May 2014 SmartSessions
Customer-Centric Service in the Aid Office: Raising the Bar with Comprehensive Training
Quality customer service in the aid office is critical to your institution. Do you know how to train your team to provide a customer-centric approach? Comprehensive customer service tools empower your staff to engage with students, solve problems proactively, and improve results. A solid training program is critical to this effort. Come to this session to learn how to build and implement a customer centric training program in your office.
Specific topics covered include:
- · Understanding a customer-centric approach to service
- · Designing and implementing an effective training program
- · Reinforcing attitudes and behaviors for continuous improvement
May 6th @ 3:00 PM, Eastern time
Customer-Centric Service in the Aid Office: Raising the Bar with Comprehensive Training
May 22nd @ 12:00 PM, Eastern time
Customer-Centric Service in the Aid Office: Raising the Bar with Comprehensive Training
NSLDS: I Made It In, Now What?
NSLDS provides comprehensive data that you can use to verify financial aid history and counsel borrowers about repayment strategies. Do you know how to find the information quickly and efficiently? If you are not familiar with its functionality you might miss important tools and overlook information. This session will show you the NSLDS functionality and highlight the core components of this powerful database.
Specific topics covered include:
- · Understanding the purpose of NSLDS
- · Demonstrating NSLDS functionality
- · Reviewing Awarding Parameters
- · Decoding Symbols and Panels
May 8th @ 12:00 PM, Eastern time
NSLDS: I Made It In, Now What?
May 15th @ 3:00 PM, Eastern time
NSLDS: I Made It In, Now What?
Eating the Frog First and Other Key Principles of Time Management
You can’t change aid processing deadlines, but you can change how you approach your work. Learn to make the most effective and efficient use of your time and get the most out of your workday. Spend an hour now to save time later. Learn about methods and tools, including eating the frog first, that can help you make the most effective and efficient use of your time.
Specific topics covered include:
- · Analyzing your behaviors and habits
- · Top five time management mistakes
- · Developing a personal plan
May 8th @ 3:00 PM, Eastern time
Eating the Frog First and Other Key Principles of Time Management
May 20th @ 12:00 PM, Eastern time
Eating the Frog First and Other Key Principles of Time Management
How to Prepare for an Audit or Program Review
Do you feel stressed when it’s time for your annual A133 audit? Would being selected for a program review cause you anxiety? This session will explain what you can do to be well-prepared and proactive, and limit your liability. You’ll leave this session with a more organized approach and a thorough understanding of audits and program reviews.
Specific topics covered include:
- · What to do when you’ve been selected
May 1th @ 3:00 PM, Eastern time
How to Prepare for an Audit or Program Review
May 28th @ 12:00 PM, Eastern time
How to Prepare for an Audit or Program Review
FERPA: Interpreting the Intricacies
Protecting student privacy is paramount. Understand what needs to be included in your school’s Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) policy and gain a working knowledge of how to ensure FERPA privacy requirements are met in real-world scenarios. Consider this course not just an introduction to the basics of FERPA, but also an in-depth guide to understanding the rights of students and their parents regarding student education records. The materials presented have been vetted by our privacy specialists to ensure that you get the most accurate and comprehensive assistance available.
Specific topics covered include:
- Review of final rules
- Student and parent rights and FERPA
- Right to access, review, and amend an education record
- Compliance, complaints, and enforcement
- Target Audience:
May 6th @ 12:00 PM, Eastern time
FERPA: Interpreting the Intricacies
May 20th @ 3:00 PM, Eastern time
FERPA: Interpreting the Intricacies
Credit-Based Programs and R2T4
Return of Title IV (R2T4) doesn't have to be daunting. This session walks through a credit-based example to help you understand what it is and when it applies so you can effectively counsel students and help them make informed decisions about withdrawing from school.
Specific topics include:
R2T4 basics: what it is, when it applies, the formula components for credit-based programs
Reviewing a hand calculation
Post-withdrawal disbursements
May 21st @ 3:00 PM, Eastern time
Credit-Based Programs and R2T4
May 29th @ 3:00 PM, Eastern time
Credit-Based Programs and R2T4
Managing Loan Default: Making a Difference in 60 Minutes
Managing default prevention activity is important to your institution but requires resources and time. We can show you how to improve your default rate with just a little extra effort each month. By dedicating just 60 minutes each month, you can lower your school’s cohort default rate, and facilitate your ultimate goalundefinedhelping students avoid the negative consequences of loan delinquency and default.
Specific topics covered include:
- Options for contacting late stage delinquent borrowers - emails, letters, and phone calls
- Promoting IBR and Pay As You Earn to early and mid-stage delinquent borrowers
- Reaching out to borrowers during their grace period
May 7th @ 12:00 PM, Eastern time
Managing Loan Default: Making a Difference in 60 Minutes
May 14th @ 3:00 PM, Eastern time
Managing Loan Default: Making a Difference in 60 Minutes
Professional Judgment Perplexities
Professional Judgment is helps you target funds to students with exceptional need. But Professional Judgment principles must be applied wisely and responsibly in order to be effective and compliant.
This participatory session reviews complex case studies to show how you can help students get the aid they need by making adjustments to either the expected family contribution (EFC) or the student’s cost of attendance.
Specific topics covered include:
- Why and when to use professional judgment
- Permissible actions and required documentation
- Common scenarios – loss of income, changes in assets, extraordinary expenses
- Dependency override
- Maintaining a professional judgment policy
May 13th @ 12:00 PM, Eastern time
Professional Judgment Perplexities
May 22nd @ 3:00 PM, Eastern time
Professional Judgment Perplexities
Difficult Conversations: How to Manage Conflict While Providing Customer Service
Does your front line staff know how to deal with difficult situations in positive ways? This webinar will demonstrate proven techniques for diffusing conflict while providing great customer service. The financial aid process can be frustrating and emotionally challenging for both parents and students. This heightened anxiety can play itself out in the aid office when parents and students direct anger and frustration at counselors or front line staff. Your teams’ ability to diffuse a difficult conversation and create a problem-solving approach is crucial to your customer service effort.
Presenter:
Shannon Patterson, M.S., Instructor in Business Administration and Conflict Management at Argosy University.
Specific topics covered include:
- Bridging conflict management and customer service
- Depersonalizing anger and emotion
- Using reflective listening to gain control
- Strategies for problem-solving that result in trust
May 15th @ 12:00 PM, Eastern time
Difficult Conversations: How to Manage Conflict While Providing Customer Service
Your First Day as New Director: 5 Things you need to do to Ensure Success
Are you a new Financial Aid Director or aspire to be one? New aid directors face unique challenges in their first days on the job. This session will help you successfully transition to your new role.
Presenters:
Janet Dodson, Associate Director, Tuition Exchange, and Past NASFAA Chair
Gail Holt, Dean of Financial Aid, Amherst College
Specific topics covered include:
- First day essentials: security updates and reports to review
- Assessing your office culture – your team and your peers
- Identifying roles and responsibilities
- Securing resources
May 29th @ 12:00 PM, Eastern time
Your First Day as New Director: 5 Things you need to do to Ensure Success
Successfully Navigating the Multi-Generational Workplace
The financial aid office often includes employees from the Boomers to the Millennials resulting in various work styles. Do you know how to manage this diversity and build a strong team? The complexities of working in a multi-generational environment can be rewarding if you understand how and why different age groups approach and value their work.
Specific topics covered include:
- Understanding what each generation values
- Learning how different generations communicate: face to face or click to click
- Managing conflict that results from the various styles
- Learning to value our differences
May 7th @ 3:00 PM, Eastern time
Successfully Navigating the Multi-Generational Workplace
