As I write this, it's our Census Day at the University, and it occurs to me that the term gets mentioned a lot but often goes unexplained. The census date is a deadline in US higher education and coincides with the end of the drop/add period. The census date is when we “lock in” our student enrollment numbers for the fall term. The numbers become part of our official federal reporting, which are published on the Institutional Data & Research site.
In addition to official reporting, the numbers from the census date are used to finalize most types of financial aid disbursements. A student's enrollment status (full-time, part-time) on this day determines how much aid they receive. Happy Census Day!
Showing posts with label financial aid. Show all posts
Showing posts with label financial aid. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 17, 2025
Wednesday, August 20, 2025
Financial aid
Financial aid significantly impacts a student’s ability to pursue higher education. Prior to federal student aid, financial support for higher education depended on scholarships provided by the wealthy, which was not always awarded based on need or merit. This made higher education inaccessible to low-income students until the Serviceman’s Readjustment’s Act (G.I. Bill) and Higher Education Act.
Roughly 60% of undergraduate students take out student loans to attend college today. This number increases when you look at low-income students or students of color. 80.6% of Black or African American students receive grant aid to help fund their education. Despite the availability of financial aid, the cost of college is still the largest barrier to higher education and 1 in 6 Americans have federal student loan debt.
The University of Minnesota offers need-based grants, such as Promise Plus and U Promise Scholarship. The state of Minnesota created the North Star Promise to increase higher-education access and decrease student loan debt. Individuals can also help low-income students reach their education goals:
Roughly 60% of undergraduate students take out student loans to attend college today. This number increases when you look at low-income students or students of color. 80.6% of Black or African American students receive grant aid to help fund their education. Despite the availability of financial aid, the cost of college is still the largest barrier to higher education and 1 in 6 Americans have federal student loan debt.
The University of Minnesota offers need-based grants, such as Promise Plus and U Promise Scholarship. The state of Minnesota created the North Star Promise to increase higher-education access and decrease student loan debt. Individuals can also help low-income students reach their education goals:
- Donate to the University of Minnesota Foundation (UMF)
- Direct students to the University’s UGRD Scholarship tool
Wednesday, May 29, 2024
NASFAA Virtual Conference
The National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA) 2024 virtual conference is being held on July 8-11. Individual sessions cover information on financial aid, including a free Need Analysis NASFAA Credential Test, which can help you learn more about the new Student Aid Index and how eligibility is determined.
If you want to attend any of the individual sessions, your name needs to be on the NASFAA roster for UMN. If you are not yet on the roster, email Michelle Curtis (mcurtis@umn.edu) to get added to the roster. To attend, please check in with your supervisor for approval. If your supervisor approves, please register for the individual sessions. No PERR is necessary to attend virtual NASFAA.
If you want to attend any of the individual sessions, your name needs to be on the NASFAA roster for UMN. If you are not yet on the roster, email Michelle Curtis (mcurtis@umn.edu) to get added to the roster. To attend, please check in with your supervisor for approval. If your supervisor approves, please register for the individual sessions. No PERR is necessary to attend virtual NASFAA.
NASFAA 2024 Virtual Conference schedule
Monday, July 8, 2024
- 11:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. - Diversity Session
- 1:30 - 5:00 p.m. - NASFAA Credential Session - Need Analysis
Tuesday, July 9, 2024
- 11:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. - NASFAA Welcome & Opening Session
- 1:30 - 2:45 p.m. - Support Internal Controls for Institutional Compliance Using NASFAA Tools
- 3:00 - 4:45 p.m. - A House Divided Cannot Stand: Institutional Approaches to Developing a Campus Compliance Culture
Wednesday, July 10, 2024
- 11:00 a.m. - 12:15 p.m. - Getting Students to Yes: Comprehensive Financial Aid & Admission Offers
- 1:30 - 3:00 p.m. - NASFAA Policy Session
- 3:30 - 4:45 p.m. - The Zero Budget Financial Literacy Program
Thursday, July 11, 2024
- 11:00 a.m. - 12:15 p.m. - FAFSA Simplification - How Under-Resourced Schools Weathered the Storm
- 1:30 - 2:45 p.m. - Listening to Students: Learning About Financial Aid Experience to Inform Customer Service Expectations
Wednesday, April 17, 2024
Estimated Financial Aid Notices
UMNTC began sending estimated Financial Aid Notices (FANs) to new incoming students on the Twin Cities and Rochester campuses on Tuesday, April 16. This is later than typical, and some students still do not have packages due to delays and errors by the US Department of Education (DOE) with FAFSA processing. As updates come from the DOE and the State of Minnesota, we will continue to implement solutions and resolve errors that impact our students. Questions and talking points have been prepared related to this year’s estimated FAN rollout. Please refer to them if you have questions or hear questions from others.
Preparing this year’s estimated FANS has been a tremendous feat that has impacted work across all of ASR, as well as the University. Admitted students and their families depend on estimated FANs when deciding which institution to attend because it helps them understand how to cover the costs of attendance. So huge kudos to all staff who have had a part in this process, and advance appreciation for the work that will continue.
Preparing this year’s estimated FANS has been a tremendous feat that has impacted work across all of ASR, as well as the University. Admitted students and their families depend on estimated FANs when deciding which institution to attend because it helps them understand how to cover the costs of attendance. So huge kudos to all staff who have had a part in this process, and advance appreciation for the work that will continue.
Thursday, June 1, 2023
Update from Stacey
The national news has intersected with work more than normal in the last few weeks. First, we are anticipating the release of the Supreme Court decision regarding race-conscious admissions. The decision will likely land in the next couple of weeks, and could change whether we can be aware of race as part of holistic admissions review. If the decision is more far reaching, it could impact financial aid and diversity programs in higher education.
For now, a small group of University professionals, including myself and Nate Peterson, are holding preparatory meetings to discuss how the University will respond to potential scenarios. University Relations is preparing a communications plan, and high-level communications have started with a message to communications directors.
The second issue is the debt ceiling. The House has approved a deal, and the Senate is likely to approve, but in the event a deal is not reached by Monday, there may be impacts to financial aid as well as other areas of the University. Essentially, if the deal is not reached, the federal government will have to stop paying certain obligations until it’s resolved. That could mean we are unable to obtain the funds we can disburse to students until a deal is reached. Again, we are watching the news and preparing, so we’re as ready as possible.
On a more local level, we are working through how to implement the financial aid programs recently passed by the Minnesota state legislature, the North Star Promise Program and the American Indian Scholars Program. See more information in the OSF update below.
Zooming in even further, we are waiting for the official word on the University’s merit pool for ASR, which will be distributed in salary increases for eligible P&A and Civil Service staff. The Board of Regents will review a proposal for a 3.75% merit increase pool at its upcoming June 8-9 meeting, and then likely schedule a special meeting the following week to approve the proposal. We will get a message out to supervisors and then all staff about our overall plan and principles for allocating this money.
For now, a small group of University professionals, including myself and Nate Peterson, are holding preparatory meetings to discuss how the University will respond to potential scenarios. University Relations is preparing a communications plan, and high-level communications have started with a message to communications directors.
The second issue is the debt ceiling. The House has approved a deal, and the Senate is likely to approve, but in the event a deal is not reached by Monday, there may be impacts to financial aid as well as other areas of the University. Essentially, if the deal is not reached, the federal government will have to stop paying certain obligations until it’s resolved. That could mean we are unable to obtain the funds we can disburse to students until a deal is reached. Again, we are watching the news and preparing, so we’re as ready as possible.
On a more local level, we are working through how to implement the financial aid programs recently passed by the Minnesota state legislature, the North Star Promise Program and the American Indian Scholars Program. See more information in the OSF update below.
Zooming in even further, we are waiting for the official word on the University’s merit pool for ASR, which will be distributed in salary increases for eligible P&A and Civil Service staff. The Board of Regents will review a proposal for a 3.75% merit increase pool at its upcoming June 8-9 meeting, and then likely schedule a special meeting the following week to approve the proposal. We will get a message out to supervisors and then all staff about our overall plan and principles for allocating this money.
Thursday, June 2, 2022
Unit updates: Office of Student Finance
- Financial Aid disbursement for summer 2022 begins Monday, June 6 for all non-MED careers (the MED career is disbursed earlier).
- On Thursday, May 18, 2022, the Department of Education issued guidance once again suspending all FAFSA Verifications and requirements for the 2022-2023 academic year. Twin Cities OSF, FA-IT, and ASRUX staff worked all week to waive checklists, add PeopleSoft comments, and send communications to students for all campuses. Approximately 4,000 checklist items were waived for 1,500 students, creating a large bump in estimated financial aid packages. On average at this time there are less than 20 students packaged per day, but there were 422 in one day after waiving the checklist items! Thank you TEAM!!
- Satisfactory Academic Progress ran on May 22 for the summer.
- 2022-23 financial aid packaging timeline (dates are approximate):
- June 15: Last run of estimated packaging and FANs
- June 22: Canceling estimated aid packages
- July 5: Budgets in production
- July 6-7 Packaging simulation/retrieves
- July 11: Actual packaging
- July 18: FANs are sent via email
Thursday, July 15, 2021
Packaging underway
As of the week of July 12, 2021, financial aid notifications for undergraduates will begin being sent to students. These will be sent nightly in chunks of 5,000. Starting the following week, packaging will be put on the batch schedule and will run nightly.
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