There’s more going on in financial aid this summer than usual. If summer’s peak processing time isn’t challenging enough, colleges and universities are reporting another year of record enrollments – some have seen increases of 50-60 percent. The economy continues to be a concern, budgets remain tight and many schools have laid off or furloughed staff.

At the busiest time of the year, schools had to make the transition to Direct Lending (DL) by July 1. What’s more, they’re facing the challenge of administering year-round Pell Grants. Many of the automated systems are not designed to accommodate the changes in the Pell program. Year-round Pell will require manual intervention and tracking of individual payments to each student.

FAS offers a variety of services to assist schools during the summer crunch. We can provide interim staffing, help speed up processing and offer critical leadership for your financial aid office during these challenging times. Our highly trained consultants can develop a custom-tailored solution to meet your specific needs.

Camden County College utilized FAS interim staffing service to enhance student service during a staff shortage in a record enrollment year. Read more.

Here’s an interesting article on how outsourcing student communication may help free up resources for busy financial aid professionals. David Cooper of CMD Outsourcing Solutions, Inc. highlights the benefits in Outsourcing Student Communication. Can it help? Is it for you?

You can learn how our colleagues are handling all these new challenges at two upcoming gatherings -- the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA) conference July 18-21 in Denver, and the National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO) annual meeting July 24-27 in San Francisco. The FAS team will be attending both conferences, and we’d love an opportunity to talk with you.

To learn more about FAS services and how we can help during the summer crunch, or to schedule a time to meet at one of the conferences, please contact Nicole Verrett, 770-988-9447 x 123, or via e-mail, NVerrett@FinancialAidServices.Org.

Have a happy, safe summer!

David