Session C-24

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Session C-24

• Mary K. Muncie
• U.S. Department of Education
• Kristen Demaree
• NCHELP
• Jennifer Martin
• NASFAA

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Session Agenda

• Introduction to NT4CM
• The need for NT4CM
• Pilot for Academic Year 2008-09
• Plans for Academic Year 2009-10
• Discussion

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Introduction to NT4CM
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What Is NT4CM?

• National Training for Counselors and Mentors
  (NT4CM)intended audiences
• Free training
• Designed at the national level, offered locally
  to high school counselors and college access
  community
• Includes details regarding the Federal student
  aid programs and state-specific programs
• Ongoing support
• Via monthly communications

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Who Are the Players in NT4CM?

• Steering committee
• State coordinators
• Trainers local to the area who are professionals
  in Student Financial Assistance programs

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The Need for NT4CM
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Why Offer NT4CM?

• Usability studies as well as discussions with
  counselors told us that they
• Need up-to-date aid information
• Prefer it to be face-to-face
• Want it annually
• Need on-going communication vehicle

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Why Offer NT4CM?

• Survey of states told us
• Some conduct annual training, but not all have
  the resources
• Modules re new programs can supplement what they
  do offer

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NT4CMHistory to Date

• How we got to here
• March 07steering committee established
• Planning begun and states polled
• Decision to combine resources and pilot
• Junematerials developed
• AugustWeb goes livewebinars conducted
• Sept.-Marchsessions conducted
• April-Mayevaluation and lessons learned

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How We Did ItThe Process

• State Participation -- Pilot Year --17 states and
  Puerto Rico
• - Alaska - Illinois - New York
• - Arkansas - Iowa - North Carolina
• - California - Kentucky - Ohio
• - Connecticut - Maine - Tennessee
• - Florida - Mississippi - Utah
• - Georgia - New Hampshire
• State Participation - 2009-10 --Those states
  below
• and as noted by above
• D C - Massachusetts - Washington
• Hawaii - Michigan - West Virginia
• Louisiana - Texas

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State RolesCoordinators

• Managed logistics
• Securing trainers, dates, locations
• Determining participation level
• Ordering materials
• Conducting outreach and publicity
• Participated in bi-weekly conference calls with
  steering committee during planning phase and as
  needed throughout
• Offered ongoing feedback
• Shared best practices

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Materials for NT4CM

• Developed and shipped by steering committee to
  state coordinators
• PowerPoint presentation
• Instructor Manual
• Participant Guide
• Handouts and resource lists
• Customizable outreach materials provided
  electronically
• Sample of Participant Guide circulating

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NT4CM Web Site

• Participant (public) Web site
• www.fsa4counselors.ed.gov/NT4CM
• General program information fact sheet, FAQs
• Registrationonline or links to states sites
• Downloadable Participant Guide
• Links to resources

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NT4CM Web Site

• Trainer and coordinator Web site
• www.fsa4counselors.ed.gov/trainers
• Downloadable PowerPoint presentation and
  instructor manual
• Downloadable customizable outreach materials
• Train the Trainers webinar

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2008-09 Workshop Overview

• Agenda had three main sections
• Federal aid (provided by NT4CM)
• State aid (provided by states)template provided
  by NT4CM
• Resources (provided by NT4CM and states)

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2008-09 Workshop Curriculum - Federal

• Overview of financial aid
• How to apply for federal aid
• FAFSA4caster
• FAFSA on the Web

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2008-09 Workshop Curriculum - Federal

• Eligibility criteria and application procedures
  for Academic Competitiveness Grants
• How to search for federal, state, institutional
  and private scholarships
• Avoiding financial aid fraud

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2008-09 Workshop Curriculum - State

• Using templates, detailed state grants, loans and
  scholarships
• General information
• Maximum award
• Eligibility criteria
• Application procedure

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2008-09 Workshop Curriculum - State

• Using templates, detailed state prepaid tuition
  plans and state college savings plans
• General information
• Contributions and outcomes
• Tax benefits

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2008-09 Workshop Curriculum - Resources

• Resources provided
• Fact sheets
• Web sites
• Phone numbers

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New Modules for 2009-10

• Developed two new modules geared for middle
  school audiences
• Counselors
• Students and families
• Encourage student and families to plan
  financially for college as early as possible

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Expansion of Workshop Materials

• Plan to develop new modules throughout the year
• Students with disabilities
• Foster youth
• Non-traditional students
• At the end of this presentation, want to hear
  what additional topics you would like to see
  addressed

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Plans for Academic Year 2009-10Based on
lessons learned and evaluations
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Lessons Learned

• Earlier communicationsto take advantage of
  piggy-backing opportunities
• Clearer delineation of criteria for
  participationsee separate handout
• Incentives for attendingCEUs
• Expand steering committee and supporters
• Build on successesevaluations from pilot

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Evaluation

• 62 responded outstanding when asked if the
  training met their needs for assisting students
  to prepare financially for college (4.6 rating
  out of 5).
• 78 responded outstanding when asked to rate
  the NT4CM materials (4.8 rating out of 5).
• 61 responded outstanding when asked to
  evaluate the case studies, charts, and other
  graphic illustrations, (4.6 rating out of 5).
• Data based on 461 surveys received out of 1,149
  participants.

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EvaluationQuotes

• Good job! Where were you guys all these years?
• Great workshop for someone wanting the basics of
  financial aid!
• Very helpful, I learned a lot about new
  programs. Thank you. I'd like to do this yearly
  to stay knowledgeable about updates.

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The Numbers for Academic Year 2009-10

• States
• Players
• Sessions
• Planned offerings
• Trainees
• Estimates

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Next Stepsand Your Ideas

• How do we recruit more states?
• What can we add to fill a need?
• Are there any comments from those who
  participated in the pilot year or who are
  participating this year?
• What additional topics should we add to
  curriculum?
• Other ideas to plus up the effort?

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Contact Information

• We appreciate your feedback and comments. We can
  be reached at

Mary K. Muncie Mary.K.Muncie_at_ed.gov
202.377.3202
nt4cm_at_ed.gov any and all inquiries
Jennifer Martin martinj_at_nasfaa.org 202.785.6973
Kristen Demaree kdemaree_at_nchelp.org 202.822.2106