Office of Student Finance

• FAFSA Simplification Update
• We’re presenting on the FAFSA Simplification Project at the OUE General Assembly on December 14.
• We had an all day, in-person “retreat” to prepare for the upcoming software rollout with the IT BA’s. For 2024-25, students will not have to get parents to “sign off” on their lack of support, which is going to require a new process.
• We completed the housing question that will “pop-up” before actual packaging since a housing preference is no longer included on the FAFSA.
• 24-25 financial aid communications have been reviewed and updated in anticipation of the new Student Aid Index that is replacing the expected family contribution (EFC). We’re also reviewing the queries that use EFC.
• We’re still reviewing the parent contributions process for those Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) programs (grants and loans) since the FAFSA will not allow parents of independent students to complete the FAFSA. 
• American Indian Scholars Program Update
• The State of Minnesota’s new American Indian Scholars Program (AISP) is now available. The program covers tuition and certain fees for eligible Minnesotans who are enrolled members or citizens of any federally recognized tribe or Canadian First Nation.
• The project team is working diligently to finalize the process of posting the funds through third-party billing. Funds should be applied by early December.
• A big shout out to the project team for all of their hard work: Andrew Hill, Carolee Cohen, Caylin Scheff (Crookston), Jana Koehler (Morris), Kari Ellering, Meghan Czarniecki, Nancy Carl (Duluth), Richard Toetschinger, and Sarah Hoegger.
• College of Education and Human Development Grant & Scholarship Funds Update
• OSF worked closely with CEHD on disbursing the following Minnesota Office of Higher Education grants:
• Aspiring Teachers of Color Scholarship
• The Aspiring Teachers of Color Scholarship pilot program provides financial assistance to eligible undergraduate and graduate students who are preparing to become teachers, have demonstrated financial need, and belong to racial or ethnic groups underrepresented in the state’s teacher workforce. The University of Minnesota has awarded 36 students the Aspiring Teachers of Color Scholarship. $171,335 has been disbursed for fall 2023 semester, and $174,669 has been awarded for the spring 2024 semester.
• Minnesota Underrepresented Student Teacher Grant
• The Minnesota Underrepresented Student Teacher Grant provides financial assistance to eligible students who belong to a racial or ethnic group underrepresented in the Minnesota teacher workforce. 9 students have been awarded this grant for fall 2023, and a total of $66,099 has been disbursed.Minnesota Shortage Areas Student Teacher Grant
• The Minnesota Shortage Areas Grant provides financial assistance to eligible students who intend to teach in a license shortage area or rural school district. 4 students have been awarded this grant for fall 2023, and $25,607 has been disbursed.

Staff recognition

The University of Minnesota Twin Cities has signed onto and been accepted as part of the College Cost Transparency Initiative. As part of this, our financial aid notice was approved as meeting the standards of this initiative with no changes necessary! So major kudos to the Office of Student Finance, the UX and Content Strategy team, and One Stop Student Services for all of their hard work over the past years ensuring that our aid notices are compliant and transparent to students about aid types and costs. Thank you!

Office of Student Finance

• We are rolling into the fall 2023 financial aid and disbursement season! We are just as excited as everyone else to welcome new and returning students back to the Twin Cities campus. We are thankful for all of the work done around ASR to begin yet another successful year.
• As you are all likely aware, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) released a decision regarding race based practices being used in admissions. The Office of Student Finance is working closely with the Office of Undergraduate Education, Office of Equity and Diversity, Office of Admissions, Office of General Counsel, and University Relations on determining how this decision will impact the University of Minnesota system. A recent article from Inside Higher Education outlines some of the challenges ahead for higher education institutions.
• Systemwide FAFSA Simplification working groups are going strong and making decisions for the 2024-25 changes. Information for students and families has been posted to the One Stop website.
• Undergraduate and Loans Unit
• Aid year 2022-23 has wrapped up and staff are working on closing out their financial aid programs. At the same time, we are gearing up for 2023-24, making aid adjustments and certifying loans in preparation for financial aid disbursement on Monday night August 28, 2023.
• Due to the change in the 13-credit tuition policy, Twin Cities/Rochester Undergraduate students who decrease their enrollment to fewer than 13 credits may receive a tuition adjustment during the first two weeks of the term. Starting with fall 2023, full-time students who drop courses below 13 credits, are receiving certain types of financial aid, and have a credit balance, will have a temporary hold placed on their student account. This hold will ensure a refund is not immediately issued in cases when a student may be swapping courses, and allow OSF time to notify students that if they remain enrolled in fewer than 13 credits they may owe a balance on their account once their financial aid has been adjusted. 
• Starting in fall 2023, the financial aid late enrollment appeal form will no longer be needed if a student adds credits after census. OSF will be running a weekly query for all careers to identify these students. Financial aid eligibility will be reviewed/adjusted accordingly. All the same aid rules still apply. 
• OSF has updated our Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) email communication to students. The first sentence in the email was designed to notify the student of their SAP status and if they need to complete an appeal. A link to the appeal is provided (if applicable) with more detailed information in the email. In the past, the email had an attachment with the detailed information. It is our hope that more students will read this text and understand if there are any next steps needed to qualify for financial aid. Thank you to Meghan (OSF - Undergrad), Tom (FA-IT), and the many others that helped review the communication. 
• The American Indian Scholars Program, a new program announced by the Minnesota Office of Higher Education, will be implemented for 2023-24. Information has been added to the One Stop website and the system-wide implementation team is being led by Kari Ellering.
• Compliance, Graduate Unit, Athletics, Professional and Scholarship Unit (CGAPS)
• The CGAPS units continue to make manual adjustments on financial aid packages for our populations, based on scholarships and grants that are being added to students’ financial aid packages.
• Medical School financial aid kicks off our disbursement processes this week, and we are excited to work with students as they begin/continue their medical careers.
• Athletics, FA-IT, and OIT are working through an error with the NCAA Compliance Assistant software that started with a system upgrade on May 1, 2023. This upgrade introduced many changes including the reporting to PeopleSoft, and is impacting work done in multiple offices. For now, a manual workaround has been identified, however we are determining if that workaround meets all team needs.
• Fiscal Unit
• The Fiscal Unit welcomes our newest team member, Bounmee Yang, to the team! Bounmee serves as a Finance Professional 4 supervisor. Bounmee’s first day was August 21, and we are thrilled to have him on board!
• Here is the fall aid and credit balance disbursement schedule:
• Monday, August 21: Medical School initial financial aid disbursement.
• Wednesday, August 23: 1st batch of credit balances run for direct deposit.
• Friday, August 25: 1st batch of credit balances run for checks.
• Monday, August 28: All other TC careers initial financial aid disbursement 
• Wednesday, August 30: 1st batch of credit balances run for direct deposit and parent checks.
• Friday, September 1: 1st batch of credit balances run for checks.

Office of Student Finance

• The Office of Student Finance (OSF) has been working hard to package and prepare for financial aid disbursement for summer 2023. We are thankful for our wonderful partners across ASR that have assisted in this process. As a quick reminder, the timing of the disbursement and refund dates for summer 2023 are the following:
• MED-First batch financial aid disbursement was May 1, 2023. All other careers (DENT, GRAD, LAW, PHAR, UGRD, VMED)-First batch financial aid disbursement is Monday night, June 5, 2023. 
• First batch credit balance run for direct deposit & parent checks is Wednesday morning, June 7, 2023 and first batch credit run for student checks is Friday morning, June 9, 2023.
• Financial aid disbursements for aidyr23 money (fall, spring, and summer) continue on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday evenings until mid-August 2023. 
• Credit balance runs continue for aidyr23 money (fall, spring, and summer) in the wee morning hours every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for student/parent direct deposits & parent checks and Friday mornings for student checks until mid-August 2023.
• Worth noting is that aid for summer is only intended to cover specific periods of enrollment, and not necessarily the entire summer. For example, a student taking one class for 4 weeks would have their cost of attendance only reflect 4 weeks of housing and food, etc. Not the 3 months of summer.
• Census date for summer 2023 is June 19. Students enrolling after this date may need to submit a financial aid late enrollment appeal to receive financial aid. 
• Preparation continues for the fall 2023 financial aid packaging process. As the University awaits the decision by the Board of Regents on tuition and fee rates, OSF and ASR-IT stand ready to produce financial aid packages and disburse financial aid to students. As of right now, financial aid packages are set to send to students during the week of July 17, 2023. As we get closer to this date, we will share updates.
• As you may have heard, the state of Minnesota has announced 2 new financial aid programs that will impact our students. As OSF receives details about these programs, we will share them with our ASR partners.
• North Star Promise Program: Beginning in fall 2024, eligible Minnesota residents with a family adjusted gross income (AGI) below $80,000 will have tuition and fees covered by this new grant. This is a last-dollar in program, meaning all state, federal, and institutional gift aid must be counted first prior to awarding North Star promise funds to students. 
• American Indian Scholars Program: Beginning in fall 2023, Minnesota residents who are enrolled members or citizens of a federally recognized American Indian Tribe or Canadian First Nation, and anyone who is an enrolled member or citizen of a Minnesota tribal nation will be eligible to have tuition and fees covered. This is a first-dollar in program, meaning this program will cover those tuition and fees. 
• Shout out to the following OSF members who received milestone awards for their service to the financial aid world. These awards were presented at the 2023 MAFAA Conference:Nate Rosckes (20 years of service)
• Ali Facklam (10 years of service)
• Nichole Andersen (10 years of service)
• Angelina Vang (5 years of service)