REGION 2 MEETING

MARCH 29, 2006

ROBERTS WESLEYAN COLLEGE

 

 

Attendance:

 

Bryant & Stratton:  Steve Dodds

Chase Education Finance:  Michael Woody

Citibank:  Debi Mansour

Continental School of Beauty:  Charla Buckner

Fifth Third Bank:  Marc Woolf

HSBC Bank:  Sherrie Sheppard

Monroe Community College:  Mark Schwartz, Jerome St. Croix

M&T Bank:  Kathleen O’Connell, Rick Ross

Nellie Mae:  Katrina Delgrosso

Next Student:  Theresa Gieseke

NSLP:  Anne Barton

NYSHESC:  Ed Gilbert

Roberts Wesleyan College:  Steve Field

St. John Fisher College:  Cindy Kohlman

Student Loan Xpress:  Brian Levy

SUNY Brockport:  Nora Bell, Craig Gallagher

University of Rochester Med School:  Margaret Christian

 

Treasurer’s Report (Nora Bell):

§          Current balance:  $1,472.68

§          We will have $1,102.05 after today’s training (we are receiving funds from NYSFAAA to help out).

 

Secretary’s Report (Katrina Delgrosso):

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

 

Membership Report (Margaret Christian):

§          2006-2007 membership year starts July 1st.  The application year for 05-06 ends March 31st. 

§          Membership numbers will be off for a period of time between academic years (between April and the conference in November), because ATAC cannot have 2 years separated at the same time.  The numbers will combine both years.  Joan Warren, VP of Membership, will keep track of the actual numbers manually during this time if you need the information.

§          If you need labels, please don’t rely on old lists that you may have.  Please contact your membership chairperson, Margaret Christian, with membership questions (585-275-4523).  Margaret_christian@urmc.rochester.edu

§          There has been a problem with the online membership application.  Don’t hit the “Back” button.  Complete your membership and then submit that.  Then go in and change your membership later.  Go to the section of the first page of the application form where it says "Revise Existing application", make the corrections, and re-submit.  The most common mistake is still not selecting a primary region in that first box, and getting charged $50 instead of $35.

 

Executive Council Update (Steve Dodds):

§          Please let Steve know if you have anything you would like him to take to the council meeting in April. 

§          Katrina alerted Steve to the minutes from 2/15/06 for a couple of items we would like him to take back to council.

§          Next council meeting is April 20-21 in Lake Placid at the Crowne Plaza (2006 NYSFAAA conference site).

 

HESC Update (Ed Gilbert):

§          See HESC Update below these Region 2 meeting minutes.

 

Lender/Vendor Updates:

§          Fifth Third Bank is now a strategic lender partner with Sallie Mae.  Will be able to offer additional products because of this change.

§          Kathleen O’Connell is no longer with Key Bank and is now the rep for M&T Bank.  Regions 1, 2 and 3.  Andy Leardini was promoted and is working in their credit card division.

§          Citibank is adding another benefit.  Will pay the last 6 month’s payments if their accounts are current.  Stafford, PLUS and GradPLUS.

 

Region 2 Service Award:

§          Mark Schwartz is sending out nomination forms soon for the service award.  Please think about who you might want to nominate.

 

Next Region 2 Meeting and Training:

§          June 23rd meeting will be a joint meeting with Region 3 at the Ramada Inn in Geneva.

§          We will not be having a May meeting.

 

Support Staff Workshop (Steve Dodds):

§          Will most likely be in June at Rochester Business Institute. 

§          Steve will be meeting with Karen Blankenburg soon to finalize the date and move forward with the planning.

 

Officer Elections (Debi Mansour):

§          Nominations are due to Debi by 4/20.

§          Positions for Region 2 Chairperson, Secretary and Treasurer are going to be open for 06-07 through 07-08 (2 years).  Voting will be open online on 4/25.  Results will be available at the end of May.

§          You can nominate yourself!! 

§          We also need a Communications Chair for Region 2.  No voting involved for this role.

 

Today’s Training:  Neutralizing Emotions—The Sedona Method (Jo-Ann Alibrandi, Life Wellness Coach)

 

 

HESC Update

NYSFAAA Region IV Meeting

April 2006

 

 

1% Default fee for 06-07

HESC recently announced that New York State would once again pay the 1 percent federal default fee (formerly known as insurance fee) on student loans for the 2006-07 academic year, saving college students and their families more than $25 million this year.  This is the eighth year in a row that HESC waived the fee for NYS students and families.

 

New federal law requires loan guarantee agencies such as HESC to deposit the fee into a federal fund to cover the agency’s expenses that are associated with defaulted loans

2004-05 TAP Closeout Update

The 2004-05 academic year closeout will be extended until June 15, 2006.  Any certifications after May 15, 2006 must be communicated to TAP Certification by fax at (518) 486-7679, or by telephone at (518) 473-3762.  The Web pages will not allow submission of certification data and electronic files will not be processed after May 15, 2006.

 

If you have any questions concerning the certification process, contact John DeFazio at

(518) 474-3608.

 

 

HESC Improves Security to Protect E-mail Containing Personal Data
HESC is changing the way we communicate with you via e-mail. Starting Monday, March 6, HESC will use a new product to encrypt e-mail which contains sensitive information or personal data.  This product will protect against unauthorized parties viewing personal data and ensures compliance with state and federal laws.

 

How This Will Affect You
Now, when HESC needs to send you an e-mail which includes personal data, or is responding to an e-mail that has personal data, the message will be posted at our secure mail site rather than going directly to your regular e-mail box.

You will receive notification, via your regular e-mail, that you have a new message at our secure mail site. This e-mail will contain a link you can use to retrieve your secure message. E-mail that does not contain protected personal information will continue to be sent directly to your regular e-mail address.

HESC tutorials on the Web
Three tutorials for financial aid professionals will familiarize you with HESC's newest online processing products - e-MPN, Default Manager and HESC EFT Express - all designed to simplify and streamline the financial aid process for you, your students, and their parents.

Learn more about each of these innovative processing products at www.hesc.org in the College Administrators & Lenders section, HESC Products and Services, or click Financial Aid Administrator Tutorials.  The tutorials can be viewed using Windows Media Player.

 

E-Mail Notification of Loan Guarantee

HESC will now notify Stafford and PLUS borrowers when their loan has been guaranteed via the following e-mail:

 

“Congratulations!  Your Federal Family Education (FFEL) Stafford loan (or PLUS loan) has been guaranteed. For the eighth year in a row, New York State will continue to waive the 1% insurance fee which will save you money.”   Borrowers can review the details regarding their loan by clicking on the link provided by HESC.

 

For schools that do not use HESC’s Credit Check, Parent borrowers will also be notified that the guarantee is subject to credit approval.

 

HESC Lender Advisory Committee

HESC's inaugural Lender Advisory Committee meeting was held on February 27th. The meeting was held via "Sametime" web access, and conference call for those who were unable to participate via "Sametime". The initiative is part of HESC's ongoing efforts to enhance lender relationships, and to address ongoing and new HESC initiatives. HESC will continue to solicit suggestions from the committee regarding topics/agenda items for future meetings, which will be held quarterly. 

 

Any lender representatives that would like to be added to the Lender Advisory Committee, should contact Michael Williams @mwilliams@hesc.org, or (518) 473-9680.