Catherine Ammenti

The FA department needs to be supported by other departments in order to maintain best compliance.  The chair of the FA department is responsible for ensuring all appropriate staff and faculty have a basic understanding of what that support looks like. 

Mandatory consumer disclosures include: FA available and eligibility requirements, graduation and transfer out rates, employment information, school costs and information about the facilities.  

It is important that FA is not involved in the disbursement of FSA funds.  Similarly, the Student Accounts department should not be able to manipulate the data involved in what Financial Aid is awarded to a student.  The departments must work together to ensure students are receiving their financial aid in a legal and responsible manner and if the student is no longer eligible for FSA funds, the institution must comply with regulations to ensure the money is returned to the appropriate entity.  

Satisfactory Academic Progress is reviewed annually for programs that are more than 1 year in length and at the end of each term if under one year.  Student progress should be continually monitored to ensure SAP and programs should be notified if a student's SAP is in jeopardy.  

The Admissions and FA departments should work together to support prospective students by providing accurate and honest information within the confines of their respective areas of expertise.  Admissions should not be giving financial aid advice and should facilitate an appointment with an FA advisor so the applicant can get the best support the organization has to offer.  

The exit interview is an important step in the auditing process and it helps if both points of contact and another member of campus leadership is available for the meeting.  Do not argue with the findings but definitely ask clarifying questions and possibly offer additional information that may clear the organization of a potential citation.  

Keeping all records up to date and easily accessible for an auditor is very important.  Having practice with how to respond to auditor questions is also necessary.  If you are interviewed, answer only the question that is asked and avoid filling in "dead space" in the conversation.  

There needs to be 2 points of contact for on-site evaluators.  They each need to be ready to provide the evaluator a tour of the campus and then get them settled into a quiet room for them to work from while they are conducting their business.  The room should be comfortable with a basket of commonly used office items, a sign on the door to provide privacy and either the take-out menus or information on nearby lunch areas.  Each point of contact should be well-versed in the school's policies and procedures so that explanations can be provided when requested.  The… >>>

It is important for an organization to fully understand what may be needed during an audit, whether or not it is planned or unplanned.  Everything needed for specific audits must be readily available and if the institution has a plan in place for unannounced visits (including the comfort of the auditor), the easier the process will be.  

I am curious as to how the DNC is implemented.  Does the student's phone number and/or email get flagged in Gegi?  In the past, I've had an alumni email list that I would send "newsletters" to.  If a student replied and asked to be removed from the list, I just deleted it off of my spreadsheet.  I'm not actively sending these emails out now, but this has prompted me to wonder how this should be addressed for the organization.