The effect of differing financial aid processing policies on the retention and success of students a

1
The effect of differing financial aid processing
policies on the retention and success of students
at the California community colleges

• Mike MacCallum, PhD
• mmaccallum_at_lbcc.edu
• Long Beach City College
• Strengthening Student Success Conference
• October 4, 2007

2
Purpose

• Doctoral dissertation
• PhD International/Intercultural Education
• University of Southern California

3
Background

• Personal observation
• Regional meetings/conferences
• Counseling vs. business model
• Whistlers Financial Aid Office Survey--Spring
  2002
• Telephone survey of all CCC Financial Aid Offices
• Chancellors Office Data Mart

4
Whistlers Fin. Aid Office Survey

• Factors in financial aid processing
• Institutional support
• Service policies
• Financial aid delivery

5
Whistlers Fin. Aid Office Survey

• Factors in financial aid processing
• Institutional support--22 factors
• Director salaries
• Access to the administration
• Staffing
• Applications per FTE
• Location
• Non-financial aid responsibilities

6
Whistlers Fin. Aid Office Survey

• Factors in financial aid processing
• Service policies--36 factors
• BOGW-B verification
• Verification level
• Processing time
• Relations with other offices
• Outreach
• Obstacles and frustrations

7
Whistlers Fin. Aid Office Survey

• Factors in financial aid processing
• Financial aid delivery--8 factors
• Processing time
• First check delivery
• Pell book advance
• Emergency loans
• Disbursements per semester

8
External Factors

• Chancellors Office Data Mart
• Institutional differences--16 factors
• Ethnicity
• Gender
• Location (Petersons)
• Loan percent of students
• Pell percent of students
• Zero EFC percent of students

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External Factors

• Sources of data
• Department of Education
• Number of applications
• Loan default rates
• Chancellors Office Data Mart
• Ethnicity data
• Gender data
• Retention and success data
• Financial aid data
• Petersons Guide to Colleges Universities
• College location

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Dependent Variables

• Enrollment Rate
• The percentage of ISIRs that resulted in a Pell
  Eligible enrollment
• Retention
• The percentage of classes taken by financial aid
  students resulting in grades of A, B, C, Cr, D,
  F, I, or NC.
• Success
• The percentage of classes taken by financial aid
  students resulting in grades of A, B, C, or Cr.

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Definitions

• Student
• A student enrolled in at least one class as per
  the MIS data, during 2001/02
• Financial Aid Student
• A student enrolled in at least one class as per
  the MIS data, during 2001/02, with an EFC of 3550
  or less (Pell eligible)

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The Model
13

• Institutional Support

14
Number of ISIRs Processed
15
Financial Aid FTEs
16
ISIRs per FTE
17
Fin. Aid Administrators Salaries
18
Chief Financial Aid Position

• FA Officer 11FA Supervisor 9FA Manager 11FA
  Coordinator 2FA Director Only 45FA Director
  Other Areas of Resp. 16Assistant Dean
  2Associate Dean 6Dean 6

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FA Director Reports To

• Director 4Assistant Dean 2Associate
  Dean 4Dean 51Vice President 47

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• Service Policies

21
Verification of Income
22
Total Level of Verification
23
Relations with Other Offices
24
Processing Time
25
Level of Verification and Processing Time

• No statistically significant relation

26

• Financial Aid Disbursement

27
First Pell Disbursement
28
Pell Advance/Book Grants
29
Pell Advances/Book Grants
30

• External Factors

31
Financial Aid Enrollment Rate
32
Retention and Success
33
External Factors
34
External Factors
35
External Factors
36
External Factors
37
External Factors
38
External Factors
39

• Stepwise Analysis of Variance Results

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Factors Related to Enrollment Rate

• Factor BetaPercent of Students Receiving
  Pell .798Total ISIRs Processed -.238FA Director
  Business Major -.204Asian (total college
  enrollment) -.184Overall Verification
  Level -.168FTE Student Workers .127ISIRs per
  FTE -.125 r2 .730

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Factors Related to FA Retention

• Factor BetaDean Level .311Percent of Students
  Receiving Loans .299Pell Advance -.279Large
  Computer System -.226Need Staff
  Training -.181Processing Time (weeks) .176FA
  Director Business Major .152Need to Upgrade
  Staff -.137 r2 .398

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Factors Related to FA Success

• Factor BetaPercent of Students with Zero
  EFC -.282Large Computer System -.270Need to
  Upgrade Staff -.214ISIRs per FTE -.199BOGFW per
  Pell -.122 r2 .307

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Factors Related to Loan Default

• Factor BetaNative Americans .347FA Director
  Administration Major .247Pell pct. of
  Students .243Disbursements per Semester .203
  r2 .349

44
CCC Loan Default Rates

• Weak, non-significant correlation between loan
  volume and default rate r .16

45
Caveat

• This was a correlational study
• Correlational studies do not prove causality
• Findings may not apply outside of the California
  community college system

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Obstacles and Frustrations

• Factor No. Pct.Need Additional Staff 78 72Need
  to Simplify Regulations 71 66 Lack of
  Integration in College 61 57 Lack of IT
  Support 60 56 Need to Improve
  FAO 48 44Improve Working Conditions 42 39Fundi
  ng to do Outreach 40 37Need Staff
  Training 29 27 Need to Upgrade Staff 26 24
  Funds for Students 24 22

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Obstacles and Frustrations

• Factor No. Pct.Have 1 Factor 1 0.9Have 2
  Factors 9 8.3 Have 3 Factors 21 19.4 Have 4
  Factors 29 26.9 Have 5 Factors 23 21.3 Have 6
  Factors 14 13.0 Have 7 Factors 7 6.5 Have 8
  Factors 3 2.8 Have 9 Factors 1 0.9
  Total 479 Average 4.4

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CCCs vs. the University

• Universities--Financial aid is crucial to
• Enrollment
• Income
• Recruitment
• Selecting the student population
• California Community Colleges
• Disconnect between FA and enrollment
• Disconnect between FA and college income
• Little or no perceived need for recruitment or
  student selection

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Implications for Policy Action-1

• More fully integrate the FAO into the
  administrative structure of the college
• Raise the status of the director
• Salary
• Position title
• Report to a vice president
• Provide professional leadership training
• Improve image of the Financial Aid Office
• Improve image of Financial Aid students

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Implications for Policy Action-2

• Reconsider a staffing formula for financial aid
  offices.
• Consider the establishment of minimum position
  levels for financial aid, similar to those of
  EOPS.
• The Chief Financial Aid Administrator
• Technical staff
• Consider categorical funding for financial aid
  offices

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Implications for Policy Action-3

• Evaluate the impact of large computer systems
  (Banner, PeopleSoft, Datatel) on the community
  colleges and their students
• Significant outlay of funds and staff
• Study transitory and long-range effects on
  students
• Chancellors Office should evaluate and make
  recommendations to the colleges

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Implications for Policy Action-4

• Continue to provide opportunities for staff
  training and development
• Encourage institutions to let their financial aid
  staff attend
• Mandate minimum training hours per year?

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Implications for Policy Action-5

• Business vs. Counseling Model
• Evaluate Financial Aid Offices from a customer
  service standpoint
• Hire counselors to work in Financial Aid
• or create a strong liaison with Counseling
• Hire students to serve other students
• Share best practices at conferences
• Eliminate all extra verification

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Implications for Policy Action-6

• Continue to improve and expand outreach
• Early understanding saves FAOs time and effort
• Integrate students into the college from first
  contact--Missing Information Letter
• Welcome the student to the college
• Advantages of going to a CC first
• Continue to provide additional funding for
  outreach

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Implications for Policy Action-7

• Continue to work to reduce the complexity of the
  financial aid programs through
• State financial aid organizations
• The Chancellors Office

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Implications for Policy Action-8

• Inevitably, socioeconomic status is found to be a
  factor in student retention and success
• Provide training to increase understanding and
  sensitivity to cultural differences
• Ethnicity
• Low income

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Since 2001/02

• With the enrollment fee increase, additional
  funds have been provided to California community
  college financial aid offices for outreach
  activities
• Toni DuBois, Dean of Financial Aid at LBCC is
  planning to study the effect of that increase for
  her doctoral dissertation

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The Customer

• A customer is the most important person in any
  business
• A customer is not dependent upon us.  We are
  dependent upon him.
• A customer is not an interruption of our work. 
  He is the sole purpose of it.
• A customer does us a favor when he comes in.  We
  aren't doing him a favor by waiting on him.

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The Customer

• A customer is an essential part of our
  business--not an outsider.
• A customer is not just money in the cash
  register.  He is a human being with feelings and
  deserves to be treated with respect.
• A customer is a person who comes to us with his
  needs and his wants. It is our job to fill them.
• A customer deserves the most courteous attention
  we can give him.  He is the lifeblood of this and
  every business.  He pays your salary.  Without
  him we would have to close our doors.  Don't ever
  forget it.

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The Customer

• Our colleges are not businesses
• Yet customer service is a business characteristic
  worth adopting
• We are in the business of changing lives
• The topics of this conference are extremely
  important in that work
• We need more than just another program, we need a
  campus-wide commitment to customer service

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Acknowledgements

• Tim Bonnell, Student Services Specialist, CCCCO
• Toni DuBois, Dean LBCC Financial Aid
• Dr. Linda Hagedorn, Dissertation Chair
• Tom Norbert, CCCCO Data Mart
• Victoria Whistler, Consultant

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Thank you for your attendance

• Discussion