received for Training Grants; deadline extended to 2/17/06.  Application numbers are running same as last year
  • They are closing out the year for Grants/Scholarships for 2004-2005; all outstanding cases need to be resolved by 2/14/05
  • Tom was asked to clarify whether HESC will allow for Professional Judgement       for TAP cases for 06-07 (there was thought/discussion from a Region 2 Regional Meeting where some members were thinking that would be the case).  Tom clarified that PJ will  NOT be allowed for 0607 TAP determinations
  • HESC has a new “Loan Consolidation” center on their website for information; also a new “Military Corner” with links
  • HESC Pin will also now be used for EMPN process; this change is effective as of May 15, 2006
  • Notice of Guarantee will now (as of 2/1/2006) be sent via email to borrower (was formerly sent to the FAFSA email address)
  • Dave commented that the email notification from HESC to students about applying for TAP on the WEB was considered questionable by some students; he wondered if there’s a more secure way to notify students as some students who got the HESC email suspected it was a phishing scheme.  Tom agreed that he’d bring the issue back as a concern and see if it could be resolved

 

 

CONFERENCE 2006 UPDATE – Beth Turner, Kerrie Cooper, Anne DelPlato, and Joe Martinkovic

  • Survey done to vending community about “dinner on own” vs. “NYSFAAA On Ice” option; survey result was NYSFAAA On Ice option won 17-5
  • Publicity Committee sent photos for website to ATAC
  • Entertainment will tie in student talent from area colleges (music, massage therapy)
  • Steering Committee talks often via conference calling
  • Program Highlights:  Dr. Ibraham Gambari, the U.N. Under Secretary and former SUNY Albany professor has agreed to speak; we will have an Opening Ceremony to highlight the different regions of NYSFAAA.  Also planning for a Presidents Panel to represent each sector.  Ethan Zohn of Survivor series will be luncheon speaker.  Session times will be 60 minutes. Program Committee has been looking at the “best of” sessions from other state and regional conferences.  A Graduate Symposium will be Pre-Conference event and Program Committee is reaching out to co-chairs of Graduate Concerns Committee
  • Conference budget was distributed and discussion occurred on maximum capacity of hotel, how vendor site will be based, and emphasis on communicating well with both vendors and registrants.  Joan suggested a late registration AND a late payment fee; suggestion made that payments should be due no later than one week before conference
  • Dave asked if the Conference 2006 budget has taken into consideration the lost revenue for those who pay via credit card and the answer was it has not.  Comments made that we shouldn’t have credit card usage affect Conference 2006 but chalk it up for now as cost of doing business and see how it impacts other NYSFAAA events
  • MOTION:  To accept Conference 2006 report and set registration fee at $250, as well as a late registration fee of $50 and a late payment fee of $50.  McDonnell/Mihopulos.  MOTION APPROVED.

 

GOVERNMENT RELATIONS UPDATE – Bill Cavin, Jim Vallee, Beth Post

  • Bill Cavin provided an update on the Legislative Training which is taking place on Wednesday, February 1st; presenters are reviewing their presentation today and everything is set.  There are approximately 25 registrants including 3 Assemblymen and 1 Senator (all from downstate).  Council rep’s can leave invitations with our Assembly/Senate rep’s during our visits with them on Tuesday.  Abe Blackman, President of CICU will speak and there’ll be a 2 hour training broken into 20 to 30 minute sessions.  The Committee will follow up with registrants to see if there’s interest in more training at other times of year.  Bill agreed to Angela’s suggestion to put the training on the website
  • A draft of NYSFAAA’s position paper that was done by Judi was distributed for discussion and input.  A sub-committee met after the full meeting to come up with final position paper (to be available on website for all members to see)
  • Jim indicated that Gov’t Relations Committee is headed back to Washington in late February  and that the Committee is sending 6 members to the Legislative Forum in Albany on February 13th and 14th
  • Beth Post distributed the visit schedules that she had arranged for Council members to meet with their regional Asssemblymen/Senators.  Folders also passed out containing necessary NYSFAAA literature

 

EASFAA UPDATE – Tom Dalton

  • Ballots will be on-line by end of this week
  • There are 2 NY candidates on the ballot for President-Elect; Cathy Patella and Bill Cheetham

 

NEXT COUNCIL MEETING – April 20th and 21st at Crowne Plaza in Lake Placid

 

MOTION:  To adjourn at 4:05 pm; Aldrich/Dodds.  MOTION APPROVED.

 

 

 

HESC Update/February 2006 (Ed Gilbert):

2004-05 Closeout

 

HESC has begun to closeout certifications for the 2004-05 academic year that ended on June 30, 2005.   Please be advised that all 2004-05 student certification information related to TAP payment rosters 001-029, must be submitted before February 14, 2006.  Students left pending after that date will be decertified by HESC.  To review students you may still have pending for 2004-05, use the following link to HESC’s Transaction Processing, https://web.hesc.org/hescweb/main.

 

For assistance, contact John DeFazio at (518) 474-3608.

 

APTS Improvements

 

HESC is pleased to announce two new Web pages and two new reports, to support schools in the processing of Aid For Part-Time Study (APTS).

 

Schools now have the capability to View/Update APTS Transactions related to the Initial Recipients List, Replacement/Deletion List and the Roster of Recipients.  Change APTS Student Social Security Number and certify that student using the new APTS Web certification pages.

 

The two new reports are HE8393 APTS Daily Pull College Error Report and HE 8364 APTS Adjustment Report. Schools have the ability to access the reports to identify errors in APTS transactions previously submitted.  These pages can also be used to make adjustments to student awards.

 

Schools may access these new features using the same method currently used to access Web pages and reports.  Help Text is available by clicking on the “Working With APTS Transactions” link.

 

Questions regarding these enhancements should be directed to Chrissy Peter at (518) 474-7388 or cpeter@hesc.org.

 

TAP 2006-07 College Data Survey

 

HESC recently notified the financial aid community the 2006-07 College Data Survey on the Web is now available.  Formerly, in paper form, known as the TAP Payment Survey, this on-line version is designed to collect school information for the Tuition Assistance Program (TAP), Aid for Part-time Study (APTS) and scholarship processing.  The survey can be updated only by TAP certifying officers.

 

To access the survey, select Transaction Processing and click on Grants and Scholarships.  Sign onto the password protected area of HESC's Web site by entering your User ID and password.  Click on the College tab and select either View/Update College Data or List College Codes by Federal Code.  TAP Certifying Officers are required to view the data displayed with the new 2006 Web pages and update information as needed. 

February TAP Schedule

 

The following schedule includes the anticipated date of Rosters, Remittance Advices, Accounting Documents and Student Status Listings for February 2006.  If HESC is unable to meet the scheduled date of any of the listed reports, we will send an e-mail update.

 

The February 2006 schedule is as follows:

 

February 1                                                                                                     February 3

2004-05 Roster                                                                                                              2005-06 Remittance Advice (RA)

                                                                                                                                                                2005-06 Student Status Listing

 

February 7                                                                                                     February 8

2004-05 Student Status Listing                                                                  2006-07 Preliminary Student Status Listing

 

February 10                                                                                                   February 14

2005-06 RA/Accounting Documents                                                        2004-05 RA/Accounting Documents

2005-06 Student Status Listing                                                                  2004-05 Student Status Listing

 

February 15                                                                                                   February 17

2005-06 Roster                                                                                                              2005-06 Remittance Advice

                                                                                                                                                                2005-06 Student Status Listing

February 24

2005-06 RA/Accounting Documents

2005-06 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 at:  https://web.hesc.org/hescweb/main.  If you are authorized to access this data, you will be required to log on with your HESC User ID and password.  For assistance in obtaining a User ID and password, contact HESC’s Help Desk at 1-888-NYS-HESC (1-888-697-4372).

 

New Military Corner on HESC Web

 

The Military Corner was created to provide information to address the following:

 

·Active duty or returning from active duty due to a military mobilization, need to withdraw from school or return to school, and want to know how to handle their student loans.

 

·Veterans and their families about New York State grants, scholarships, and other benefits that may help them further their education.

 

·Provides information and links to other Web sites for those who are in the United States Armed Forces or a veteran and are looking for a way to pay for their education.

 

·If you have questions regarding this announcement, please contact the Office of Counsel and Regulatory Compliance at 518-473-3986; for toll-free calls: dial 1-888-697-4372, press 2-2-3-3; or by e-mail: militarycorner@hesc.org

 

Loan Consolidations

HESC has updated its Loan Consolidation Center information on the Web. You will find information on all aspects of the program, from the Pros and Cons to the Latest News; what loans are eligible for consolidation and which repayment plans are offered; and, of course there is a question and answer section.

                                                                             

We hope you will visit the Loan Consolidation Center and bookmark this site on your computer so that you will have an easy way of finding information on this program when needed.  Click the following link,

http://www.hesc.com/bulletin.nsf/0/406087DFEF20B29D852570B9005F888F?OpenDocument&a=LG

 

HESC Training Grant Reminder

 

The New York State Higher Education Services Corp (HESC) will again offer grants in 2006 to help financial aid and bursar office staff attend important industry training seminars.

HESC will accept applications until Feb. 17, 2006.  To apply for a HESC training grant, send an e-mail request for an application to traingrant@hesc.org.  Schools have until Dec. 31, 2006 to use the money.

HESC will distribute the funds upon receipt and approval of an application submitted by the school’s financial aid director, using the criteria and forms developed by HESC.

All final expenditure reports for the 2005 training grant must be received and approved by HESC before the 2006 grant funds are disbursed. Unused funds from the 2005 training grant will be deducted from a 2006 training grant. In instances where a 2006 training grant application is not received and approved, any unused 2005 funds must be returned to HESC no later than Feb. 17, 2006.

 

HESC PIN

 

The HESC PIN authentication process currently used for the TAP on the Web (TOTW) application, as well as the TAP on-line change form will be used for the electronic Master Promissory Note (e-MPN) for both Stafford and Plus loans.  This change will be effective May 15, 2006.

 

The addition of the loan process will provide a single authentication method for student access to their data on HESC's Web site. Nearly 300,000 students created HESC PINs in 2005.

 

The HESC e-MPN Web screens will be changed to use the HESC PIN.  During the e-MPN process, if the student or parent borrower does not have a HESC PIN, they will have the ability to instantly create a user ID and PIN and continue with the e-MPN process.

 

Schools should review their literature for the e-MPN process.  References to the FAFSA PIN should be deleted, or changed to reference the HESC PIN.

 

Notice of Guarantee

 

Effective February 1, 2006 borrowers will receive an e-mail from HESC indicating their loan is guaranteed.  The e-mail will contain a link for the borrower to cut and paste into their browser to ceck the loan guarantee information on the HESC Web site.

 

If the borrower does not have a valid e-mail address, they will continue to receive notification of the loan by the lender, at or before the first disbursement.  If a loan is denied, HESC will continue to print and mail notification to the borrower.

 

Lenders and schools will continue to receive electronic CommonLine V4 or CommonLine V5 App Response Files, which contain the loan guarantee information.  Questions or comments regarding this alert should be directed to the Solutions Team at solutions@hesc.org or call toll free, 1-888-NYS-HESC (1-888-697-4372) and then follow the menu prompts.