Peer Counselors Students Counseling Students About Financial Aid

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Peer CounselorsStudents Counseling Students
About Financial Aid
SASFAA 2006 Annual Conference February 14,
2006 Brad Barnett VASFAA President Senior
Associate Director James Madison
University Office of Financial Aid
Scholarships Harrisonburg, Virginia
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Objectives

• Learn who and what are Peer Counselors
• History of the Peer Counselor program at JMU
• Benefits to having Peer Counselors
• How to find the right students to be Peer
  Counselors
• How to train students to be Peer Counselors
• Challenges Peer Counselors present

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James Madison University

• Approximately 16,000 students, of which 15,000
  are undergraduates
• Primarily 18-22 year olds who graduate high
  school, enroll full-time in college, and graduate
  in 4-5 years
• Male/Female Ratio 39 / 61
• In-state/Out-of-state 71 / 29
• Minority students 10
• Average class size 29

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Office of Financial Aid Scholarships

• Office Staff
• 22 full-time staff
• 1 part-time staff
• 5 Peer Counselors
• 1 Senior
• 3 Juniors
• 1 Freshman
• 3 Other student employees

• Office Teams
• Counseling Staff (only 2 counselors)
• Loan Team
• Review Area
• Scholarships/Grants
• Student Employment
• Technical Staff

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Office of Financial Aid Scholarships

• Located on two floors in Warren Hall
• 3rd Floor
• Main customer service area
• Student Employment
• 5th Floor
• Administrative offices
• 2nd customer service area

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Mission Statement

• Recognizing our responsibility for continuous
  improvement and for the overall education and
  development of our students, we will ASSIST with
  identifying and obtaining resources to finance
  higher education DELIVER funds in a timely and
  equitable manner and EDUCATE, so that informed
  financial decisions can be made.

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Customer Contacts
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Web Site Hits
Note Temporarily stopped using the service to
track web site hits from August 2003 December
2003
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Number of Aid Applicants
Note This data represents all first
transaction FAFSAs for accepted and/or
matriculating students at JMU. Subsequent FAFSA
transactions for each student are not included.
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Total Dollars Disbursed
Note All numbers exclude employment based
awards (e.g., Work-Study).
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Number of Loan Requests
Note This represents the number of individual
loan requests. Students can have more than one
loan.
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What is a Peer Counselor?

• Undergraduate students trained as financial aid
  counselors, who counsel students and parents both
  in-person and on the phone about financial aid
  from a
• student perspective.

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History

• Included as part of the offices budget
  initiative for 2003-2004
• First 4 Peer Counselors began employment in Fall
  2003
• All four employed at the end of Spring 2004
  returned in Fall 2004
• Expanded staff from 4 to 5 Peer Counselors in
  2005-2006

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Peer Counselor Cost

• Federal Work-Study eligible
• Work on average 10 hours per week
• Starting compensation is 6.50 per hour

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Why have Peer Counselors?(Financial Aid Office
Benefit)

• Expands the offices customer service abilities
• Frees up full-time staff to do more in-depth
  counseling and expedite processing
• Closer connection to students
• Keeps us involved with our student population
• Increases our understanding of student life and
  how it is affected by financial aid
• Helps us remain compassionate to our students and
  parents

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Why have Peer Counselors?(Financial Aid Office
Benefit)

• Peer Counselors use the same language as our
  students and parents
• They provide valuable input on financial aid
  policies and procedures
• Expands knowledge of financial aid on-campus
• Friends and family
• Classes
• Student organizations

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Why have Peer Counselors?(Peer Counselor Benefit)

• Learn about financial aid
• Develop strong communication skills
• Increases their self-confidence
• Opportunity to help fellow students
• Develop strong problem-solving skills
• Improves their money management skills
• Gain experience working in a professional office
  environment
• Contributes to their overall development and
  maturation

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Why have Peer Counselors?(Customer Benefit)

• Benefits to students and parents
• Many students feel more comfortable speaking with
  a fellow peer
• Speak in the same language
• Easier to relate (often dealing with the same
  issues/problems)
• Parents appreciate the opportunity to gain
  insight on student life
• Book expenses
• Meal plans
• Class environment
• On and off-campus life

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Finding the Right Student

• Successful Peer Counselors tend to be
• Upperclassmen (freshmen still adjusting)
• Personable and professional with strong
  communication skills
• Responsible
• Involved in campus events and organizations
• Academically successful

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Finding the Right Student(continued)

• Customer service experience
• Ability to communicate clearly and concisely
• Experience with financial aid
• Maturity
• Personality

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Interview Questions

• Interview questions
• Why did you apply for the Peer Counselor
  position?
• What is your understanding of, or experiences
  with, the financial aid process?
• What personal qualities do you think are most
  important when counseling others?
• What aspects of this position do you perceive as
  most challenging?

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Interview Questions(continued)

• Interview questions
• Financial Aid is often a fast-paced, stressful
  environment. As a counselor, you will sometimes
  be confronted with upset and highly emotional
  students and parents. What experiences have you
  had in the past with customers of this nature and
  what was the most successful method you found in
  dealing with these situations?

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Interview Questions(continued)

• Interview questions
• What previous job was the most satisfying and why
  (how do you measure job satisfaction)? What was
  most frustrating and why?
• What are your expectations of this position? Of
  your co-workers and supervisor? Of financial aid?

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Training

• Same training program as conducted for new
  financial aid officers
• Combination of small group/one-on-one training
  sessions and shadowing at the offices customer
  service areas
• Covers the entire financial aid process, from
  completing the FAFSA to exit loan counseling
• Interacts with each area of the office, from
  loans to scholarships
• Typically last one month
• Peer Counselors begin serving at our costumer
  service areas only when they and their supervisor
  they feel they are ready

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Training Manual

• General Information
• Financial Aid Scholarships University
  Business Office Contact Information
• Important Websites
• How to Apply for Financial Aid
• Terms Conditions of Financial Aid at James
  Madison University
• Financial Aid FAQ Timeline
• Common Financial Aid Acronyms
• PeopleSoft Pages
• Office Production Schedule
• Customer Service Areas Policies Procedures

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Training Manual(continued)

• FAFSA
• 2005-06 FAFSA
• 2005-06 FAFSA on the Web Pre-Application
  Worksheet
• FAFSA Information Instructions
• FAFSA Case Study
• Review Verification
• Federal EFC Methodology (perform an EFC
  hand-calculation)
• EFC Formula
• JMU Verification Materials
• Consortium Students

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Training Manual(continued)

• Award Types
• Federal Grants Work-Study Programs
• Federal Pell Grant
• Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity
  Grant (FSEOG)
• Federal Work-Study (FWS)
• Virginia Grant Programs
• Virginia Guaranteed Assistance Program (VGAP)
• Commonwealth Award (CA)
• Loans
• Federal Subsidized Unsubsidized Stafford Loan
• Perkins Loan
• Federal PLUS Loan
• Loan Request Forms Perkins Entrance
  Questionnaire
• Preferred Alternative Lender Comparisons
• Loan Consolidation Information

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Training Manual(continued)

• Cost of Attendance Packaging
• COA Methodology
• Undergraduate Graduate COA for James Madison
  University
• Pell Table Item Types/James Madison University
  Awarding Philosophy
• 2005-2006 Financial Aid Awarding Case Studies
• Sample Award Letters
• Virginia College Savings Plans
• Satisfactory Academic Progress
• Scholarships
• Donald E. Gardner Emergency Loan Program Aid
  Advance

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Peer Counselor Challenges

• Self-confidence
• Class schedule
• Dress
• Professionalism
• Dependability
• Distractions
• Confidentiality
• Some parents and students do not feel comfortable
  speaking with a student
• They graduate!

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Remember!

• Peer Counselors are students first and employees
  second

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Peer Counselors

• Expand the offices costumer service abilities
• Improve your connection with your students
• Provide valuable input on policies and procedures
• Increase financial aid awareness on your campus
• Become valuable members of your financial aid
  staff