RESEARCH TOOLS, TIPS, AND RESOURCES FOR FINANCIAL AID ADMINISTRATORS

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RESEARCH TOOLS, TIPS, AND RESOURCES FOR FINANCIAL
AID ADMINISTRATORS
PRESENTERS Mary Ann Coughlin, Springfield
College, MA Bonnie Joerschke, Purdue University,
IN Barry Simmons, Virginia Polytechnic Institute
State University, VA
WASFAA PRECONFERENCE WORKSHOP, APRIL 1, 2006,
RENO, NV
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INTRODUCTION

• AGENDA
• 800 a.m. INTRODUCTION AND GOALS
• 805 a.m. WHY CONDUCT RESEARCH
• 825 a.m. BASIC PRINCIPLES OF RESEARCH
• 845 a.m. IPEDS DEMONSTRATION
• 1015 a.m. BREAK
• 1030 a.m. NATIONAL /REGIONAL/STATE SOURCES
• 1040 a.m. INSTITUTIONAL SOURCES
• 1055 a.m. RESEARCH TOOLS
• 1115 a.m. HANDS ON EXERCISES
• 1150 a.m. WRAP UP

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GOALS

• Become familiar with information on your campus,
  the internet, or from external sources that will
  help you answer questions about your aid
  recipients or funds.
• Learn how to build comparative data.
• Provide an overview of available and frequently
  used financial aid databases and their
  limitations.

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WHY CONDUCT RESEARCH?
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Why Research?

• Compliance
• Federal Quality Assurance Program
• FISAP
• Donor Relations
• Defend/Support/Eliminate Programs
• Program Creation

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Benchmarking

• Comparison group can be
• Peer
• Aspirational
• Competitor
• Predetermined
• Natural
• Traditional
• Jurisdictional
• Classification-based

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Program Creation Process

• Determine/Goal Outcome
• What do you want to do?
• Why?
• Target

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Program Creation Process

• Build Conceptual Framework
• Product
• Delivery Channels
• Interested/Impacted Parties

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Program Creation Process

• Secure Funding
• Public
• Private
• Creative

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Program Creation Process

• Develop Infrastructure
• Program Framework/Elements
• Staffing Space
• Budget
• IT Support
• Communications/Publicity/Audience Buy-In
• Institutional Sanction
• External Sanction

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Program Creation Process

• Implement Infrastructure
• Training
• Event Planning
• Oversight
• Adjustments
• Coordination
• Delivery

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Program Creation Process

• Evaluate Infrastructure Outcomes
• Formal/Informal
• Internal/External
• Quantitative/Qualitative
• Feedback Loop Cybernetic
• Cycle
• Distribution

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Basic Principles of Research
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BASIC PRINCIPLES OF RESEARCH

• Descriptive Statistics
• Describes the basic features of the data
• Simple summaries
• Present quantitative descriptions in a manageable
  form
• Descriptive vs. inferential statistics
• Limitations risk of distorting original data or
  losing important detail
• Source The Web Center for Social Research
  Methods, www.socialresearchmethods.net/kb/statdesc
  /htm

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DESCRIPTIVE STATISTICS

• Most often used descriptive statistic is central
  tendency or range of a distribution of values
• Mean
• Median
• Mode
• Range

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DEFINITIONS

• Mean the arithmetic average
• 30 80 30 90 30 100 360/6 60
• Median The number in the middle of an ordered
  list
• 30 30 30 80 90 100
• Mode The number that occurs most often
• 30
• Range The highest value minus lowest (100 30
  70)

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DEFINITIONS

• Standard deviation
• Measures the dispersion of your data
• Outlying values can distort the average or range
  of your data
• Steps to calculate a standard deviation
• Compute the mean for the data set
• Compute the deviation by subtracting the mean
  from each value
• Square each individual deviation
• Add up the squared deviations
• Divide by one less than the sample size
• Take the square root

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DEFINITIONS

• Standard deviation (example)
• 30 60 -30.0002 900.000000
• 30 60 -30.0002 900.000000
• 30 60 -30.0002 900.000000
• 80 60 20.0002 400.000000
• 90 60 30.0002 300.000000
• 100 60 40.0002 1600.000000
• 5000.000000/5 1000.000

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TRENDS

• Cross-sectional Analysis
• Snapshot of data at a single point in time
• Longitudinal Analysis
• Study of change in data over time
• Trend analysis is the simplest type of
  longitudinal analysisexamines overall change
  over time using the past to predict the future
• Limitation Does not tell why or how the
  changes occur

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CONSTANT DOLLARS

• Dollars reported in terms of the value they had
  on a previous date. Measures data over time
  while controlling for changes owing to inflation.
• Usually gives a clearer view of how something is
  performing over time.
• Use Consumer Price Index (CPI) to adjust for
  inflation.

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CONSTANT DOLLARS

• Consumer Price Index
• Measure used to track change in prices for common
  household goods over time
• Can be used to compare dollar amounts between
  years using constant dollars
• Produced by the Bureau of Labor Statistics
• www.bls.gov/cpi/

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CONSTANT DOLLARS

• Conversion Formula
• Multiply the lst year dollar value by a factor
  whose numerator is the average annual CPI of the
  2nd year and whose denominator is the average
  annual CPS of the lst year.
• OR
• - Use the CPI inflation calculator developed by
  the BLS automates the calculation and
  illustrates the process of inflating and
  deflating dollar amounts from year to year.
• www.bls.gov/cpi/

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CPI INFLATION CALCULATOR
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IPEDSTHE INTEGRATED POSTSECONDARY EDUCATION
DATA SYSTEM
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BREAK
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NATIONAL/REGIONAL/STATE SOURCES
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NATIONAL/REGIONAL/STATE SOURCES

• Common Data Set CDS
• Tom Mortenson Pell Report Card
• CPS Sample
• State and Other

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NATIONAL/REGIONAL/STATE SOURCES--CDS
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NATIONAL/REGIONAL/STATE SOURCES--CDS

• 40 pages
• 10 sections
• 8 pages instructions

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NATIONAL/REGIONAL/STATE SOURCES--CDS

• A General Info
• B Enrollment Data
• C First Time Freshmen
• D Transfer Activity
• E Academic Offerings
• F Student Life
• G Expenses
• H Financial Aid
• I Faculty/Class Size
• J Degrees Conferred

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NATIONAL/REGIONAL/STATE SOURCES--CDS

• H. FINANCIAL AID
• Please refer to the following financial aid
  definitions when completing Section H.
• Awarded aid The dollar amounts offered to
  financial aid applicants.
• Financial aid applicant Any applicant who
  submits any one of the institutionally required
  financial aid applications/forms, such as the
  FAFSA.
• Indebtedness Aggregate dollar amount borrowed
  through any loan programs (federal, state,
  subsidized, unsubsidized, private, etc.
  excluding parent loans) while the student was
  enrolled at an institution. Student loans
  co-signed by a parent are assumed to be the
  responsibility of the student and should be
  included.
• Institutional and external funds Endowment,
  alumni, or external monies for which the
  institution determines the recipient or the
  dollar amount awarded.

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NATIONAL/REGIONAL/STATE SOURCES--CDS

• Financial need
• As determined by your institution using the
  federal methodology and/or your institution's own
  standards.
• Need-based aid
• College-funded or college-administered award from
  institutional, state, federal, or other sources
  for which a student must have financial need to
  qualify. This includes both institutional and
  non-institutional student aid (grants, jobs, and
  loans).

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NATIONAL/REGIONAL/STATE SOURCES--CDS

• Need-based scholarship or grant aid
• Scholarships and grants from institutional,
  state, federal, or other sources for which a
  student must have financial need to qualify.
• Need-based self-help aid
• Loans and jobs from institutional, state,
  federal, or other sources for which a student
  must demonstrate financial need to qualify.

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NATIONAL/REGIONAL/STATE SOURCES--CDS

• Non-need-based scholarship or grant aid
• Scholarships and grants, gifts, or merit-based
  aid from institutional, state, federal, or other
  sources (including unrestricted funds or gifts
  and endowment income) awarded solely on the basis
  of academic achievement, merit, or any other
  non-need-based reason. When reporting questions
  H1 and H2, non-need-based aid that is used to
  meet need should be counted as need-based aid.

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NATIONAL/REGIONAL/STATE SOURCES--CDS

• Note Suggested order of precedence for counting
  non-need money as need-based
• Non-need institutional grants
• Non-need tuition waivers
• Non-need athletic awards
• Non-need federal grants
• Non-need state grants
• Non-need outside grants
• Non-need student loans
• Non-need parent loans
• Non-need work

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NATIONAL/REGIONAL/STATE SOURCES--CDS

• Non-need-based self-help aid
• Loans and jobs from institutional, state, or
  other sources for which a student need not
  demonstrate financial need to qualify.
• Scholarships/grants from external sources
• Monies received from outside (private) sources
  that the student brings with them (e.g., Kiwanis,
  National Merit scholarships). The institution may
  process paperwork to receive the dollars, but it
  has no role in determining the recipient or the
  dollar amount awarded.
• Work study and employment
• Federal and state work study aid, and any
  employment packaged by your institution in
  financial aid awards.

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NATIONAL/REGIONAL/STATE SOURCES

• Mortenson Pell sample data set to be inserted

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NATIONAL/REGIONAL/STATE SOURCES

• Tom Mortenson Pell Report Card

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NATIONAL/REGIONAL/STATE SOURCES

• CPS draws a sample of applicants quarterly for qc
  and research purposes

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NATIONAL/REGIONAL/STATE SOURCES
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NATIONAL/REGIONAL/STATE SOURCES
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NATIONAL/REGIONAL/STATE SOURCES
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NATIONAL/REGIONAL/STATE SOURCES
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NATIONAL/REGIONAL/STATE SOURCES
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NATIONAL/REGIONAL/STATE SOURCES
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NATIONAL/REGIONAL/STATE SOURCES
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NATIONAL/REGIONAL/STATE SOURCES
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NATIONAL/REGIONAL/STATE SOURCES
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NATIONAL/REGIONAL/STATE SOURCES
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NATIONAL/REGIONAL/STATE SOURCES

• California Postsecondary Education Commission -
  HomeCalifornia Postsecondary Education
  Commission is the State planning and ... Arrow,
  REGIONAL DATA Higher education data from a
  regional perspective. ...www.cpec.ca.gov/ - 28k
  - Mar 14, 2006 - Cached - Similar pages
• The American Freshman - National Norms for
  2005UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, LOS ANGELES -
  GRADUATE SCHOOL OF EDUCATION AND
  INFORMATIONSTUDIES. HIGHER EDUCATION RESEARCH
  INSTITUTE ...www.gseis.ucla.edu/heri/norms05.html
  - 15k - Mar 14, 2006 - Cached - Similar pages
• Washington State Data Book
• Washington State Data Book The people, the
  economy, and the government of ... Other Sources
  (Uses) by Major Fund, All Budgeted and Higher
  Education Funds ...www.ofm.wa.gov/databook/ -
  26k - Mar 15, 2006 - Cached - Similar pagesHigher
  Education OFM
• State of Washington Office of Financial
  Management higher education information,
  including enrollment ... Integrated Postsecondary
  Education Data System ...www.ofm.wa.gov/hied/defa
  ult.asp - 22k - Mar 16, 2006 - Cached -
  Similar pages

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INSTITUTIONAL SOURCES
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INSTITUTIONAL SOURCES

• Annual Reports
• Data Digests
• Fact Books
• Data Warehouses
• Digital Dashboard (Desktop)

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INSTITUTIONAL SOURCES

• Annual Report
• Key document that delivers information about your
  department
• Various formats
• Can be overwhelming task to create one
• Tips
• Create a schedule for writing and production
• Involve members of staff--you do not have to do
  it alone
• Determine your target audience
• Determine the theme/content of your report

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INSTITUTIONAL SOURCES

• Annual Report
• Excellent on-line source Creating an Annual
  Report in Microsoft Word, State Library of Iowa,
  
• www.silo.lib.ia.us/for-ia-libraries/tell-library-
  story/Props/annual-reports/index.htm
• They state Annual reports are used by all kinds
  of institutions. . .as a public relations piece.
  They are a way of being accountable and proving
  your value. They can tell statistical stories,
  but they should also include some of the
  memorable highlights of the year

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INSTITUTIONAL SOURCESANNUAL REPORT
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INSTITUTIONAL RESOURCESANNUAL REPORT
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INSTITUTIONAL SOURCESANNUAL REPORT
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INSTITUTIONAL SOURCESANNUAL REPORT
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INSTITUTIONAL SOURCESANNUAL REPORT
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INSTITUTIONAL SOURCESANNUAL REPORT
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INSTITUTIONAL SOURCESDATA DIGESTS

• Used by many post secondary institutions as their
  official source of data.
• Purdue UniversityWest Lafayette Data Digest
  provides information on
• General facts and figures
• Student data
• Instruction and student life
• Faculty and staff data
• Finance facilities
• Research
• www.purdue.edu/DataDigest

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INSTITUTIONAL SOURCESDATA DIGESTS
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INSTITIUTIONAL SOURCESDATA DIGESTS
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INSTITUTIONAL SOURCESDATA DIGESTS
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INSTITUTIONAL SOURCESDATA DIGESTS
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INSTITUTIONAL SOURCESDATA DIGESTS
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INSTITUTIONAL SOURCES

• Fact Books
• Similar to Data Digests a structured
  presentation of information about the institution
  frequently requested by students, faculty, staff,
  and other publics.
• Data Warehouses
• Computer-based information systems that contain
  data that originated from another application or
  an external system or source.

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INSTITUTIONAL SOURCES

• Data Warehouses
• Managers use them to extract information quickly
  and easily
• Read only, integrated databases designed to
  answer comparative and what if questions
• Unlike operational databases that are set up to
  handle transactions and are kept up to date as of
  the last transaction, data warehouses are
  analytical, subject-oriented and structured to
  aggregate transactions as a snapshot in time.
  Useful in analyzing historical transaction data
  to detect patterns and trends.
• Source Minnesota State Archives at
  www.mnhs.org/preserve/records/dwintro.html

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INSTITUTIONAL SOURCES

• Digital Dashboard (Desktop)
• Resembles a cars dashboard, organizing and
  presenting information that is easy to read.
• Integrates information from various components
  into a dashboard
• Graphics turn volumes of data into something easy
  to read and understand. Helps the user focus on
  data important to their operation.
• Many companies offer dashboard technology (e.g.,
  Microsoft).

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INSTITUTIONAL SOURCES

• Digital Dashboards additional reading
• Digital Dashboards Driving Higher Education
  Decisions, Educause Center For Applied Research,
  Research Bulletin, Volume 2003, Issue 19, Sept.
  16, 2003.
• Forthcoming article in NASFAAs Transcript by
  Leonard Gude, member of the Technology and
  Initiatives Committee
• Example from Univ. of South Florida at
• www.usf.edu/excellence/dashboard20concept.htm

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INSTITUTIONAL SOURCES
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TOOLS
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TOOLS

• ISIR Analysis Tool
• Designed by Federal Student Aid (FSA) to help
  financial aid administrators improve the accuracy
  of ISIR information used to determine student
  eligibility for need-based aid.
• Use by non-QA schools does not release them from
  federal verification requirements.

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TOOLS

• ISIR Analysis Tool
• Steps to conduct a meaningful analysis of changes
  in ISIR data
• Define the goal of your analysis
• Determine relevant records to be analyzed
• Decide which reports to run
• Run the reports and review results
• Apply improvements
• Participants Guide located at
• ifap.ed.gov/qamodule/guidance.html

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TOOLS

• Excel
• Trend Analysis
• Comparative Analyses
• Charts and Graphs for Annual Reports
• Digital Dashboards
• Pivot Tables

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Tools

• Access
• Crystal Reports
• Brio
• Excel - Pivot Table

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TOOLS

• Pivot Table Demonstration
• Pivot Table is an Excel Feature
• Database extract loaded into Excel
• Research Question
• Of the Pell population, what is the average
  award, TFC and unmet need by residency?

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TOOLS

• Pivot Table Finding
• In-state unmet need 3105
• Out-of-state unmet need 7141

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HANDS ON EXERCISES

• Fun Fun Fun

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WRAP UP

• Why Research
• To Inform
• To learn
• To defend
• To defeat
• To evaluate
• To Improve

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WRAP UP

• Program Creation
• Determine Goal
• Build Conceptual Framework
• Secure Funding
• Create Infrastructure
• Implement program
• Evaluate outcomes

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WRAP UP

• Principles of Research
• Sources of Data
• Research Tools
• Hands on Exercises

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WRAP UP

• Evaluate this workshop
• Thank You
• Questions

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Contact Info

• Dr. Mary Ann Coughlin
• Springfield College
• Mary_Coughlin_at_spfldcol.edu
• Bonnie C. Joerschke
• Purdue University
• bcjoerschk_at_purdue.edu
• Dr. Barry W. Simmons Sr.
• 0Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State
  University
• Simmonsb_at_vt.edu