State Aid Basics Division of Student Financial Aid (SFA) Indiana Commission for Higher Education

State Aid Basics

Division of Student Financial Aid (SFA)Indiana Commission for Higher Education

State Financial Aid Programs

Need-Based Awards• Frank O’Bannon– Higher Education Award– Freedom of Choice Award

• 21st Century Scholars ProgramNon Need-Based Awards• National Guard Supplemental Grant• Children of Veteran Awards• Mitch Daniels Early Graduation Scholarship

Frank O’Bannon Grant

• Higher Education Award & Freedom of Choice• The applicant must: – Be an Indiana resident by December 31, 2012– Be a US Citizen or eligible noncitizen– Be a high school graduate or hold a GED– Attend an eligible Indiana institution– Be a full-time student – File a clean, on-time FAFSA


• Higher Education Award (HEA)– Students attending

public and proprietary institutions receive all state aid from this fund

• Freedom of Choice Grant (FOC)– Students attending

private institutions receive state aid from this fund as well as the HEA fund• 90% FOC• 10% HEA


• Awards is calculated using SFA award formula– Tuition at SFA cap times;– High school diploma type, Associate Degree or

Professional Degree minus;– Student’s Parental Contribution (PC) or Expected

Family Contribution (EFC)

21st Century Scholars Program

• 7th and 8th graders may enroll by June 30• Student’s household must have annual income

of not more than amount required to qualify for federal free or reduced price lunches

21st Century Scholars Program• Need-based 21st Scholars

receive funds from both the Frank O’Bannon Grant and the 21st Century Scholarship fund– The 21st Century

Scholarship portion is applied as follows:

• Public College– 21st amount is difference between

current year tuition and FOB award

• Private College– 21st amount is difference between

private college cap and FOB award

• Proprietary College– 21st amount is difference between

proprietary college cap and FOB award

National Guard Supplemental Grant

• 100% of tuition and regularly assessed fees• Public institutions only• Certified by Guard Unit each semester• Student must be in active drilling status,

cannot have been AWOL during prior year• Must file FAFSA by March 10 and complete

required National Guard paperwork

Part-time Grant• Students attending 2-11 credit hours (or part-

time equivalent) and meeting SFA priority criteria can receive grant

• Schools calculate grant based on 80% of tuition cap minus the students’ PC/EFC and multiplied by the number of credit hours being taken

Children of Veteran Awards (CVO)

• 100% of tuition and regularly assessed fees• Public institutions only• Eligible children of disabled Indiana veterans• Eligible children of National Guard members

killed while serving on state active duty• Eligible children of Indiana public safety

officers killed in the line of duty

Mitch Daniels Early Graduation Scholarship

• $4,000 scholarship to be applied toward tuition and regularly assessed fees, balance remitted to scholarship recipient

FAFSA

• RECEIVED by the federal processor between January 1, 2013 and March 10, 2013

• Corrections received by May 15, 2013• REMEMBER– Students must file the CORRECT year’s FAFSA– Students should file a FAFSA each year by March 10

even if they are not sure whether they will be attending college

– FAFSA may be filed with estimated tax information in order to meet March 10 deadline

FAFSA• SFA receives FAFSAs for dependent or independent students

listing Indiana (IN) as their state of legal residence or from dependent students whose parents list IN as their state of legal residence

• ISIRs are “drawn down” from the CPS each week night; transactions submitted by students and colleges are normally received 2-5 days from the date of submission depending on the time of year

SFA Award Cycle• Three cycles in the SFA Award Calendar– Application (APPL) cycle• Begins in February

– Notification (NOTF) cycle• Begins in June/July

– Reconciliation (RECN) cycle• Begins in late summer/early fall based on SFA’s

classification of the institution

SFA Award Cycle• SFA Award cycles overlap from February

through May each year– As an example, currently we are in the AY 2012-13

RECN file cycle. The AY 2013-14 APPL cycle will begin in February of 2013

• Student records for two different years appear in xGrads and in APPL and RECN files

Claiming Awards from SFA

• Two types of state financial aid awards– Reconciled Awards (Awards SFA creates)• Frank O’Bannon Grant, 21st Century Scholarship,

National Guard Supplemental Grant– Billed Awards (Awards institutions bill SFA for)• Mitch Daniels Early Graduation Scholarship, CVO,

Minority Teacher/Special Services and Nursing Scholarships, Part-time Grant


• Awards can be claimed two ways– File transfer• Institutions return an appropriately populated and

formatted reconciliation (RECN) or fee remission billing (FRBI) file to SFA by uploading in xGrads

– Individually• Institutions can claim and bill for student awards

individual in xGrads


• Deadlines to claim awards are based on the classification of the institution:


• Issues with student records MUST be cleared before claiming SFA awards:– Professional Judgment• Appropriate reason code must be applied

– Default/Overpayment• Must be cleared

– Residency• must be complete before each term award

reconciliation and billing deadline

Grade Point Average

• For students first entering an eligible Indiana institution after June 30, 2012– Higher Education Award– Freedom of Choice – 21st Century Scholarship– Child of Disabled Veteran Awards• If parent enlisted after June 30, 2011

Grade Point Average

• Requirements– Successfully completed work of previous year• Did student meet institution’s definition of Satisfactory

Academic Progress?– Remains domiciled in Indiana– Meet financial need guidelines– Based on cumulative Grade Point Average,

changes according to class standing

Grade Point Average

• Freshman– Satisfactory Academic Progress– Individual institutions’ definitions may vary

• Sophomore– 2.25 on 4.00 scale

• Junior and Senior– 2.50 on 4.00 scale

Grade Point Average• Institutions will report cumulative GPAs and class standing,

based on loan limits, for all students filing a FAFSA and listing Indiana as their state of legal residence– Initial term not meeting GPA requirement• Warning

– Subsequent terms not meeting GPA requirement• Ineligible for aid

Grade Point Average• At the end of each term a

smaller report will be required; this report should contain data for aid recipients who are in or have previously used a warning semester

• New fields in the APPL, NOTF and RECN files will list students’ subject to GPA requirements

• SFA has requested a trial data file submission in January 2013; this file will not be evaluated for GPA requirements

Professional Degree

• Four or five year postsecondary school course of study

• Student may be admitted without an undergraduate degree

• Leads to degree that is not undergraduate or graduate degree as determined by Commission

• Prepares holder of degree for a profession

Associate Degree

• Student did not graduate with Academic Honors or Technical Honors Diploma

• Student receives Associate Degree from eligible Indiana institution

• Student then enrolls in baccalaureate program• Student qualifies for Frank O’Bannon award

Reporting Associate and Professional Degree Students

• Both Associate and Professional Degree students can be reported to SFA via file transfer or through xGrads

• Associate Degree– Eligible for a 20% increase on

an FOB award• Professional Degree

– Eligible to receive FOB and 21st awards• May receive additional

funds based on high school diploma type

Eight-Year Rule

• Awards are only renewable, if otherwise eligible, for eight years

• “After date the individual first applies after July 1, 2011 and becomes eligible for benefits”

• SFA has defined as when student first starts taking classes

21st Century Scholars Program

Regional Support• Move from a direct-service model to one

based on partnerships and collaborations• 8 regions through the state• 1 Outreach Coordinator per region

Primary charge to work with K-12 schools, postsecondary institutions and community partners to support Scholars in that region

21st Century Scholars ProgramCurrent Grade

Level/ Graduation Year

Scholar Success Program

High School Cumulative

GPA

Annual FAFSA Filing

Financial Means Testing

College Enrollment

Guaranteed Full Tuition

Scholarship Expiration

Enrolled as a Scholar BEFORE June 30, 2011

12 (Class of 2013) Recommended 2.0 Yes No Within 1 Year Yes 8 Years





Enrolled as a Scholar AFTER June 30, 2011

9 (Class of 2016) Recommended 2.5 Yes Yes Within 1 Year No 8 Years

8 (Class of 2017) Required 2.5 Yes Yes Within 1 Year No 8 Years

7 (Class of 2018) Required 2.5 Yes Yes Within 1 Year No 8 Years

Resources for Financial Aid Staff• xGrads Information Files section

– Contains guidebooks, file layouts, award calculators, results files and user agreement forms for SFA systems

• SFA website– Memoranda section

• Contains program-related memoranda provided to colleges partners– College Partners section

• Contains PowerPoint's of past SFA presentations

• SFA Listserv– Signup to receive group specific new and notices related to state aid

More Information

• Website: www.in.gov/che– Click the “Division of Student Financial Aid” link

• Email: [email protected] • Phone: 317.232.2350• Fax: 317.232.3260

http://www.in.gov/che

Documents

State Aid Basics Division of Student Financial Aid (SFA) Indiana Commission for Higher Education