Guiding Student Success
through Financial Education
Presented to
Association of Community College
Trustees
October 3, 2013
Presenters
Eleanor “Ellie” MacKinney, CAS
Vice Chair
Board of Trustees
Community College District 509
David Sam, PhD, JD, LLM
President
Elgin Community College
Kimberly Wagner
Managing Director, Student Financial Services
Elgin Community College
Amy Perrin
Director, Financial Aid & Scholarships
Elgin Community College
Challenges Prior to 2007
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Noel Levitz Student Survey
Financial Aid Services consultant
Compliance issues
Student dissatisfaction towards the Financial Aid
Office
 Lack of productivity and customer service to students
Transformation
 Reorganization move to the Business &
Finance Division
 Culture shift to student-centered approach
 Office-structure change without hiring
additional staff
ECC Programs Succeed
Bringing national recognition to our community
 2013 Bellwether Award Alliance for College Readiness
 2013 NACUBO Innovation Award ECC Financial
Literacy Program
Financial Education Is Important
 Federal loan debt tops $1 trillion
 55% of ECC students have the highest amount of need
 Increase in FAFSA applications, which shows students
are searching for resources
 And…
Financial Education Is Important
 63% of freshman at two-year colleges indicate they
have financial problems that will interfere with their
school work
 32% of freshman at two-year colleges indicate they
have financial problems that are very distracting and
troublesome
(Source: 2013 Noel Levitz Freshman Attitude Report for Two-Year Colleges)
Financial Literacy Program:
Background and History
 2009-Made available new initiative funds to create a
financial literacy program
 2009-Purchased online financial literacy module
 2010-Spring and fall events, with support from local credit
union, held to highlight “Paying for College”
 2011-Began one-on-one loan counseling
 2012-Collaborated with ECC’s Alliance for College
Readiness to expand outreach to parents
 2012-Conducted Student Survey
 2013-Introduced “How to Win at Life”
Program Details
Online Module
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Partnered with Decision Partners
Fulfilled TRIO financial literacy requirement
Offered in College 101 course
Made available to public
Interactive 90-minute course
Students complete a monthly budget, short- and long-term
financial goals and a financial self-assessment
 Course includes credit card debt, identity theft, moneysavings tips, financial stress, spending habits, and budgetto-actual tracking
Events
Over 75 Outreach Opportunities!!
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FAFSA Completion Workshops
College Night
Parent Summit
High School Presentations
College Smart Fair
Classroom Presentations
College Goal Sunday
Money Smart Week
How to Win at Life Game
Transformation of Financial Aid
Office
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Map out financial aid and scholarship process-make the changes
Communicate and collaborate with other departments
Connect students with scholarship and work study opportunities
Early awarding
Efficiencies in packaging aid = students are not required to pay
out-of-pocket and/or set up a payment plan
 Loans are not automatically packaged to cover costs
 Mandatory loan counseling, which is above and beyond the
federal requirement
 Provide individualized exit counseling
IMPACT:
Number of FAFSAs Received
12,000
10,000
9,299
10,029
10,262
2011-2012
2012-2013
7,571
8,000
6,000
5,291
4,166
4,000
2,000
0
2007-2008
2008-2009
2009-2010
2010-2011
IMPACT:
Number of Financial Aid Recipients
8,000
7,111
6,972
2011-2012
2012-2013
7,000
5,769
6,000
5,000
4,734
4,000
3,000
2,000
1,000
0
2009-2010
2010-2011
IMPACT:
Uncollected Student Tuition and Fees
1,200,000
1,000,000
$282,605
200,000
$352,500
400,000
$581,789
600,000
$996,576
800,000
FY2010
FY2013
0
FY2006
FY2007
Mandatory One-On-One Loan
Counseling
 Beginning in spring, 2011, students are required to meet with a
Financial Aid Loan Advisor before loan is packaged
 Student’s personal budget is reviewed and discussed
 Loan amount needed is discussed
 Loan basics are reviewed (percentage rates, loan types, repayment
options, repayment schedule, rights and responsibilities)
 Obtain cumulative loan balances (from all schools attended)
 Consequences of default are discussed
ECC’s Exit Counseling is Optional
(for now)
 Meet with students in small groups or individually
 Review repayment options, repayment schedule and
their cumulative loan balance
 Provide contact numbers to loan provider and
servicer
IMPACT:
Amount of Direct Loans
Disbursed
$7,000,000
$6,399,309 $6,385,830
$6,000,000
$5,000,000
$5,533,059
$5,456,129
2011 - 2012
2012 - 2013
$4,514,076
$4,000,000
$3,000,000
$2,000,000
$1,000,000
$0
2008 - 2009
2009 - 2010
2010 - 2011
IMPACT:
Number of Students Borrowing Loans
2,000
1,840
1,800
1,769
1,695
1,573
1,600
1,400
1,342
1,200
1,000
800
600
400
200
0
2008 - 2009
2009 - 2010
2010 - 2011
2011 - 2012
2012 - 2013
Thank you
Questions?
Kimberly Wagner
Managing Director, Student Financial Services
Elgin Community College
Phone: 847-214-7124
E-mail: kwagner@elgin.edu
Amy Perrin
Director, Financial Aid & Scholarships
Elgin Community College
Phone: 847-214-7217
E-mail: aperrin@elgin.edu
www.elgin.edu