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<p class="p1" style="margin:0in"><span class="s1">Dear WSSSC, <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="p1" style="margin:0in"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="p1" style="margin:0in;font-size-adjust:none;font-kerning:auto;font-optical-sizing:auto">
<span class="s1">Yokiko and I are reaching out in preparation for our upcoming presentation to the SBCTC Board on FAFSA Simplification, which is scheduled for Thursday afternoon.
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="p1" style="margin:0in"><span class="s1"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="p1" style="margin:0in"><span class="s1">In addition to providing a basic overview of Simplification, an overview of student-parent concerns around enhanced security measures, digital equity, and
</span><span class="s1"><span style="color:black">equitable representation of financial situation,
<b>we will primarily be focusing on the impact to our institutions. </b></span>We have compiled a draft problem statement, along with considerations and recommendations, which we would value your expertise to ensure its accuracy and representation of all our
colleges. I ask that you please respond to me directly with any additional feedback you have no later than this Wednesday. Specific example (student, staff, departments) and student impact are extremely useful as we illustrate this concern.
</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="p1" style="margin:0in"><span class="s1"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="p1" style="margin:0in"><span class="s1"><b><span style="color:#0070C0">Opening Analogy:
<o:p></o:p></span></b></span></p>
<p class="xp1" style="margin:0in"><span class="xs1">Streamlining the FAFSA process is akin to renovating a complex house. For students and parents, it's like transitioning from a labyrinthine maze to a well-lit, organized floor plan, making the experience much
smoother. However, for institutions and financial aid offices, this overhaul is like changing the entire architectural design. It necessitates crafting a new communication plan, establishing different workflows, and mastering a learning curve, which can be
particularly challenging for offices short-staffed, facing frequent turnover, already juggling numerous additional responsibilities (SSEH, SEAG, etc.).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="xp1" style="margin:0in"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="xp1" style="margin:0in;font-size-adjust:none;font-kerning:auto"><span class="xs1">Adding to the complexity, many financial aid directors and staff are compensated significantly under market value. The regionalization of these classifications further
compounds the challenges, particularly for larger metropolitan institutions, creating additional strains on resources as they navigate the intricate reconstruction of financial aid processes. The transformation, while promising efficiency for users, requires
addressing these disparities to ensure a sustainable and equitable transition for the professionals managing the structural changes.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="p1" style="margin:0in"><span class="s1"><b><o:p> </o:p></b></span></p>
<p class="p1" style="margin:0in"><span class="s1"><b><span style="color:#0070C0">Problem Statement:</span></b></span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="p1" style="margin:0in;font-size-adjust:none;font-kerning:auto;font-optical-sizing:auto">
<span class="s1">Financial aid offices currently face substantial challenges, leading to an extended processing time for applications (ranging from 4 - 60 weeks); chronic understaffing is a significant contributor to this delay with some offices turning over
more than 175% in the past year; exacerbated by a compensation structure for financial aid directors and staff that falls below market value for recruitment and retention. Particularly in metropolitan areas, the prevailing annual salaries of $45,000 to $60,000
for staff present a critical issue for employee retention and morale. Not to be understated, the simplification comes after one of the most difficult and challenging overhauls of ctcLink, which resulted in 50% of Financial Aid Directors leaving their roles
during the 2021-2023 period. </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="p1" style="margin:0in;font-size-adjust:none;font-kerning:auto;font-optical-sizing:auto">
<span class="s1"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="p1" style="margin:0in"><span class="s1"><b><span style="color:#0070C0">Considerations:</span></b></span><b><span style="color:#0070C0"><o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<ul style="margin-top:0in" type="disc">
<li class="li1" style="margin-top:0in;margin-bottom:0in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1">
<span class="apple-tab-span"><b>Processing time:</b></span><span class="apple-tab-span"> Current processing time of existing financial aid applications ranges anywhere between 4-60 weeks for institutions. With an unknown workflow and business process, this
change will have an unknown but likely massive disruption. </span><span class="s1"><o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="li1" style="margin-top:0in;margin-bottom:0in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1">
<span class="s1"><b>Current staffing:</b></span><span class="s1"> Acknowledging the shortage of personnel in financial aid offices, our presentation highlights the need for increased staffing to meet the escalating demand for financial aid services.<o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="li1" style="margin-top:0in;margin-bottom:0in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1">
<span class="s1"><b>Business process adjustment:</b></span> Unfortunately, many institutions do not yet know what these changes will mean for their departments in terms of internal communication, business processes, institutional workflow impacts, and more.
<o:p></o:p></li><li class="li1" style="margin-top:0in;margin-bottom:0in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1">
<span class="s1"><b>Compensation Disparities:</b></span><span class="s1"> We emphasize the importance of addressing wage disparities by revisiting the compensation structure to attract and retain skilled financial aid professionals, especially in metropolitan
regions.</span><o:p></o:p></li><li class="li1" style="margin-top:0in;margin-bottom:0in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1">
<span class="s1"><b>Regional Impact</b></span><span class="s1">: Regional variations in the cost of living, suggesting a need to assess and adjust pay scales accordingly, particularly in metropolitan areas.</span><o:p></o:p></li></ul>
<p class="p1" style="margin:0in;font-size-adjust:none;font-kerning:auto;font-optical-sizing:auto">
<span class="s1"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="p1" style="margin:0in"><span class="s1"><b><span style="color:#0070C0">Recommendations:</span></b></span><b><span style="color:#0070C0"><o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<ul style="margin-top:0in" type="disc">
<li class="li1" style="margin-top:0in;margin-bottom:0in;mso-list:l1 level1 lfo2">
<span class="s1"><b>Staffing Investment:</b></span><span class="s1"> Our proposal advocates for resource allocation or redistribution for existing provisos ($80K CBO outreach) to recruit and hire additional staff, ensuring that financial aid offices have the
necessary workforce capacity to address this compounding and urgent need. </span>
<o:p></o:p></li><li class="li1" style="margin-top:0in;margin-bottom:0in;mso-list:l1 level1 lfo2">
<span class="s1"><b>Compensation Adjustment</b></span><span class="s1">: We suggest a revision of the compensation structure to bring it in line with market standards, with specific attention to metropolitan regions.</span><o:p></o:p></li><li class="li1" style="margin-top:0in;margin-bottom:0in;mso-list:l1 level1 lfo2">
<span class="s1"><b>Training Programs:</b></span><span class="s1"> We cannot emphasize enough the need for patience and investment in the implementation to learn, adjust, enhance the efficiency of existing staff and streamline processes, ultimately reducing
processing times.<o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="li1" style="margin-top:0in;margin-bottom:0in;mso-list:l1 level1 lfo2">
<span class="s1"><b>Other?</b></span> <o:p></o:p></li></ul>
<p class="p1" style="margin:0in;font-size-adjust:none;font-kerning:auto;font-optical-sizing:auto">
<span class="s1"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="p1" style="margin:0in"><span class="s1"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="p1" style="margin:0in"><span class="s1">Yokiko and I would be immensely grateful for your insights and feedback on whether we have accurately captured the complexity of the problem, considerations, and recommendations. Your expertise is invaluable
to the success of our presentation, and we look forward to your input.</span> <span class="s1">
Again, thank you for your time, and we appreciate your response as our presentation is fast approaching this Thursday.
</span><o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-line-height-alt:10.55pt;text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Franklin Gothic Medium",sans-serif;color:#003764;mso-ligatures:none">Lauren Hibbs, Ed.D<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:10.55pt;text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Franklin Gothic Medium",sans-serif;color:#003764;mso-ligatures:none">Director, Student Services<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:10.55pt;text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Franklin Gothic Book",sans-serif;color:#003764;mso-ligatures:none">Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:10.55pt;text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Franklin Gothic Book",sans-serif;color:#003764;mso-ligatures:none">lhibbs@sbctc.edu• o: 360-704-4334 •
</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Franklin Gothic Book",sans-serif;color:#1F497D;mso-ligatures:none"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ligatures:none"><a href="https://www.sbctc.edu/"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Franklin Gothic Book",sans-serif;color:blue">sbctc.edu</span></a></span><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Franklin Gothic Book",sans-serif;color:#003561;mso-ligatures:none">
</span><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Franklin Gothic Book",sans-serif;color:#003764;mso-ligatures:none">• Twitter:
</span><span style="mso-ligatures:none"><a href="https://twitter.com/SBCTCWashington"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Franklin Gothic Book",sans-serif;color:blue">@SBCTCWashington</span></a></span><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Franklin Gothic Book",sans-serif;color:#003764;mso-ligatures:none">
• Facebook: </span><span style="mso-ligatures:none"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/wasbctc/"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Franklin Gothic Book",sans-serif;color:blue">@WASBCTC</span></a></span><span style="mso-ligatures:none"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ligatures:none"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="color:#1F3864;mso-ligatures:none">SBCTC Vision:<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="color:#1F3864;mso-ligatures:none"><o:p> </o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="color:#1F3864;mso-ligatures:none">“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.” <o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
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