[Wsssc] Message from Paul Francis: FAFSA Timeline Update

Wed Mar 20 12:10:13 PDT 2024

Good afternoon, WSSSC VPs, ITC, IC, BAC, FAC, and ctcLink College Leaders:
The message below was just distributed to WACTC presidents and appointed State Board members.
Please DO NOT REPLY to SBCTC-IT Mail regarding this e-mail.  SBCTC-IT Mail is an unmonitored mailbox, and your message will not be received.

________________________________
SBCTC Memorandum
Date:    March 20, 2024
From:   Paul Francis, SBCTC Executive Director
To:        WACTC Presidents, State Board members
Subj:    FAFSA Timeline Update

Dear colleagues:
As we continue to navigate the challenges of the US Department of Education's FAFSA rollout and required PeopleSoft software update necessary for colleges to process student aid applications, we want to keep college leadership and financial aid officers aware of the latest developments as it pertains to our system, including where we stand today, suggestions for support, and resources.
What is happening?

  *   After extensive conversation and review of Oracle-delivered content, we anticipate the FAFSA ctcLink go-live date to be June 8, 2024. The June estimate is subject to change if the U.S. Department of Education further delays sending ISIRs to colleges and/or Oracle delays the necessary code fixes.
  *   Colleges have received only a handful of Institutional Student Information Records (ISIR) from the Department of Education, but financial aid packaging can only happen when Oracle releases its PeopleSoft update, expected early to mid-April.
  *   The US Department of Education (ED) continues to make changes to the regulations and calculations, further complicating aid packaging.
Technical issues
While the Department of Education is beginning to release small numbers of ISIRs to colleges, they can begin processing financial aid applications when PeopleSoft provides a bug-free update for its software, including ctcLink. Under the best of circumstances, a system update requires at least six to eight weeks from release date for migration, configuration, security analysis, testing, and then to go-live.
Given the critical nature of the FAFSA, the State Board teams will need to configure and test from the time Oracle releases its bug-free update to end of May.
While Oracle has released updates to PeopleSoft, including ctcLink, State Board staff found dozens of technical bugs that would put students at risk of not receiving the correct amount of financial aid, cause problems with the current year's financial aid award, and create more work for college staff working to process applications.
While State Board staff could implement the updates already released by Oracle, potential risk of overpayment to students and the administrative burden of workarounds to address the known errors will cause inaccurate aid awards and significant rework on the part of financial aid offices.
If there is one upside to the delay, PeopleTools  (the underlying technology on which PeopleSoft applications are built, deployed, and maintained) will be updated before FAFSA is ready to use, meaning colleges will have an up-to-date ctcLink environment.
Example bugs
Five pages of Oracle/PeopleSoft bugs<https://sbctcedu-my.sharepoint.com/:w:/g/personal/slnelson_sbctc_edu/EZD9i_PKo5dCrnTLjCFBb7QBsHQJo7CLItN8HBCX0rOFNQ?e=ak4Ib6> were compiled by Higher Education User Group (HEUG) clients. HEUG - pronounced HUG -- is an international non-profit organization for higher education institutions that use application software from the Oracle Corporation, including PeopleSoft Finance, Human Capital Management, and Campus Solutions.
Below are a few highlights of the type of errors caused by delivered Oracle bugs:

  *   Bug 36290334 - Update Need summary on Maintain Term budgets incorrectly calculates when SAI is negative. Student Aid Index (SAI) -- previously Expected Family Contribution (EFC) -- can now be a negative number (e.g., -1500). PeopleSoft coding struggles with negative numbers, meaning the student's need can't be calculated correctly. A fix is targeted to be included in a PRP to post in February or March and then will be included in Campus Solutions PUM Image 9.2.32.
     *   This SAI bug is also causing problems for the current 2023-2024-year ISIRs.
  *   Bug 36091972 - ISIR does not display the current effective dated row in ISIR data load parameters. When students or staff make changes to the ISIR, which happens frequently, the system does not load the corrected ISIR or the most current file.
  *   Bug 36140508 - ISIR correction initiated by owning school goes to suspense.  This means if College A corrects an ISIR, but the student decides to attend College B, the ISIR is stuck in suspense and College B is unable to retrieve the student file.
  *   Bug 36160187 - 2024-2025 FM Need Analysis Calculation - Federal tax calculation for student, student spouse, parent, and parent spouse. This determines the student's eligible budget - and is not calculating correctly based on the student and family's tax information.
What will help
Support your Financial Aid staff
College financial aid teams need leadership understanding of these complex challenges and grace, as well as any additional resources available, to get through this unprecedented challenge.
Streamline processes
Empower your financial aid staff to remove local barriers and to not request any additional documentation from students (e.g., enrollment status, additional loans forms, tax information, etc.) unless necessary (i.e., due to verification). Some longstanding forms and processes aren't required to process packages.
Reduced verification and review processes
Typically, 33% of files per college are selected for verification, which is a time-consuming process.

  *   The ED is significantly reducing verification requirements (except for suspected fraud) for the long term.
  *   ED has suspended new program reviews through June 2024, with some exceptions for the most serious issues. Institutions with ongoing program reviews can request extensions for responses to program reviews, reports, or requests for additional documentation.
  *   See the March 15, 2024 letter from ED to presidents and chancellors<https://www.sbctc.edu/resources/documents/blogs/ctclink-connect/ed-sec-fafsa-schools-update-2024-03-15.pdf> for details.
Sharing resources and information
FAFSA simplification drop-in sessions
Financial Aid Council (FAC) is hosting weekly open virtual sessions for FAFSA Simplification Drop-In Sessions. All financial aid staff are welcome to stop in. Information about these sessions is available on the FAC listserv.
Global Packaging Plans
Typically, each college district develops its own packaging equations to award aid.
At the winter Financial Aid Council meeting, the Financial Aid System Technology (FAST) group shared with FAC the plan for SBCTC to create global packaging equations for the 2024-25 year to help schools begin awarding. In February, the colleges completed a survey and finalized which global equations were agreed upon.
The intent is to get colleges awarding aid as soon as possible, especially with the most recent delays. Benefits to adopting the global packaging equations include:

  *   Packaging equations will be ready by the time Oracle release is tested and ready for ISIR import
  *   Plans will be tested by multiple colleges to ensure they are working appropriately
  *   Any additional changes that need to be made will result in faster resolution for global equations versus individual.
  *   Alignment of global packaging equations better streamlines the ability of SBCTC to troubleshoot issues
Schools that opt out of using the global packaging equations will need to open a ticket to have their current packaging plans adjusted.  The timeline for which SBCTC responds to these tickets is not guaranteed and will likely result in a further delay in your awarding for the 2024-25 aid year.
File review efficiencies
File review is time-consuming for colleges and requires visiting a lot of pages within ctcLink.
FAST is working with the SBCTC ctcLink Financial Aid Support team to create a unified, agreed-upon definition and process of file review across all colleges, to have ready for packaging. This way, rather than visiting several ctcLink pages to review each file, new queries will synthesize the information in one place.
Updated award letters
Global language, standardized across the college system, will emphasize that award amounts are subject to change based on student eligibility and regulation updates.
The intent is to support and empower financial aid staff to not feel they are personally being held accountable for inevitable changes/revisions to aid when ED keeps changing the landscape.The SBCTC ctcLink Financial Aid Support team will work with FAST to develop agreed-upon language and update all colleges' award letters.
FAFSA go-live support sessions
The ctcLink Financial Aid Support team will deliver financial aid support sessions for colleges June 10-21, 2024.
Much like during the ctcLink deployment go-lives, these sessions will allow colleges to drop in for one-on-one and group support running financial aid processes, awarding aid, and cheering each other on.
Mass packaging
The mass packaging enhancement request is in place and ready for colleges to use. Colleges just need to submit a ctcLink Service ticket<https://www.sbctc.edu/colleges-staff/it-support/erp-support/submit-ticket> to Financial Aid and let us know they want to start using mass packaging. We strongly encourage colleges to test out mass packaging now to learn each step and to gain efficiency and confidence for the aid year ahead.

I've heard it said this uncertainty around the FAFSA simplification rollout feels as unsettling as when the pandemic began. Please have confidence that we are doing all we can to minimize the impact and frustration around FAFSA for our colleges and students. We are all on the same team and seek the same outcomes for our students.
Accurate and timely financial aid is a top priority for me and the entire State Board staff. Thank you for all you do on behalf of our students and for your partnership as we work on solutions.
This message will also be sent to WSSSC VPs, IC, BAC, ITC, FAC, and ctcLink Points of Contact.
Paul
[cid:image002.png at 01DA7ABF.8EF6C490]Paul Francis
Executive Director
Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges
pfrancis at sbctc.edu<mailto:pfrancis at sbctc.edu> * o: 360-704-4355
sbctc.edu<https://www.sbctc.edu/> * Twitter: @SBCTCWashington<https://twitter.com/SBCTCWashington> * Facebook: @WASBCTC<https://www.facebook.com/wasbctc/>

SBCTC Vision - "Leading with racial equity, our colleges maximize student potential and transform lives within a culture of belonging that advances racial, social, and economic justice in service to our diverse communities."

________________________________

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