Ep. 19 - Financial Aid

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Transcript

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Matt Markin  
Welcome to the CSUSB Advising Podcast. Join us as we bring you the latest advising updates at Cal State. San Bernardino. Each episode is specifically made for you the CSUSB students and parents. We provide you advising tips interviews with both CSUSB campus resources and those in academic advising. 

Star Wildes  
Hi everyone, and thank you so much for joining us. We have an amazing special guest. My name is Star Wildes from academic advising, and here with me, I have our amazing guest from financial aid, who I'm going to have introduce to you all. But welcome everyone and again, thank you so much for listening as we give you most up to date, information about everything, advising and more. So welcome Keisha to our podcast, and again, I'll be asking questions. Keisha, how are you doing over there? 

Keisha Rivers  
I'm doing pretty good. How are you?

Star Wildes  
 I'm great. Great. Thank you, and thank you again for joining us to share information with our students. So let's jump right in, as I know that these are questions that students have specifically reached out to us via our appointments, like we through our DM direct messaging, via social media platforms, and, of course, when we meet with students. So one of the first questions that I will ask you is the FAFSA. Now, students have mentioned, hey, you know what? I don't know if I filled one out, or what's the next time that I could fill one out, but can a student still submit their FAFSA for this year?

Keisha Rivers  
So we get this question all the time, and I actually just met with a student and answered this question. There are times where students forget to complete their FAFSA, or maybe they thought they were going to graduate in summer and didn't need their FAFSA. So for 2021 2022 that FAFSA is for fall 2021 and spring 2022 Yes, you can complete that FAFSA until June, 30, 2022 so students still have an opportunity to do that. Also when I'm letting students know that they can still complete that FAFSA, I'm letting them know that beginning October 1, we will be accepting or we won't, but the US Department of Education will be accepting 2022, 2023, FAFSAs and so that application will be available, and we encourage students to complete it as soon as possible, but for sure, by the priority deadline of March 2. 

Star Wildes  
And thank you so much for sharing that. And so let's say I'm going to kind of switch over now to students who are currently are currently enrolled. If a student is not enrolled in 12 units, I know that a lot of students are saying, you know, 12 units, I know that means that students are at full time status. And let's say a student drops one unit, 11 units, or maybe 10 units, would they lose their financial aid? I know that a lot of students are asking about that, so we want to make sure that we get the information from you all. So what happens if a student falls below the enrollment of 12 units?

Keisha Rivers  
We get this question also all the time. Students are eligible for financial aid, even if they have four units, students can get a pro rated amount of Pell Grant. It's a small amount, but for most award types, students are required to have a minimum of six units, although it wouldn't be the full amount of financial aid and sometimes it may not cover your total tuition and fees. If you're in six units, you will be eligible for most Awards. In order to receive the full amount, which is what students see on their student portal, you must have 12 or more units.

Star Wildes  
Thank you so much for clarifying that. Keisha, I know that that's been a lot of students are thinking, you know, if I don't have 12 units, I'm going to lose my financial aid. So thank you so thank you so much for clarifying that information for us. So let's say a student decides to miss a term. I know this is one of the our frequently asked questions. A student decides to miss a term or take a leave of absence, or maybe missing more than one term, right? Which is why a student would have a leave of absence. Does the student need to contact financial aid to let them know, Hey, I'm not coming if they're missing one term, more than one terms. What would you advise students to do in that case?

Keisha Rivers  
If they're missing one term, we have what's called a change of change of status form, and that's located in our forms bank on our financial aid website, that's being proactive and letting us know that, hey, I'm not going to be here fall 2021 but I will be here in spring 2022 we will cancel your fall financial aid, but we will hold your spring financial aid. If a student is going to miss the entire year, then. And in that particular case, the student does not need to inform us. They just need to provide us with information when they're returning, just to let us know, hey, I'm back, and then we will award them for that current year.

Star Wildes  
Thank you so much for that. I really appreciate it. Keisha, so let's say the student is still awaiting financial aid disbursements because of being, let's say, for example, recently being admitted. And I know this may be for future terms as well, if you're listening out there, because we are in our fourth week, and today is Census. I know that this is going to be, this episode is going to be available after this, right? But let's say, you know, they've already been admitted. Maybe it's for this upcoming term spring, or maybe it's the upcoming term fall next year. But let's say they are everything set. They register, but the financial aid disbursement has still not they don't see it on their myCoyote, when will the student expect for their refund to take place, and I know every semester it's dispersed every I believe it's during a certain period of time. Can you share that with us as well? 

Keisha Rivers  
So, we always begin disbursements 10 days before the first day of class, and that allows students to that allows us to apply the financial aid to their tuition and fees and give a reasonable amount of time for the students to get their refunds so that they can pay for books or whatever other kind of educational expenses they have. And I know that during this, you know, odd time, I'll call it of covid We've had where you know certain dates that are normally hard set dates have been pushed around, such as submitting transcripts, or maybe there's a delay in reviewing transcripts in admissions or graduate admissions, until The transcripts are reviewed, we're required to hold financial aid, and so if a student has an issue where you know they're expecting their financial aid to come, but they see that they've been conditionally admitted because we're still waiting for the transcripts to be reviewed. In that particular case, we prevent the students courses from being dropped, which allows them to still continue to go to class until the financial aid is dispersed. Now, that's if they've been awarded already. If they have not been awarded, usually it's because we need additional documents or there's something pending, and in that case, we we work with the student to make sure that we get what we need.

Star Wildes  
And awesome. Thank you so much for answering that question. Now, if and you mentioned this, I want to kind of extend the question from what your answer was. As far as you know, they need additional documentation. I know some of our students say, hey, you know what? Where do I turn this documentation in? Can I email it? Because I know some of our students are also taking courses virtually. So let's a student is not on campus, or maybe was on campus, but forgot to stop by your office to drop off their paperwork. How can they submit? Is there something that they can do that they can submit electronically and or is there a drop box anywhere? 

Keisha Rivers  
So we have three ways that you can submit it, and then also a new way that has recently been implemented within the last two weeks, so students can fax or mail, which is, you know, been something that students can do. We also have a Dropbox located at the front of University Hall, and our new way which we're trying to get students to use this, we have a QR code, and we also have a link on our website that allows students to automatically upload their documents, so if they have them in electronic format, or if they take a picture of the document, they can submit it securely, electronically. It really allows us to get the documents sooner and start the process faster. And there's, you know, no room for error as far as lost documents or things getting separated.

Star Wildes  
That is so awesome, and that's so cool to know about, because now we as advisors know that there's this new way of submitting documentation. So if you're listening out there, please make sure that you go to the financial aid webpage. We'll be sure for sharing it via our social media, that we'll have that available. And thank you again, Keisha, for sharing that. So other questions that we've had is SAP. Can you please explain what SAP is. How do students know if they need SAP? What do they complete all of that, please. Keisha, as I know that some students have had questions about SAP.

Keisha Rivers  
This is my favorite topic. So SAP is short for Satisfactory Academic Progress. Students are required to meet certain standards, not just qualitative, which means you have to have a certain GPA or you have to meet certain grade standards, but also quantitative, which means that you need to complete your program in a certain length of time, you need to complete a certain percentage of your courses during the year that's being evaluated. So after each spring semester, we review SAP and it includes the entire year that has just completed. And each student is reviewed individually to determine if they met Satisfactory Academic Progress. If they have, then the student doesn't get notification. Everything processes as normal. If they have not, we send out notifications. Typically, this happens at the beginning of June, now that we're in a semester system, it happens at the beginning of June, and we send the students a notification letting them know that they did not meet Satisfactory Academic Progress or SAP. And it gives them a link to our SAP policy, which goes into more detail of what I'm explaining. And then it also provides the students with a link to the SAP Appeal form, because, as we know many times, the reasons why our students fail SAP is because they've had some sort of personal or financial or medical issue. And so students are able to appeal that decision, and it's reviewed by our financial aid advisors and and SAP committee, and determines if the student is eligible. If they are, they give the student conditions that they must meet, you know, a certain GPA for the term, or take this many units, or, you know, other conditions, and they get financial aid for that term, and they're finding their grades are reviewed at the end of the term to make sure that they met the conditions, and after that, then their financial aid goes back to normal.

Star Wildes  
So and then just a follow up question for that. So students who may need to go through the SAP process, right, as you have explained. And of course, the students that will know about that per their email, right? They're notified via email, but students are and just to clarify, because I know some students think you know, especially some that I met with and we have met with once they reach that sap that they're not able to get their financial aid back. So just to clarify, will students have that opportunity to work with your office and go through that process again?

Keisha Rivers  
Yes, they do. They all students have the opportunity to appeal. Each is we can't say that all students will be approved. We've seen a lot more approvals because of the current situation and covid and how it's affected our student population, but we review each student's situation and determine if, you know, there's a way for them to improve during the next academic term. And yes, so every student has an opportunity to submit a SAP Appeal.

Star Wildes  
Thank you so much for that, and I know that financial aid. So we have financial aid, we also have our amazing colleagues over at Student Financial Services. If you are explaining to a student who may be listening or to a parent what the difference is between Financial Aid and Student Financial Services are what would you let them know?

Keisha Rivers  
So I'm going to give the short and sweet version, and then I'll go a little bit more into it. Financial Aid gives the money. Student Financial Services takes the money. So in financial aid, we do the awarding of, you know, grants, loans, scholarships and things like that. When we disperse the financial aid, it automatically gets applied to your Student Financial Services account. They apply that to your tuition. There are some students who maybe have some financial aid, but it doesn't cover their balance. They also take payments, and then they also issue refunds. And so I know we get a lot of calls from students saying, you know, when am I going to get my refund? I see that my financial aid is dispersed, and we work really closely with Student Financial Services and try to differentiate between the two offices, because we both get each other's calls. But, you know, for students, because our names are so close together, and even for some faculty and staff, it it's confusing, and so we've accepted that, that it's you know, going to get, you know, lost in training. Translation, I guess. But our office does the awarding, and Student Financial Services does the charging of tuition and applying any money to the tuition.

Star Wildes  
That is awesome. And I love your definition, short and simple, and it gets straight to the point. I love it so, and what are, and we're talking about financial aid, right? And I know there may be some instances where students may lose their financial aid. Can you explain a little bit about why a student why and how a student may lose in on the financial aid?

Keisha Rivers  
Sure. So there may be a student who failed SAP, and maybe they failed just because they just, I don't know. They don't have a reason why in those particular cases, because you only have a limited amount of financial aid you can get in a lifetime. We try to prevent students from just using their financial aid, but not progressing through their degree, because you could possibly get to the end of your program, and maybe you're starting your senior year and you have nothing left for us to award you, and that's a really hard conversation to have with our students. In addition to that, I would say maybe if a student defaulted on prior student loans, so maybe they went to school 10 or 15 years ago, they took out loans and maybe forgot about them so they never paid, or never, even, you know, contacted their lender to arrange payment or let them know that they were unable to pay. In that particular case, students would not be eligible for financial aid until they resolved the issues with their lender, which typically takes about nine months.

Star Wildes  
Thank you so much for sharing that. I really appreciate it. And then here's another question, as it relates to scholarships, are there scholarships and other grants the students can apply for. And when would you encourage students to do so?

Keisha Rivers  
Yes, so we have a CSUSB scholarship application. It typically opens somewhere between November and January, and we're trying to get a set date for it to open every year so that students can know, we also send a communication to students just before it opens to say, hey, we've got a CSUSB scholarship application. We encourage you to apply. The benefit to this application is there are hundreds of on campus scholarships, and the students only have to complete one application to be eligible. If there are 10 scholarships that you're eligible for based on the information you provide on your scholarship application, then your name is submitted for all 10. So it really increases the chances our students have of getting money that does not need to be repaid, and so that is. Be on the lookout for that this November.

Star Wildes  
That's awesome. And thank you so much for sharing that. And as we're talking about, you know, scholarships, grants, how students can pay for college, for students paying out of pocket. Are there resources that you can recommend that will help the students and their family as they're preparing to pay or currently paying for college?

Keisha Rivers  
So you know, when I do have an opportunity to meet with parents. Have not had that opportunity this year, last year, because of covid, but as we transition back into having orientations. I really encourage students to complete their FAFSA a lot of times, students and parents, they think, oh, you know, my parents made too much money. I'm not going to qualify for anything. So the parent says, again, I'm just going to put it on a credit card. And I say, Okay, well, what's your interest rate on your credit card, because if it's 1516, 20, 25% Well, that's not really a good deal that you're getting, because the student loans are low interest rate. I mean, as of right now, well, as of right now, they're 0% but once you know, all of the covid Assistance is done and over with even still, the interest rates are below 5% and there's very few places that you can get a loan for below 5% especially for a student who does not have to have their credit ran to get the loan. So I really encourage students to take an opportunity to at least explore that option. It would be less of a financial burden on the student and the parent, and as long as you're borrowing wisely, I see those as only help to the student.

Star Wildes  
And for the listeners out there, again, you heard it directly from Keisha from financial aid, please look at your options, and again, talk to Keisha or her team to get the information that you need. And so you know we're coming towards the end of our our conversation here an interview, Keisha. Do you have any upcoming events or workshops hosted by your office that you would like to share with our students and listeners?

Keisha Rivers  
Yes, so I guess this is a really good opportunity to mention that we have someone in our office. She's been here for almost two years now, but I mean, she's really getting the ball going now with the financial literacy program in our office. And so not only is it, not only does she host workshops to assist students with their FAFSA or California Dream Act application, she also provides information on borrowing, wisely, budgeting, how students will handle going into repayment after they've graduated, and just really good, valuable information. Actually, some of the information is valuable for myself, you know, it's just general budgeting information, especially for new college students who are having this amount of money, they have to pay rent and bills, and it's all new to them, and so she her name is Veronica Medina, and she's really great at what she does. And on our financial aid website, we have an important dates link, and it lets students know the dates and times that each each workshop for the FAFSA and California Dream Act will be, will be available. And what we're trying to do, and we're hoping to do this sometime during the 2223 application period, is to have a recording placed on our website. So maybe it's not a good time for you to watch when we have the live the live workshop, but maybe you and your family can benefit from the recording.

Star Wildes  
That's so awesome. I love that idea, because they could families and students would go back and check it out. And I know Keisha, we've worked with you to do our live advising as well, and we partner with your you and your team, and it's been amazing. So we hope that this information is beneficial for all of you listening. So as you covered upcoming events, please make sure that you do check that out. But let's say Keisha, there's a student who may want to still reach out to your office, and they may have questions, what's the best form of communicating with your office?

Keisha Rivers  
So we are open Monday through Friday, 8am to 5pm and during that time, you can come to our counter for in person services. You can also visit our our email. You can send us an email at financial aid@csusb.edu, and then you can also give us a call. We are our office hours match our phone hours, so we are open for phones from 9am to 5pm and so if a student needs to reach us, they can reach us those ways for email. We are answering emails within two business days. So if you get it on a Friday, get it in in the afternoon. May not get a response on Friday, but definitely by Monday or Tuesday.

Star Wildes  
And I know you, you have you're on the social media outlets as well, so please make sure you follow, subscribe and check them out via their Instagram. And also, I believe you have Twitter as well. So would you like to share those as well?

Keisha Rivers  
Yes, I wish I had the handles available, but if you type in CSUSB financial aid in any of those, we will pop up, and you can check us out for the most current updates, helpful tips and information. And just even when we're having our workshops, we want to make sure we update the the or we make sure we update the social media pages so that students are aware. Because I know that's the the main way that they get their information.

Star Wildes  
Absolutely and when we see that, they share, we also share. So thank you again to you and your team. So to everyone out there listening. Thank you so so much for tuning in and checking it out. Be sure you check us all out all the information that would be shared throughout this time. We wish you the best, and thank you again. Keisha rivers for joining us for financial aid, and best to you all, take care of these. 

Keisha Rivers  
Thank you for having me.