To increase or enhance the award programs available for student awards.
Objective
Direct Loan Awards
The objective is to offer Direct Loans to aid applicants for summer of Academic Year 2009 - 2010.
Indicator
Direct Loan Awards
Number of direct loan awarded to eligible students.
Criterion
2000 Awards
We anticipate being able to make 2000 awards to eligible students.
Finding
Awards
Several issues arose that made the award processing difficult. The first was learning the federal direct loan procedures. Although trained by an agency that does this training frequently, they were unaware of a step in the federal regulations that hampered the process. Additionally, the federal fiscal year ends on 6/30 where SHSU's fiscal year ends on 8/31. Even with these obstacles, we were still able to make approximately 1995 loan awards to eligible students.
Action
Learning Curve
We worked as closely as possible with the Common Origination and Disbursement (COD) System which was sometimes difficult due to high employment turnover associated with that system. New employees sometimes had limited knowledge of the COD system. There has been a huge learning curve for Summer I, and the Learning Curve continues for Summer II. We will try to standardize procedures now that we understand what is expected.
Goal
Student Service
To increase the level of service provided to our students.
Objective
Staff Development
Perform regular staff development training to strengthen understanding of existing programs and train staff on new policies, procedures and programs.
Indicator
Students Calling More Than Once
Fewer call-backs would indicate that first encounters would be clear and concise so that students would know what to expect in the loan application and award process.
Criterion
Less Than 50% Call-backs
Our typical percentage of call-backs hovers around 50%, so less that 50% would constitute improvement.
Finding
Call-backs
Our call-back percentage remained at 50%.
Action
Professional Development
More experience with the file transmission process and more training will be needed to decrease call-backs. The professional development should build confidence in staff as they anticipate and answer questions. We will continue to track call volume and call-backs.
Goal
Technological Enhancement
To utilize the Banner software features and functionality.
Objective
Summer Awards
This will be the first summer to use the Banner platform to assist with awards. The objective is to learn how to make the process work seamlessly in Banner
Indicator
Number Of Summer Awards
The number of summer awards will demonstrate effective use of the Banner platform in the summer semesters.
Criterion
2300 Summer Awards
If we are able to determine the steps in Banner to award summer aid, we hope to make approximately 2300 awards.
Finding
Summer Awards
We were able to process 2866 eligible students and make summer awards; additionally, we processed students with no remaining eligibility. We discovered that Banner is not designed to process summer awards in the manner that SHSU manages the summer semesters. Summer awarding requires more time than the previous system due to limited automated processing.
Action
Experience
Now that we have learned the process of qualifying students for summer awards, we will be able to streamline the process. One objective is to tighten up the timelines and procedures in communicating with students so they would know what to expect. We will be determining a deadline for summer applications as well as the process to evaluate exceptions to the deadline.