OpInform 2015
Daniel M. Tramuta
Associate Vice President for Enrollment Services
State University of New York at Fredonia
New York State Financial Aid Administrators Association (NYSFAAA) – Past-President
Eastern Association of State Financial Aid Administrators (EASFAA) – State Rep tramuta@fredonia.edu

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Overview Of Higher Education Landscape
• Demographics
• Decline in HS Graduates out to 2022
• Selectivity Matrix
• Program Demand
• Retention
• Merit-Based Arms Race
• Cost and Affordability
• Scholarship–increased discounting to finding price point
• Debt at Graduation
• Return on Investment
• New Academic Programs

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Projected change in the number of high school graduates 2010 to 2019

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1. Majors & Career Programs Offered
2. Cost/Affordability
3. Location/Campus Characteristics/Faith Support
4. Campus Size/Safety
5. Characteristics of Enrolled Students
6. Selectivity

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2014 Undergraduate Degree Demand – ACT Test Takers

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Topics
 The Basics
 The Makings of a Financial Aid Package
 How Financial Need is Determined
 Best Practices
 Discussing Financial Aid
 Reviewing Award Letters
 Change to FAFSA Process
 SUNY SmartTrack
 SUNY Financial Aid Days

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What Makes up a Financial Aid Package?

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What Makes up a Financial Aid Package?
Grant Programs
 PELL Grant
 Must have an EFC between $0-$5,199
 Max. Award $5,775
 NYS TAP Grant
 Based on NYS net taxable income
 Max. Award $5,165

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What Makes up a Financial Aid Package?
Scholarship Programs
 Private scholarship search
 At your college of interest
 Free internet scholarship searches
 www.fastweb.com
 www.studentaid.gov
 Local library resources
 Local businesses and civic organizations (including professional associations) related to student's field of interest
 Student’s employer
 Parents’ employers/unions

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What Makes up a Financial Aid Package?
Federal Work Study
 Based on financial need
 Traditionally on-campus employment
 Usually 12 to 15 hours per week

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What Makes up a Financial Aid Package?
Federal Perkins Loan Sunsetted by the U.S. Senate – discontinued as of 9/30/15 for all new borrowers
 Based on financial need, 5% interest rate
 Teacher Cancellation Benefits

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What Makes up a Financial Aid Package?

 4.29%
 Capped at 8.25%
 Based on need
 Federal government pays interest while student is in school
 $3,500 for freshmen

 4.29%
 Capped at 8.25%
 Not based on need
Maximum Direct Loans for freshmen: $5,500

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What Makes up a Financial Aid Package?
 For parents of dependent students
 Borrow up to entire cost of college less financial aid
 No adverse credit (parent must pass credit check)
 Interest rate 6.84%
 Capped at 10.5%
 May vary…typically, families spread the direct costs over the semester or year.

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What Makes up a Financial Aid Package?

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What Makes up a Financial Aid Package?
SUNY State-Operated Campuses 2015-2016 TEACH Grant
 Up to $3,728 per year
 For students who intend to teach:
 A high-need field
 Students of low-income
 Four-year service contract
 More information: www.studentaid.ed.gov

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What Makes up a Financial Aid Package?
 Tuition scholarship at SUNY or CUNY
 Eligibility
 Need to graduate in top 10% of high school class
 Need to study in STEM Field
 Need to maintain a 2.5 average
 Five-year service contract to work in NY state in a
STEM field
 More information: www.hesc.ny.gov or Scholarship
Unit at 1-888-697-4372

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What Makes up a Financial Aid Package?
 Award of $500
 Eligibility
 NY State high school graduate
 Achieved academic excellence
‒ Top 15%
‒ 3.3 GPA or above
‒ Honor Regents diploma or a score of 3 or higher on two advanced placement exams
 Based on unmet need
 Applications and more information available in May
 More information: www.hesc.ny.gov or Scholarship Unit at 1-888-
697-4372

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The New York State Masters-in-Education
Teacher Incentive Scholarship Program
 Awarded to 500 top undergraduate students
 Full graduate tuition to pursue Masters in Education at a
SUNY or CUNY
 Available for the 2016-17 academic year
Eligibility
 Student must be enrolled full-time in a master's degree in education program
 Agree to teach in a NYS public elementary or secondary school for 5 years following degree completion

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New York State ‘Get on Your Feet’ Loan
Forgiveness Program
Eligibility
 Reside in NYS for 12 continuous months
 Be a U.S. citizen or eligible non-citizen
 Graduated or received a NYS HS equivalency diploma
 Earned an undergraduate degree from a college or university located in NYS in or after 2014-15
 Have a AGI of less than $50,000
 Enrolled in the federal IBR plan or Pay as You Earn plan
 If employed, primary work location in NYS

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New York State ‘Get on Your Feet’ Loan
Forgiveness Program
Eligibility
 Current on all federal or NYS student loans
 Current on the repayment of any NYS award
 Be in compliance with the terms of any service condition imposed by a NYS award
 Earned no higher than a bachelor’s degree at the time of application
 Apply within 2 years of receiving an undergraduate degree

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What Makes up a Financial Aid Package?

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How is Financial Aid Determined?
Estimated Family Contribution (EFC) is determined by:
 Parents’ income and assets - primary home value excluded
 Student’s income and assets
 Size of family
 Age of parents
 Number of children in college
COA minus EFC = Need

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Change to 2017-18 FAFSA Process
Using Prior-Prior Year (PPY) Tax Income Data on the FAFSA
The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) becomes available every January 1, and currently requires a family's federal income tax information from the year prior. Families are encouraged to file the FAFSA as soon as possible after January 1 st to maximize their odds of receiving financial aid. But with tax deadlines months later, most have to estimate their tax information on aid applications and make corrections later. In the worst case scenario, some families miss out on financial aid funds that are disbursed on a first-come basis.
Education Secretary Arne Duncan enacted a change this past Sunday (9/13/15) that would fix this widespread issue. By using income from two years ago, otherwise known as Prior-Prior year
(PPY) tax income data, families could file their FAFSA with tax information they already have, making the process quicker and easier. By taking advantage of the existing ability to import tax information directly from the IRS onto the FAFSA form, families will spend less time gathering paperwork and would make far fewer errors.
The use of prior-prior year income also presents an opportunity to align admissions and financial
aid decisions and give millions of families more time to plan for actual college costs, rather than sticker prices or projections. Low-income families experience very little income fluctuation from year to year and most would not see a significant change in their eligibility for a Pell Grant with a switch to prior-prior year income.
Prior-prior year income is the closest thing we have to a "silver bullet" for an industry in search of meaningful solutions. With earlier aid awards, financial aid administrators would have more time to help families evaluate their options and make informed financial decisions.

OpInform 2015
Change to 2017-18 FAFSA Process
Using Prior-Prior Year (PPY)Tax Income Data on the FAFSA
With the switch to PPY, students and families will be able to:
• File the FAFSA earlier. As we discussed, the FAFSA is made available January 1 of each calendar year, yet it is uncommon for a family or individual to be prepared to file an income tax return in the month of January. Under the new PPY system, the 2017-18
FAFSA will be available in October 2016 , rather than January 1, 2017, and as such families can use the PPY’s completed income tax return on their 1718 FAFSA.
• More easily submit a FAFSA. The IRS Data Retrieval Tool (DRT), which allows automatic population of a student’s FAFSA with tax return data and decreases the need for additional documentation, can be used by millions more students and families under
PPY, since tax data from two-years prior would be readily available upon application.
• Receive earlier notification of financial aid packages. If students apply for both admission and aid earlier, colleges can in turn provide financial aid notifications to students earlier, ensuring that students and families have more time to prepare for college costs. Notifying students earlier of their financial aid packages will also leave more time for one-on-one counseling with students and families.
* Next year’s (2016-17) aid applicants will be using the same prior year federal income (2015) for two consecutive years

OpInform 2015
Change to 2017-18 FAFSA Process
 Students will no longer need to estimate income, since prior-prior year income will be used on the FAFSA
 Admission Application timeline will be moved up
 2017-18 FAFSA can be completed/submitted as early as October
1 st , 2017 using 2015 federal tax data
 Financial aid packages will be developed & delivered earlier
 Families will have more time to prepare for meeting college costs

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SUNY Smart Track
 SUNY standard award letter
 System-wide financial literary
 Student engagement/communication
 Delinquency/default resolution
 www.suny.edu/smarttrack

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SUNY Smart Track

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SUNY Smart Track Award Letters

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Breaking Down a SUNY Smart Track
Award Letter

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Breaking Down a SUNY Smart Track
Award Letter

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Breaking Down a SUNY Smart Track
Award Letter
 Graduation rate
 Loan default rate

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Breaking Down a SUNY Smart Track
Award Letter
 Median borrowing
 Repaying loan information
 School contact information

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2016 SUNY Financial Aid Days
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