From mdmccoin at stgregorys.edu Wed Jun 6 08:22:29 2007 From: mdmccoin at stgregorys.edu (Matt D. McCoin) Date: Wed Jun 6 08:20:47 2007 Subject: [Oasfaa] Full Time Enrollment Status with Respect to ADA Message-ID: I wanted to seek your opinion regarding a student with a severe learning disability. Our institution does not currently have a formal "policy" outlining full-time status definition for those students falling under ADA. An adjustment was made for a student in the 06-07 academic year allowing her to be considered a full time student while enrolled in 9 hours. Documentation was gathered from the student's psychologist. The student is currently enrolled in 6 hours for the Fall 07 semester. One of the courses is a Math course that will be extremely difficult given the type of learning disability this student has. The mother is seeking a letter from the doctor "requesting" the student be considered full time while only enrolled in 6 hours. Before this request was made I suggested that the student enroll in an activity based 3 hour course. Based upon the adjustment that was made last year, the student would continue to be considered full-time at 9 hours. The mother still may consider this. My question to you: Under ADA, are we "required" to make adjustments in full-time enrollment status based upon the advice of a medical professional? Without a formal policy we made an adjustment to 9 hours last year. Will the decision to drop below 12 hours be considered a precedent for this case in reducing the full time status to 6, or can we hold to 9 hours based upon the adjustment last year. Finally, If we made an adjustment to her institutional scholarships reflecting she is not incurring full-time costs, would that appear as though we are not considering her full time with respect to institutional aid, but we are with respect to federal and state aid. I'm trying to look at every angle. Thanks for your help. Matthew D. McCoin Director of Financial Aid St. Gregory's University (405) 878-5396 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.onenet.net/pipermail/oasfaa/attachments/20070606/01b5c38b/attachment.html From pmcconahay at ou.edu Wed Jun 6 09:58:33 2007 From: pmcconahay at ou.edu (Mc Conahay, Pamela K.) Date: Wed Jun 6 09:56:57 2007 Subject: [Oasfaa] Full Time Enrollment Status with Respect to ADA In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <13C6AAE71C512F4E9DC7970DF41BCF8E08862C37@XMAIL.sooner.net.ou.edu> Matt, You can't adjust her enrollment status for federal aid due to the disability. 2006-2007 Federal Student Aid Handbook, Volume 1 Student Eligibility, Chapter 1 School Determined Requirements, page 1-11: Your definition of a full-time workload for a program must be used for all students enrolled in that program and must be the same definition for all FSA-related purposes, including loan deferments. You can't accommodate a student with a learning disability or other handicap by allowing the student a full-time enrollment status lower than the minimum standard. * Minimum standards for full-time enrollment. You may include any combination of courses, work, research, or special studies in your school's definition of workload. The regulations specify a minimum standard for undergraduate students but not for graduate students. For undergraduates, full-time status must be at least: * 12 semester hours or 12 quarter hours per academic term in an educational program using a semester, trimester, or quarter system; * 24 semester hours or 36 quarter hours per academic year for an educational program using credit hours but not using a semester, trimester, or quarter system, or the prorated equivalent for a program of less than one academic year; * 24 clock hours per week for an educational program using clock hours; * a series of courses or seminars equaling 12 semester or quarter hours over a maximum of 18 weeks; or * the work portion of a cooperative education program in which the amount of work performed is equivalent to the academic workload of a full-time student. Your school must have a written policy stating what enrollment status the work portion of a co-op program is equivalent to. If it equals a full-time academic load, the co-op student is considered full time regardless of how many credits are earned for the co-op work. A student taking only correspondence courses is never considered to be enrolled more than half time. See Volume 3 for more on Pell and enrollment status and correspondence courses. If a student is enrolled in courses that do not count toward his degree, they cannot be used to determine enrollment status unless they are noncredit or remedial courses as described in the sidebar. This means you cannot award the student aid for classes that do not count toward his degree or certificate. What you do for institutional aid is up to you. Pam McConahay Assoc. Dir., Compliance, Training & Lender Relations University of Oklahoma Financial Aid Services 1000 Asp Avenue, Room 216 Norman OK 73019-4078 (405) 325-4617 Fax (405) 325-7608 pmcconahay@ou.edu This message, and attachments if any, from the University of Oklahoma may contain confidential or privileged information. If you are not the intended recipient of this information, you are prohibited from reading, disclosing, reproducing, distributing, disseminating, or otherwise using this information. If you received this transmission in error, please notify the sender and delete this message immediately. Thank you. ________________________________ From: oasfaa-bounces@lists.onenet.net [mailto:oasfaa-bounces@lists.onenet.net] On Behalf Of Matt D. McCoin Sent: Wednesday, June 06, 2007 8:22 AM To: oasfaa@lists.onenet.net Subject: [Oasfaa] Full Time Enrollment Status with Respect to ADA I wanted to seek your opinion regarding a student with a severe learning disability. Our institution does not currently have a formal "policy" outlining full-time status definition for those students falling under ADA. An adjustment was made for a student in the 06-07 academic year allowing her to be considered a full time student while enrolled in 9 hours. Documentation was gathered from the student's psychologist. The student is currently enrolled in 6 hours for the Fall 07 semester. One of the courses is a Math course that will be extremely difficult given the type of learning disability this student has. The mother is seeking a letter from the doctor "requesting" the student be considered full time while only enrolled in 6 hours. Before this request was made I suggested that the student enroll in an activity based 3 hour course. Based upon the adjustment that was made last year, the student would continue to be considered full-time at 9 hours. The mother still may consider this. My question to you: Under ADA, are we "required" to make adjustments in full-time enrollment status based upon the advice of a medical professional? Without a formal policy we made an adjustment to 9 hours last year. Will the decision to drop below 12 hours be considered a precedent for this case in reducing the full time status to 6, or can we hold to 9 hours based upon the adjustment last year. Finally, If we made an adjustment to her institutional scholarships reflecting she is not incurring full-time costs, would that appear as though we are not considering her full time with respect to institutional aid, but we are with respect to federal and state aid. I'm trying to look at every angle. Thanks for your help. Matthew D. McCoin Director of Financial Aid St. Gregory's University (405) 878-5396 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.onenet.net/pipermail/oasfaa/attachments/20070606/f995692f/attachment.html From tburgess at mntechnology.com Fri Jun 8 12:36:04 2007 From: tburgess at mntechnology.com (TERESA BURGESS) Date: Fri Jun 8 12:34:34 2007 Subject: [Oasfaa] Temporary Financial Aid Counselor Needed at Moore Norman Message-ID: <46694D340200007B0000006B@MNTECHNOLOGY.COM> Skipped content of type multipart/alternative-------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: #06-47 Temp Financial Aid Counselor.doc Type: application/msword Size: 76800 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://lists.onenet.net/pipermail/oasfaa/attachments/20070608/ddc69ae1/06-47TempFinancialAidCounselor.doc From tburgess at mntechnology.com Fri Jun 8 16:40:02 2007 From: tburgess at mntechnology.com (TERESA BURGESS) Date: Fri Jun 8 16:38:46 2007 Subject: [Oasfaa] Financial Aid Coordinator Opening at Moore Norman Message-ID: <466986620200007B000000DE@MNTECHNOLOGY.COM> Skipped content of type multipart/alternative-------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: #06-48 Financial Aid Coordinator.doc Type: application/msword Size: 68608 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://lists.onenet.net/pipermail/oasfaa/attachments/20070608/3a7b930a/06-48FinancialAidCoordinator.doc From pmcconahay at ou.edu Sat Jun 9 15:44:59 2007 From: pmcconahay at ou.edu (Mc Conahay, Pamela K.) Date: Sat Jun 9 15:43:33 2007 Subject: [Oasfaa] The New NPRM Message-ID: <13C6AAE71C512F4E9DC7970DF41BCF8E088D5946@XMAIL.sooner.net.ou.edu> If you attended the OGSLP conference on Thursday (VERY VERY WELL DONE!) , you heard Brett Lief talk about the new NPRM (Notice of Proposed Rulemaking) and refer to the kind of people who read the preambles to NPRMs as 'nerds". Hi, I'm Nerd. Nice to meet you. Notices of Proposed Rulemaking are an important part of the government regulatory process. This is our opportunity to say "hey, wait a minute, I don't like that" or "If you really want to achieve your objective, I think it should be done THIS way" before regulation gets set in stone. When I was young in financial aid, back in the last millennia, I was bored silly by federal updates and people who talked about proposed regulations. My attitude was "don't bother me until it actually goes into effect, not that I'll be all that interested even then". Then, I aged...and I learned that comments made in response to NPRMs really CAN affect the eventual final regulations. Even if the proposed regulations don't change when they become final regulations, the comment period gives you some valuable preparation time depending on how soon these reg changes will take effect. What Brett didn't tell you is that all the juicy stuff about arguments between ED and the negotiated rulemaking participants are talked about in the preamble. Preambles are like the People Magazine of NPRMs. You can get a pretty good idea of what arguments or suggestions ED has already refused to budge on by reading the preamble.....and what they might still be willing to look at during the comment period. I read through the "invitation to comment" section of the NPRM, that's where ED discusses all of the suggestions made by the negotiated rulemaking group and why ED did or did not take their suggestions. Although the NPRM is 225 pages long, the 'invitation to comment' is only about 100 pages (the first 100 pages). Light reading, huh? I've listed below the areas that I pointed out to our administrative colleagues here at OU. You might consider doing the same. Bursar, Student Loan Collections if you have a Perkins Loan Program: Page 11-17 Simplified Deferment Processes for FFEL and Perkins Page 17-19 Death Certificate Requirement for Discharge FFEL and Perkins Page 20-28 Total and Permanent Disability Discharges for FFEL and Perkins Page 32-38 Electronic Signatures on MPNs for FFEL and Perkins Page 38-44 Record Retention on MPNs for Loans Assigned to ED. Page 50-54 Required Perkins Loan Assignments Page 54-58 Reasonable Collection Costs for Perkins Page 58-60 Child/Family Service Cancellation for Perkins Financial Aid Executive Director, Associate VP Page 60 Prohibited Inducements Page 67 Support for Financial Literacy Efforts Allowed Page 68 Support for Training, Meetings, Conferences (meals, receptions, etc.) Page 68 Prohibitions for Guarantors Page 73 Affiliated Groups (Recruiters? Alumni Association?) Page 79 Philanthropic Giving (Might affect Development?) Page 87 Prohibitions on School Affliated and Social Groups---might this include fraternities & sororities? Page 92 Requirements for Preferred Lender lists Page 100-102 Minimum number on the list, model format for benefits comparison being developed by ED. Remember, these are just proposed regulations, the NPRM won't officially be open for comment until it gets posted in the Federal Register. Comments will be accepted for 60 days after the publication in the Federal Register. I checked the Friday, June 8 Federal Register and the NPRM wasn't published yet. The NPRM is available online at http://www.ed.gov/policy/highered/reg/hearulemaking/2007/loans.html There will be analysis and discussion of this NPRM at the highest levels....and at the lowest----like you and me. Be a part of the process. Pam McConahay Assoc. Dir., Compliance, Training & Lender Relations University of Oklahoma Financial Aid Services 1000 Asp Avenue, Room 216 Norman OK 73019-4078 (405) 325-4617 Fax (405) 325-7608 pmcconahay@ou.edu This message, and attachments if any, from the University of Oklahoma may contain confidential or privileged information. If you are not the intended recipient of this information, you are prohibited from reading, disclosing, reproducing, distributing, disseminating, or otherwise using this information. If you received this transmission in error, please notify the sender and delete this message immediately. Thank you. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.onenet.net/pipermail/oasfaa/attachments/20070609/3c9d9d99/attachment.html From pmcconahay at ou.edu Sat Jun 9 17:56:32 2007 From: pmcconahay at ou.edu (Mc Conahay, Pamela K.) Date: Sat Jun 9 17:54:42 2007 Subject: [Oasfaa] A Change Is Coming Message-ID: <13C6AAE71C512F4E9DC7970DF41BCF8E088D594D@XMAIL.sooner.net.ou.edu> Was Friday not the most beautiful day in history? Gosh it was pretty. You may have heard that OU purchased the Banner student system software last month. Yes, we're very pleased. We're even more pleased that UCO finished their conversion to Banner last year and OCU is in the middle of converting from SIS+ to Banner.....it always helps to have someone close by to share with. And, no, I'm NOT saying misery loves company. When will we go live? The plan is for financial aid to begin using Banner for the 09-10 award year. We have kick-off meetings early next week and some of the staff dedicated to the project will move to the project offices across campus at the end of next week. From our office, Brad Burnett and I will be dedicated to the project---Brad as the project director for the functional users (Recruitment, Admissions, Registration, Academic Records, Bursar, Financial Aid, the whole shooting match). and I'll be the "functional lead" for financial aid. For those of you who know Rick Skeel, our director of academic records, he's heading up the "Student System" group (Admissions, Registration, Records, etc.). Other people from our office will have tasks and provide information, but I have to make sure the financial aid stuff gets done. Brad has to make sure the whole thing gets done. I'm not worried. He managed the project to bring the CPS to the web for Pearson....a little thing you know as "FAA Access". He knows how to get it done. In fact, when searching for a project name, that was the first suggestion, "Project Git-R-Done". (No, we don't have a name for it yet.) Brad will be moving next week, I won't have to move until later this fall because I won't be totally full-time on the project til then. Yes, we're moving out....it's definitely not up. You know that little ratty office where you stick the auditors? Yeah, well, we have a little ratty old dorm in Cross Center. I mean OLD...it was old when I got here as a freshman. Yeah, that's OLD. No elevators. I'll be on the fourth floor---when this is over, I'll either be fit or dead. The big positive is it has a basketball hoop out front, so I can work on my hook shot. (Yeah, right, for being a big fan, I've never shot a basket in my life.) I've lived in worse places as a student....and Brad's been in the Army. We're tough, we'll be fine. And, hey, it's only 2 years. What about the financial aid office? Shoot, what do I care, I'll be working on Banner and shooting hoops. No, really, everyone here is pitching in really well. We will be hiring a couple of people to help "back-fill" as Brad calls it. I always visualize a back-hoe operator when he says that. You'll see more about those jobs when we've figured out what they'll do and what we'll call them. Why am I writing to you now? To give you a little heads up that I won't be as accessible as I have been in the past. Yes, I'll still have a phone (same #) and email, but my time and my focus HAS to be on the new system, not the functional everyday operations of the financial aid office. I'll still read the listservs and the NASFAA news and do things like the 1040-Simple Needs Test chart. If I see questions out on the listserv that I have time and expertise to respond to, I'll do that...but it may take a while. That's something for my 'spare time'. But, no, you won't be able to just call me whenever you want to ask a question or discuss a policy. As I've told our staff, there will be no more "just one quick question" stuff and that goes for my colleagues too. For new aid officers that I met on Thursday and said you can contact me if you need help....you CAN. But, it may not be me that helps you---I may hook you up with another Okie aid officer who is equally capable of helping you. You probably won't see me at OASFAA or SWASFAA, depending on the schedule. Yes, I do get to go to NASFAA this year---I'll be at the Omni so contact me if you want to get together. I'm reasonably sure we won't be invited to any big parties this year :-| Oh, and I'm experimenting with different voicemail greetings to use when the project starts. Let me know what you think of my samples below......I'm partial to #8. Pam Pam McConahay Assoc. Dir., Compliance, Training & Lender Relations University of Oklahoma Financial Aid Services 1000 Asp Avenue, Room 216 Norman OK 73019-4078 (405) 325-4617 Fax (405) 325-7608 pmcconahay@ou.edu This message, and attachments if any, from the University of Oklahoma may contain confidential or privileged information. If you are not the intended recipient of this information, you are prohibited from reading, disclosing, reproducing, distributing, disseminating, or otherwise using this information. If you received this transmission in error, please notify the sender and delete this message immediately. Thank you. -------Original Message------- Subject: "Out of Office" "Out of Office" email ideas 1. I am currently away from my desk, beating my head against the wall. Your message will be replied to once I have reached a level of numbness sufficient to cloud my vision to the point I am able to formulate an appropriate response to your request. 2. I am currently out at a job interview and wi ll reply to you if I fail to get the position. Be prepared for my mood. 3. You are receiving this automatic notification because I am out of the office. If I was in, chances are you wouldn't have received anything at all. 4. I will be unable to delete all the unread, worthless emails you send me until I return on April 1st. Please be patient and your Mail will be deleted in the order it was received. 5. Thank you for your email. Your credit card has been charged $5.99 for the first ten words and $1.99 for each additional word in your message. 6. The e-mail server is unable to verify your server connection and is unable to deliver this message. Please restart your computer and try sending again. (The beauty of this one is that when you return, you can see how many in-duh-viduals did this over and over). 7. Thank you for your message, which has been added to a queuing system. You are currently in 352nd place, and can expect to receive a reply in approximately 19 weeks. 8. I've run away to join a different circus. 9. I will be out of the office for the next 2 weeks for medical reasons. When I return, please refer to me as 'Marvin' instead of 'Martha.' -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.onenet.net/pipermail/oasfaa/attachments/20070609/65b23f10/attachment.html From lperry at rose.edu Mon Jun 11 16:22:21 2007 From: lperry at rose.edu (Perry, Lori A.) Date: Mon Jun 11 16:20:35 2007 Subject: [Oasfaa] SWASFAA Membership Message-ID: Hello OASFAA Members, If you have already renewed your SWASFAA membership or plan to renew your membership soon, please be reminded to update your SWASFAA user profile. This data is used by various SWASFAA committees so it is important to keep your personal information updated. A specific example of the use of this data is for recognizing members' years of service at the annual SWASFAA conference coming December 12-14, 2007 in Austin, TX. You can check your member profile using the following link: http://www.swasfaa.org/docs/forms/memIndivUpdate.html You must have your SWASFAA user name and password to access your information. If you are joining for the first time, you will receive your user name and password after the membership application is submitted. If you have any questions, please let me know. Sincerely, Lori Perry 2007 SWASFAA Membership Chair Lori Perry Financial Aid Advisor Rose State College 6420 S.E. 15th Street Midwest City, OK 73110 405-733-7424 voice 405-736-0359 fax -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.onenet.net/pipermail/oasfaa/attachments/20070611/29038438/attachment.html From bfair at osrhe.edu Mon Jun 11 17:00:08 2007 From: bfair at osrhe.edu (Fair, Bryce) Date: Mon Jun 11 16:58:20 2007 Subject: [Oasfaa] Bills Signed by Governor Henry Message-ID: <3B3640988539EC47A50B689936AF65C1074AF1@postman2.osrhe.edu> Last week Governor Henry finished his consideration of bills sent to him the last few days of the legislative session. He signed the three bills we noted in an e-mail on May 25. You can now view the final, signed versions of those bills online. SB 820 - Oklahoma's Promise-Oklahoma Higher Learning Access Program - You can view the final version of the bill at http://www.sos.state.ok.us/documents/Legislation/51st/2007/1R/SB/820.pdf. The bill makes several significant changes to the program including: * Providing a stable, dedicated funding source. This is a very big deal. Beginning in FY2008-09, Oklahoma's Promise will get "first dibs" on the state's General Revenue Fund. We shouldn't have to ever worry again about funds intended for the program not fully materializing and thus forcing the need for a supplemental appropriation to finish the year. See section 4 starting on p. 17. * Requiring for a second income "screen" at $100,000 when OKPromise students start college. This requirement will become effective for students starting college in 2009-10 and thereafter. The income screen will apply to the student's parents if the student is dependent status. If the student is independent, or if the student was in DHS or tribal custody at the time they enrolled in OKPromise, then the screen will apply to the student's income. We are trying to get clarification from legislative sources about whether this is a one-time screen or an annual screen. You can read this new provision at the top of page 24. * New minimum college GPA requirement. Effective for OKPromise students receiving the award for the first time in 2009-10, they will be required to earn at least a 2.0 for courses taken during their sophomore year and a 2.5 for courses taken during the junior year and thereafter. As written in the bill, these are not overall cumulative GPA's but GPA's of just the specified periods, so their calculation may be a bit tricky. See page 21. * College conduct requirement. Effective January 1, 2008, any OKPromise college student that is suspended for more than one semester from an institution will permanently lose the scholarship. We will probably need your help publicizing this new requirement since it becomes effective sooner than the others. See page 21. * Provides eligibility for homeschool students. Homeschool students will have the three-year period between the ages of 13 to 15 to enroll in OKPromise. Like students attending non-accredited high schools, homeschool students must complete all the regular curricular requirements of the program and also achieve at least a score of 22 on the ACT test. Statutory changes related to homeschool eligibility are spread over several sections; see pages 20, 22, & 23. In the text of the bill, homeschool students are formally referred to as students "educated by other means" which is a phrase derived from the compulsory school attendance section of Oklahoma's state constitution. * Prohibits students without lawful immigration status from participating in the program. Beginning in 2007-08, students must be U.S. citizens or lawfully present in the U.S. to participate in the program and to qualify for the award. Students already enrolled in the program by the end of 2006-07 are "grandfathered" into the program. See page 19. HB 2103 - Tuition "Guarantee" or "Lock" - This bill provides for guaranteed tuition rates for periods of 2 years or 4 years at state system institutions beginning in 2008-09. The bill anticipates that there will be both guaranteed and nonguaranteed tuition rates offered to each entering freshmen class. Consequently, after a few years, there could potentially be many different tuition rates being administered by a single institution. Students choosing the guaranteed rates must remain enrolled full-time to retain the guaranteed rate. The bill also contains two sections addressing the costs of college textbooks. Governor Henry signed the bill somewhat reluctantly and took the unusual step of putting his reservations in writing as part of the official record of the bill. You can see Governor Henry's comments and the text of the bill at: http://www.sos.state.ok.us/documents/Legislation/51st/2007/1R/HB/2103.pdf HB 1762 - Oklahoma's Promise - This bill relates to the unusual situation in Texhoma, OK, a town in the panhandle that is literally split by the OK/TX state border. Based on the authorization of an Oklahoma statute, the Oklahoma school district operates in contractual cooperation with the adjoining school district in Texas. All students in both districts go to elementary school through grade 4 on the Texas side and then go to grades 5-12 on the Oklahoma side and graduate from Texhoma, OK High School. The changes in HB 1762 allow students living on the Texas side of the town to participate in OKPromise. The bill text is available at: http://www.sos.state.ok.us/documents/Legislation/51st/2007/1R/HB/1762.pdf Bryce Fair Assoc. Vice Chancellor for Scholarships & Grants Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education Phone: (405) 225-9162 Fax: (405) 225-9230 E-mail: bfair@osrhe.edu Mailing Address: P.O. Box 108850 Oklahoma City, OK 73101-8850 Street Address: 655 Research Parkway, Suite 200 Oklahoma City, OK 73104 From pgandy at ogslp.org Tue Jun 12 14:31:21 2007 From: pgandy at ogslp.org (Gandy, Penny) Date: Tue Jun 12 14:29:28 2007 Subject: [Oasfaa] OGSLP Power Outage Message-ID: <297AF473E6053445A2007FAB9E8BCACF2897F4@elgar.lan.ogslp.org> OGSLP is currently experiencing a power outage. Incoming e-mail and phone calls may not be available during this time. We do not have an estimated time frame for the repairs, but will keep you posted by providing updates through the OASFAA and Lender listserves. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause you and hope to have everything up and running as soon as possible. Penny Gandy Client Solutions Manager OGSLP -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.onenet.net/pipermail/oasfaa/attachments/20070612/59a7f8bc/attachment.html From pgandy at ogslp.org Tue Jun 12 16:12:38 2007 From: pgandy at ogslp.org (Gandy, Penny) Date: Tue Jun 12 16:10:45 2007 Subject: [Oasfaa] OGSLP Power Outage (Update) Message-ID: <297AF473E6053445A2007FAB9E8BCACF2897F7@elgar.lan.ogslp.org> The power outage has affected several blocks in our vicinity and we still do not have an estimated time of recovery at this point. However, if you have an emergency and need to reach someone, you may call: Penny Gandy Client Solutions Manager OGSLP (405) 234-4364 This number will route to my cell phone until building access is restored. Again, we will provide you with updates as they become available. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.onenet.net/pipermail/oasfaa/attachments/20070612/c64f4aef/attachment.html From mmowdy at ogslp.org Tue Jun 12 16:51:40 2007 From: mmowdy at ogslp.org (Mowdy, Mary) Date: Tue Jun 12 16:49:50 2007 Subject: [Oasfaa] OGSLP Closed Due to Power Outage Message-ID: <76BBB3CD27062D47B827801591653A23082923@elgar.lan.ogslp.org> Dear OGSLP Constituents: A power outage near our building has forced us to close our operations for the rest of the day. We will post an update first thing in the morning to let you know when we expect to return to normal business operations. Mary Mary Mowdy, Executive Director Oklahoma Guaranteed Student Loan Program A division of the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education P. O. Box 3000 Oklahoma City, OK 73101-3000 405-234-4310 fax: 405-234-4565 This communication and attachments, if any, are intended solely for the use of the addressee hereof. In addition, this message and attachments, if any, may contain information that is confidential, privileged and exempt from disclosure under applicable law. If you are not the intended recipient of this information, you are prohibited from reading, disclosing, reproducing, distributing, disseminating, or otherwise using this information. If you have received this communication in error, please promptly notify the sender and immediately delete the communication from your system. -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: not available Type: application/ms-tnef Size: 4753 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://lists.onenet.net/pipermail/oasfaa/attachments/20070612/1aa21f63/attachment.bin From pgandy at ogslp.org Wed Jun 13 07:38:09 2007 From: pgandy at ogslp.org (Gandy, Penny) Date: Wed Jun 13 07:36:12 2007 Subject: [Oasfaa] OGSLP Power Restored Message-ID: <297AF473E6053445A2007FAB9E8BCACF299F90@elgar.lan.ogslp.org> The power has been restored to OGSLP and all services have resumed normal operation. If you have any questions, please contact Client Solutions at (405) 234-4329 or any other representative at OGSLP that you typically call as your point of contact. Thank you for your patience while this issue was being addressed. Penny Gandy Client Solutions Manager Oklahoma Guaranteed Student Loan Program (405) 234-4364 From bfair at osrhe.edu Wed Jun 13 10:07:12 2007 From: bfair at osrhe.edu (Fair, Bryce) Date: Wed Jun 13 10:05:21 2007 Subject: [Oasfaa] A couple of other bills of interest Message-ID: <3B3640988539EC47A50B689936AF65C1074AFC@postman2.osrhe.edu> Following are two more bills from the 2007 Oklahoma legislative session that may be of interest to some. SB 496 prohibits any state system institution or state career technology center from entering into agreements to sell student data to any creditor for the purposes of marketing consumer credit. Text: http://www.sos.state.ok.us/documents/Legislation/51st/2007/1R/SB/496.pdf HB 1114 - Sections 2-5 authorize state agencies to make loan repayments on behalf of state employees of up to $5,000 per year with a cumulative limit of $15,000. The repayments are discretionary for the agencies. Certain conditions and required continued employment provisions apply. Below are a couple of newspaper articles from the past two days about the bill. Text: http://www.sos.state.ok.us/documents/Legislation/51st/2007/1R/HB/1114.pdf ================================== Daily Oklahoman June 12, 2007 Agencies might pay workers' school debt By Michael McNutt Capitol Bureau Full-time state employees will be able to get some of their student loan costs paid by taxpayers, according to a measure that takes effect next month. It's not so much of a perk as an attempt to retain state employees who may be tempted to go to private companies that pledge to pay some of their college costs, said Scott Barger, deputy director of the Oklahoma Public Employees Association, which proposed the legislation. "That's just a tool, it doesn't mandate that any agency has to utilize it," Barger said. "But if they have funds available in their budget, they can go ahead and take part in that program." Impact on budget The financial impact on the state is zero, he said, because each agency would use available funds, not any special money set aside. Understaffed agencies, for example, could use money not spent on personnel on workers they want to recruit or retain who have loans that need to be repaid. "The intent is that it would be something that benefits the agency," he said. It also makes the state more competitive with private companies, Barger said. "The private sector companies will come in and, for instance, with a social worker give them a job and to incentivize it they'll repay some of their college loans," Barger said. "So we're not able to compete." Requirements Eligible employees can earn up to a $5,000 qualified education loan expense payment for every 2,000 hours worked, or 50 40-hour work weeks, in a year. The legislation, House Bill 1114, caps reimbursement at $15,000 per employee. If the employee leaves the state agency before working the required number of hours, then the employee must pay the state what is owed on the reimbursement, according to the legislation which legislators handily approved. It passed the House, 93-3, and the Senate, 47-0. Matthew Nowlin, an employee with the Employment Security Commission, came up with the idea. "This is an important step in recruiting the next generation of state employees and will also encourage recent graduates to consider public service and to stay in the state and help build the future of Oklahoma," Nowlin said. Minimum salary The measure, which takes effect July 1, also makes sure no state worker is being paid below the country's poverty level. The legislation removes language that states employees may be paid no less than $12,483, a figure established in 1991. HB 1114 states employees must be paid at least the annual salary established by federal poverty guidelines for a family of three. About 200 of the state's approximately 36,000 state workers earn less than the current $17,150 poverty income level for a family of three, Barger said. Bringing the employees up to the poverty level will cost the state about $150,000, Barger said. Barger's wife, Anna, who works for the Education Department, came up with the idea of helping the lowest-paid state employees. "When I discovered that there were some state employees who made less than $17,000 per year, I just couldn't understand how anyone could take care of a family making this salary," she said. "I wish it could be more, but I think this will go a long way in helping the lowest paid of our state workers." =============================== New law allows taxpayers' money to pay full-time state workers' student loans By Associated Press 6/13/2007 OKLAHOMA CITY - A bill passed overwhelmingly by the Oklahoma Legislature will allow state agencies to use taxpayer money to pay student loan costs for full-time state employees. The measure, which will take effect July 1, gives state agencies the flexibility to compete when private companies try to lure state employees with the promise of paying some of their college costs, said Scott Barger, the deputy director of the Oklahoma Public Employees Association, the group that proposed the bill. "That's just a tool. It doesn't mandate that any agency has to utilize it," Barger said. "But if they have funds available in their budget, they can go ahead and take part in that program." The bill passed the House by a 93-3 vote and the Senate by a 47-0 vote. The measure will allow eligible employees to earn up to a $5,000 loan expense payment every year for every 2,000 hours worked or 50 40-hour weeks worked. An employee can be reimbursed a maximum of $15,000. Barger said that because each agency would use only its available funds, and not money set aside for the program, it will have no financial impact on the state. "The intent is that it would be something that benefits the agency," Barger said. "The private sector companies will come in and, for instance, with a social worker give them a job and to incentivize it they'll repay some of their college loans," Barger said. Matthew Nowlin, an employee with the state Employment Security Commission, came up with the idea. "This is an important step in recruiting the next generation of state employees and will also encourage recent graduates to consider public service and to stay in the state and help build the future of Oklahoma," Nowlin said. Language in the bill also will ensure all state workers must be paid at least the annual salary established by federal poverty guidelines for a family of three, which is $17,150. About 200 of the state's 36,000 workers now earn less than that amount. =================================== Bryce Fair Assoc. Vice Chancellor for Scholarships & Grants Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education Phone: (405) 225-9162 Fax: (405) 225-9230 E-mail: bfair@osrhe.edu Mailing Address: P.O. Box 108850 Oklahoma City, OK 73101-8850 Street Address: 655 Research Parkway, Suite 200 Oklahoma City, OK 73104 From kristina-emerson at utulsa.edu Wed Jun 13 14:01:52 2007 From: kristina-emerson at utulsa.edu (Emerson, Kristi) Date: Wed Jun 13 14:00:01 2007 Subject: [Oasfaa] Vicki Update Message-ID: <5E0BB54BEC5EBA44B373175A080E64010457CE15@ophelia.ad.utulsa.edu> Hi Everyone... Wanted to share with you how Vicki has been doing. She went to the hematologist/oncologist yesterday and her platelet count was.............142000 :-) :-) :-) This is a wonderful number!!!!!!!!!!!!!! He could not get over how good she looked and just kept hugging her. Her feet and legs are finally getting back some shape as that is the last area for the fluid to come off. She has been walking each day to help regain her strength and she was able to get up all the stairs at her house this weekend!!! :-) She sees the kidney doctor today for a checkup and is also getting the port removed from her shoulder which she is glad to get out. The doctor is sending her to a physical therapist next month. Since her muscles were not used for such a long while he just wants to make sure all is in good working order. She was able to go to church for the first time on Sunday and that was an awesome day but extremely tiring for her. One of the best parts of her day is when the mail comes...you all are still being so faithful in sending her cards and letters...she is so thrilled to hear from all of you!!! Thank you for your prayers and support!!!! Kristi Kristi Emerson Assistant Director, Student Financial Services The University of Tulsa 600 South College Avenue Tulsa, Oklahoma 74104 918.631.3325 918.631.5105 (fax) kristi-emerson@utulsa.edu http://www.utulsa.edu/financialaid/ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.onenet.net/pipermail/oasfaa/attachments/20070613/42598ae2/attachment.html From rosalind.martin at metrotech.org Thu Jun 14 12:03:22 2007 From: rosalind.martin at metrotech.org (Rosalind Martin) Date: Thu Jun 14 12:02:58 2007 Subject: [Oasfaa] Foundation Funds Criteria Message-ID: If you have a foundation for awarding scholarships or funds to students at your institution, would you mind sharing with me any information regarding policies, procedures, or criteria that has been established to utilize those funds to award funds to students? Thanks. Rosalind Rosalind Martin, BS, MBA Metro Technology Centers Financial Aid/Veteran Director Phone: 405/605-4437 Fax: 405/424-4010 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.onenet.net/pipermail/oasfaa/attachments/20070614/35752450/attachment.html From lcoponiti at usao.edu Thu Jun 14 16:40:01 2007 From: lcoponiti at usao.edu (Laura Coponiti) Date: Thu Jun 14 16:38:06 2007 Subject: [Oasfaa] FW: [swasfaaL] SASFAA/SWASFAA Mid-Level Workshop Message-ID: <001e01c7aecc$918f2f70$10fc000a@ahlab.usao.edu> From: John Noah john.noah@citi.com Subject: SASFAA/SWASFAA Mid-Level Workshop Message: We have a few members who have room reservations, but have not yet registered for the Mid-level Workshop. If you have not yet registered please do so today. Registration is available at: http://www.swasfaa.org/docs/forms/memSWSMidLevTrain.html If you would still like to attend we have a few spots available and there is still time to register. Thank you, John Noah, Continuing Education Committee Attachment: workshop information Click the following link to view attachment http://www.swasfaa.org/ListLock/9YHNzud4Y5rrCngy.doc ------------------------------------------- REPLY: To reply to the person sending this message, use the email address in the 'From' section of message above. Messages replied back to this list will be discarded. POST/MANAGE SUBSCRIPTION: To post a message to this list go to http://www.swasfaa.org. Select 'Listserv' in the 'Member Services' section and follow the instructions for posting or managing your subscription. You will be asked for your SWASFAA username and password. QUESTIONS: Contact support@swasfaa.org ------------------------------------------- From lcoponiti at usao.edu Fri Jun 15 15:56:04 2007 From: lcoponiti at usao.edu (Laura Coponiti) Date: Fri Jun 15 15:55:26 2007 Subject: [Oasfaa] OASFAA Directory Message-ID: <003b01c7af8f$98bb14d0$10fc000a@ahlab.usao.edu> Skipped content of type multipart/alternative-------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: OASFAA Vote 06-12-07.xls Type: application/vnd.ms-excel Size: 221696 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://lists.onenet.net/pipermail/oasfaa/attachments/20070615/0afb11b1/OASFAAVote06-12-07.xls From glangsto at snu.edu Tue Jun 19 09:02:01 2007 From: glangsto at snu.edu (Gale Langston) Date: Tue, 19 Jun 2007 09:02:01 -0500 Subject: [Oasfaa] Verification Question Message-ID: <46779B89020000400000AA90@gw.snu.edu> We have a mother who is incarcerated. We cannot find anything in the regs that indicate whether or not she should be included as a family member for their dependent student. She is not living in the household, so she is not being supported by her husband; yet she is still married to her husband with no plans of separation. Does anyone have any insight on this situation? Thank you. Gale M. Langston Financial Assistance Counselor Southern Nazarene University -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.onenet.net/pipermail/oasfaa/attachments/20070619/ad7f2260/attachment.html From calexander at osrhe.edu Wed Jun 20 13:32:17 2007 From: calexander at osrhe.edu (Alexander, Carol) Date: Wed, 20 Jun 2007 13:32:17 -0500 Subject: [Oasfaa] File transfer - OHLAP claims Message-ID: <3B3640988539EC47A50B689936AF65C1086473@postman2.osrhe.edu> If you submitted a claim over the file transfer after 4:00 pm Tuesday, June 19 and anytime today, please send me an email to make sure that I have it. It appears we may have had an email problem. I have picked up files from USAO, OU and Rose, so it is not necessary for you to contact me. ALSO, our business office will be closed down for end of fiscal year processing soon. Please submit your claims to me by Friday, June 22, in order to meet their shut down date. Claims received after June 22 will be paid after July 9. If you have any questions, please let me know. Carol Alexander Scholarship Coordinator Oklahoma's Promise - OHLAP Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education 655 Research Parkway, Suite 200 Oklahoma City, OK 73104 phone: 405.225.9160 fax: 405.225.9392 Mailing Address: PO Box 108850 Oklahoma City, OK 73101-8850 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.onenet.net/pipermail/oasfaa/attachments/20070620/b2178fcb/attachment.html From sjoyner at otag.org Thu Jun 28 12:01:32 2007 From: sjoyner at otag.org (Joyner, Shiela) Date: Thu, 28 Jun 2007 12:01:32 -0500 Subject: [Oasfaa] 2007-08 OTAG Program Awarding Information Message-ID: <3B3640988539EC47A50B689936AF65C10B16B6@postman2.osrhe.edu> At their meeting today the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education approved the OTAG Award Payment Schedule for 2007-08. A copy of the schedule is attached for your information. With no increase in funding for the 2007-08 award year, the EFC cutoff for awards remains 1,500, and the FAFSA receipt date cutoff for fall 2007 awards is set at 4/30/07. Eligible students meeting these requirements are assured of payment upon the institution's submission of a successful and timely award claim. The Award Payment Schedule reflects 4,110 as the maximum eligible EFC, which is consistent with Pell in 2007-08. In prior years the maximum eligible EFC was based on Oklahoma's median family income data determined by HUD. The maximum EFC primarily serves as a means to identify the total number of eligible students who could be awarded if funds were provided, and at OTAG's current level of funding this change will have no effect on which students will be awarded. Also attached is a list of institutions that participate in the OTAG program and their flat-rate award amounts for 2007-08 (one amount for full-time undergraduates and one amount for part-time undergraduates). The amounts shown are for the full award year, one-half of which can be paid in each the fall and spring disbursement cycles. Important dates/deadlines that institutions and the State Regents' office must meet are listed in the attached Timelines and Procedures for 2007-08. These have been set in an effort to maximize the efficiency of the administration of the OTAG program to best benefit students statewide and was reviewed by the OASFAA board members prior to being finalized. All institutions are expected to adhere to the schedule, and everyone's cooperation will be appreciated. Important Reminders: * Again in 2007-08, OTAG will not send award notices to students, and we are relying on institutions to include OTAG award information in their student award notices. This procedural change was first implemented in 2005-06 at the request of the financial aid community. Please realize that if institutions do not identify OTAG awards in their student award notices, the students have no easy way of confirming that they are receiving an award from OTAG. We're counting on institutions to be our messengers. * There is no longer an award transfer process for OTAG, and students who change institutions should not contact the OTAG office to report their transfer. Instead, the new institution needs to simply include the student in their OTAG Award Claim Form, if they find the student to be eligible for an OTAG award at their institution. We will appreciate your assistance in making sure your staff members and other departments working directly with students are aware of this so they can respond appropriately to student inquiries. Also, please check your websites to make sure they reflect this information as well. * Only undergraduate students will be considered for awards in 2007-08. * The OTAG statutes continue to require renewal priority for students who were awarded by the program in 1999-2000. We will continue to identify any students who qualify as renewals and who require renewal priority in order to qualify, and we will notify any affected institutions (there was only one renewal student who required award priority in 2006-07). OTAG Policy Reminders: * Otherwise eligible students are no longer limited to 10 FTUG disbursements * Eligibility is limited to students who have not already received their first bachelor's degree Other than OTAG's Oklahoma residency requirement and the statutory limitations on the types of institutions that are eligible to participate in OTAG, student eligibility requirements for OTAG are the same as student eligibility requirements for Pell. If you cannot award a student Pell funds, you cannot award them OTAG funds. Confidentiality of Student Data: * All Award Claims, Disbursement Reports, Award Reconciliation Reports, and any other lists containing a student's identifying information (name, SSN, birth date) MUST be transmitted using the OSRHE Secure File Exchange Site. Any e-mail messages or attachments to e-mail messages that contain confidential student data will not be accepted by our office as having been received and will be immediately deleted from our e-mail system. More information regarding the 2007-08 OTAG program, including the availability of "work copy" Award Claim Forms will be forthcoming. As always we appreciate your assistance in delivering OTAG funds to Oklahoma's students. If you have questions regarding the OTAG program, please contact our office. <<2007_AWD_PAY_SCHED_FLAT RATE_EFC_062807.doc>> <<07-08 Award Flat Rate.xls>> <<2007-2008 OTAG Timelines & Procedures.doc>> *********************** Shiela Joyner, Director Oklahoma Tuition Aid Grant Program Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education P. O. Box 108850 Oklahoma City, OK 73101-8850 Internet: sjoyner at otag.org Voice: (405) 225-9378 Toll Free (877) 662-6231 Fax: (405) 225-9392 -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: 2007_AWD_PAY_SCHED_FLAT RATE_EFC_062807.doc Type: application/msword Size: 53760 bytes Desc: 2007_AWD_PAY_SCHED_FLAT RATE_EFC_062807.doc Url : http://lists.onenet.net/pipermail/oasfaa/attachments/20070628/d86a7b66/attachment.doc -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... 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