Standing Firm in the Winds of
Change: A P&P Manual
Lisanne Masterson
Director, Financial Aid
Brevard College
828-884-8287
lisanne@brevard.edu
Agenda
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A Policy & Procedures Manual
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Who? Where? Why?
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What Is Required? What Are The Obstacles?
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How Do You Get Started?
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Updating
Definitions
POLICY
Answers the “what” and “why”; influences
procedures
PROCEDURE
Answers the “how”
Why Have a P&P Manual?
To Keep You On Your Toes
7. To Let You Sleep At Night
6. To Keep Administration Away
5. To Keep Your School Compliant
4. To Run An Efficient & Effective Office
3. To Keep The “Feds” Happy
2. To Keep Your Job
1. It’s Required
8.
“Real” Reasons For A P&P Manual
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Training
Consistency
Clarification
Communication
Compliance
Documentation
Who Needs To Be Involved?
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Financial Aid Director
Financial Aid Staff
Academic Affairs
Bursar (Finance Office)
Athletics
Housing
Administration
Where To House Your P&P?
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Make sure it is accessible to all staff
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Hard Copy
Electronic Copy
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Decide on access rights
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Notify other offices of any changes
Making Choices
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Determine what works best for your institution
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Size
Type
Organization
Assign tasks
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Who works on what portion of the manual
(provides sense of ownership, opportunity for cooperation)
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Decide on Required Vs. Optional Parts
What Is It Based Upon?
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Federal laws and regulations
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State laws and regulations
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Institutional policies and definitions
Required Policies & Procedures
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FA Applications/Forms
Verification
Establishing Costs of Attendance
Awarding/Packaging Aid
Professional Judgment
Disbursements
Satisfactory Academic Progress
Withdrawals
Refunds
Fraud
Example - Verification
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You MUST have written policies & procedures for:
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Deadlines for submitting documentation
How you will notify students of changes
How corrections will be made
How you will calculate the AGI & Tax Paid for a single parent
from a joint return
How you handle tax extensions & follow-up re-verification
You should describe how you will collect the information
(use ED’s worksheet or create an institutional form)
Getting Started
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Obstacles
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Time
Fear
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Size of Task, Doing It Wrong, Missing Something
Tips
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Don’t Start From Scratch
Plan Ahead
Take One Step At A Time
Distinguish Between Required and Optional
Where Do You Go?
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Document What You Are Currently Doing
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Old Manuals, Memos, Emails, Current P&Ps
State Agency
Colleagues
NASFAA’s Policies & Procedures Tools
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Introduction and Instructions
Formulating, Implementing & Evaluating P&Ps
Template for your Policies & Procedures Manual
Regulatory Resources Guide
Step 1
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Review current policies
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Can they be improved?
Work with other offices
Are changes necessary/encouraged?
Review current procedures
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If changes are needed,
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policy & procedure must go hand in hand
“say what you do” and then “do what you say”
write in all exceptions to the rules
Step 2
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Your design should flow easily
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Choose your wording carefully
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Remember your users
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Include all exceptions
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Make uniform format changes
NASFAA’s Model
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www.nasfaa.org
NASFAA Resources (right hand side)
“Management”
“Policies and Procedures Tool”
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Introduction and Instructions
Formulating, Implementing & Evaluating P&Ps
Template for your Policies & Procedures Manual
Regulatory Resources Guide
Updating
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Review Annually
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Make Automatic Adjustments
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Be Aware of Institutional Policy Changes
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Notify Appropriate Offices/Personnel
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Keep It Current
Questions