A cultural change.

That’s what the man in charge of reviewing financial aid procedures at Florida State College at Jacksonville says we need to see in order to fix the problems in current procedures.

“They just need to move beyond the culture of the past to look forward to the future,” says Attorney Bill Scheu.

He outlined 9 recommendations to the FSCJ Board of Trustees today for what needs to be reexamined, updated or otherwise changed in light of problems which surfaced with how FSCJ handles Pell Grant appeals. 

“I think they realize they’ve got some things to think about and to do,” he says.

Scheu says around 75% of appeals were granted, which is far higher than any average which could be expected.  He found the appeal rate was so high in part because the Deans of Student Success who handled the process on each FSCJ campus were improperly trained, did not know certain guidelines existed and suffered from insufficient technology or limited resources.

FSCJ is now on the line for at least $2.8 million in grants which were improperly awarded or did not have enough supporting documentation.  Board member Doug Burnett says it is difficult to penalize “honorable” people for just trying to help students.

“So the college maybe reached a little bit too far with trying to help folks, but we’ll police that up and we’ll get it right and we will continue to be a passionate organization that does a great job for this community,” he says.

Scheu says the college is obligated to hold students responsible for repaying the loans. 

“Life isn’t free, one must be responsible for what one undertakes,” he says.

But many board members were conflicted on any decision making students pay for what could be considered systematic problems.

“We know what’s going to be required of us by law, and we’re having to deal with things in our heads and in our hearts where our students are concerned,” says Board member Gwen Yates.

FSCJ has already sent out 800 letters asking students for further documentation dealing with their Pell Grant appeal from the 2010-2011 school year.  They are in the process of releasing another 500 letters for documentation dealing with this school year.  Of those released about 200 responses have come in so far and nearly two dozen of those have been cleared because of the additional information provided.  FSCJ’s Vice President for Administrative Services Steven Bowers says the financial aid office is working as quickly as possible, however staffing constraints are preventing them from moving more quickly on the letters already sent back in.

The board will take a closer look at the current system of issuing Pell Grants, speak more about student accountability and really dive in to Scheu’s recommendations at a workshop to be held before the next meeting September 4.

Scheu’s recommendations are as follows:

-History and Culture: No dean handling the appeals could remember any formal training in the last decade and were left to handle appeals the best they could.  The Deans of Students were also put in the middle of a conflict between keeping students excited and engaged in school, and enforcing federal regulation that could deny them a chance to afford school.

-Organization and Accountability: Process for handling the appeals is scattered among the various campuses.  This process must instead be centralized under the direct supervision of the Director of Financial Aid.  It should be noted that the financial aid office has already begun to centralize the appeals process by taking the right to review appeals away from most campuses.

- Appeal Process: Appeals have been treated as applications rather than appeals, and the burden of the appeal should fall on the student.  However, the current form for beginning an appeal is very complicated, and should be reformed.  Students should also be trained on the appeal process.

- Training: There is little emphasis on staff training, and the training may not cover all the necessary topics for financial aid specifically.  This should be substantially strengthened to create an engaged culture among staff and students.

-Staffing Levels: The number of students enrolled at FSCJ has drastically increased- 35% between 2007-2011.  Financial aid staffing has not matched that rise or kept up with demand.  Appeals specifically were handled annually, which means staff were very burdened with a large number of appeals during a short time to settle them every year.  This is another area the board has already begun changing, enacting quarterly reviews instead of annual.  Given funding reductions at the state level it can be difficult to improve staffing levels, but every action possible should be taken to do so.

-Technology: The technology serving financial aid is not adequate, especially in light of the increasing student rolls.  Using the programs is neither efficient nor timely and the technology is outdated.  When upgrades are performed, there is not sufficient testing to make sure the system operated as it is intended.  The college should consider bringing in a consultant to ensure the technology operates properly.

-Communication: Communication has been either late, delayed or wrong when dealing with technology, and when talking about training notice was not always given to all the “need to know” parties.  More accurate rolls of who should be notified about certain meetings or trainings need to be created and kept up.

-Recovery of Student Debts Created by Appeal Denials: The Student Debt Repayment Plan must be more concisely worded.  Additionally the college is obligated to “exert every effort to collect all delinquent accounts”

-Treatment of Certain Employees whose Employment Status is On Hold:  12 persons involved in this review were given an interim rather than annual appointment pending the examination.  The review finds the problems were the result of institutional and organizational problems and not the fault of the individual persons.  These members should be approved for reappointment.