An Inconvenient Truth:Regulatory Compliance with

Required Coursework

Todd Moravec, MHSA, MA

Director of Student Financial Services

SUNY Plattsburgh

NYSFAAA Conference

October 18, 2016

Overview

• NYS and federal regulations state that undergraduate students may receive financial aid only for courses that are required for degree programs approved by NYSED

• For years and years, I was always somewhat aware of these regulations

• About a 1.5 years ago (in winter 2015), our campus was charged with improving our college’s compliance with these regulations

• Currently still testing the SICAS Student Outcome Tracking (SOT) Module with Degree Works

• Original target live term = Fall 2016

• Current target = Registration for Spring 2017

Steps

• Develop a workgroup of constituents

• Apply the regulations within your campus

• Establish the scope of the problem on your campus

• Facilitate changes to the college catalog

• Implement the SICAS Student Outcome Tracking (SOT) Module

• Educate faculty, advisors, and students

Develop a Workgroup

Expertise Offices at Plattsburgh

Composition of academic programs and program revisions Provost’s Office & Registrar

Course catalog and catalog revisions Provost’s Office & Registrar

Registration process, Banner, Degree Works, and scribing Registrar

Academic advising and educating faculty advisors Academic Advising

Banner, Banner DEVL, & Degree Works software Computer Services

Financial Aid Financial Aid

Support of President, Provost, and relevant VPs Don’t need on workgroup

NYS RegulationsApproved Programs: 8 CRR-NY 145-2.3

Required Coursework

& FT Study:

8 CRR-NY 145-2.1

Federal RegulationsApproved Programs:

FSA Handbook: Vol 2 Chp 2

Federal RegulationsRequired Coursework

FSA Handbook: Vol 1 Chp 1

Pell, SEOG, and TEACH

FSA Handbook: Vol 1 Chp 6

Apply the Regulations

Computer Science Major

• Only programs of study approved by NYSED are eligible for NYS and federal aid

• NYSED has approved all undergraduate programs (i.e. majors) at SUNY Plattsburgh

• Required coursework for each program of study is defined in the college catalog

• Composed of general education courses, major courses, required electives, and additional degree requirements

• Number of required elective credits = 120 credits for graduation less the number of required GE and major credits

• See handout for additional information on undeclared students, double majors, minors, change of major, repeat coursework, final term of study, experiential learning, pre-requisites, and course deviations

• Manage the risk

Program of Study Credits

General Education 33-34

Major Requirements 58-70

Electives 19-29

Total Credits Minimum 120

Additional Degree Requirements

1. A grade of “C” or better in CSC 221 & CSC 223

2. Minimum major GPA of 2.0

3. Complete all college-wide graduation requirements (see page XX)

Establish the Scope of the Problem

Perform a Self-Study

• Estimate campus compliance with the regulations surrounding required coursework for students with a full-time aid package

• Randomly selected 50 full-time matriculated students in the spring 2015 semester with NYS aid, federal aid, or both (N=3,580)

• Random number generators are available on the web

Results from Sample

NYS Aid Spring 2015

Not Full-Time 10 (34%)

Full-time 19 (66%)

Total 29 (100%)

Federal Aid

Not-Full Time 12 (24%)

Full Time 38 (76%)

Total 50 (100%)

Common Problems that Dropped Students < Full Time

• Course only applied to minor & minor was not required by major

• Course only applied to 2nd major & 2nd major not required by 1st

• Course was a pre-requisite and our catalog did not include pre-requisites in the program of study (hidden requirements?)

• Course solely satisfied a college-wide graduation requirement, and while we described college-wide requirements in the catalog, they were not referenced in the program of study for each major

• Student changed major during the term and coursework in the current term was not required for new major (make effective term next semester)

Facilitate Changes to the College Catalog

• Unless catalog was revised, students would be unable to receive state or federal aid for pre-requisites and college-wide requirements

• Some healthy discussions on our campus regarding infringement on academic freedom, “dumbing down” the major, and workload

• Some academic departments elected to incorporate minors, second majors, study-abroad, & internships as an option to satisfy a requirements in their program (e.x. cognate)

• Significant workload for our academic departments and our Office of Provost

Before After Computer Science

More Transparent?

Implement the SOT Module

• Once catalog is changed, Degree Works can be updated

• SOT uses Degree Works as the engine

• Degree Works either slots a course or it falls through

• Slots if GE, major, elective up to 120 credits, or college-wide

• Registrar re-scribed all our majors in Degree Works to slot correctly

• Significant workload for our Office of Registrar

Registration Compliance in Self-Service

Plan to develop email communications based upon these hours

SOT runs in Batch or Dynamic mode (ideal)Batch = Access this screen via Compliance Results linkDynamic = This screen also appears after add or drop

SOT creates a “What-If History Audit” in Degree Works

Can elect to disburse on these hours

Registration Compliance in Self-Service

Draft Text for Registration Compliance Screen• Federal and NYS regulations stipulate that you may receive financial aid only for courses that are

required for your first major. This screen displays the results of a registration compliance evaluation for financial aid. If you do not have any state or federal aid, you may elect to disregard this screen and press continue.

• The coursework required for your first major is summarized in the Undergraduate Catalog for your catalog year and also on Degree Works. These requirements include: general education, major, electives, and additional degree requirements. Most majors do not require a second major or minor, therefore if you have a second major or minor, make sure you have enough elective credits to pursue these options or take these courses beyond 12 required credits.

• If you see Not Eligible under the State Aid or Federal Aid columns, the course is not eligible for that type of financial aid.

• If you see Doesn’t Count under the In Program column, the course does not satisfy one of the general education, major, or additional degree requirements in your first major. The course may also not count because it exceeds your maximum allowable electives. These are the most likely reasons why a course is not eligible for financial aid. For more information, view your Degree Works Audit and also reference the Undergraduate Catalog.

• Note there are very specific circumstances that make a repeat course eligible for financial aid. Click the link for more information or contact the Financial Aid Office (518-564-2072).

• The bottom of this screen summarizes your Total Credit Hours and how many of these credits are State Aid Eligible Hours and Federal Aid Eligible Hours. To receive a full-time aid package, both State Aid Eligible Hours and Federal Aid Eligible Hours must be greater than or equal to 12 credits after you finish registering for all of your courses. If either of these hours are less than 12 credits, the Financial Aid Office will eventually adjust your financial aid package to part-time status and this may result in a bill balance depending upon the aid programs in your aid package. Contact the Financial Aid Office (518-564-2072) or read our FT Guide for more information.

Degree Works AuditCMM 335 & CMM 491 are satisfying major requirements

Degree Works Audit

…etc, etc, etc…

Required electives

Elective block full

CMM 385 falls through since elective block is full

SFAYRCP in Banner

Implement the SOT Module

• Testing, testing, testing….we are currently still testing

• Initially test in batch mode and then in dynamic

• SICAS has test cases but should do more sampling than this…

Educate Faculty, Advisors, and Students

• Change in culture of advising

• Students need to be more strategic in course selection

• Guidelines:

• To be full-time for financial aid register for at least 12 credits of non-repeat coursework required in first major

• Courses must satisfy general education, major, elective block, or additional degree requirements

• Any course beyond this has no restrictions and can be used for 2nd major, minor, repeats….

• Contact FAO for more info

Program of Study Credits

General Education 33-34

Major Requirements 58-70

Electives 19-29

Total Credits Minimum 120

Additional Degree Requirements

1. A grade of “C” or better in CSC 221 & CSC 223

2. Minimum major GPA of 2.0

3. Complete all college-wide graduation requirements (see page XX)

Educate Faculty, Advisors, and Students

• Start to educate as soon as you select a target term to turn on SOT

• Goal is change student behaviors before enforcement to minimize impact

• We held open forums for faculty and students in addition to e-mails

• Our financial aid advisors now know more about academic advising

• Advising issues:

• Switching primary and secondary majors

• Planning coursework for final terms of study

• Being part-time may be better option depending upon aid package

• New transfers with full elective blocks

• Vacationing majors

Todd Moravec

Director of Student Financial Services

SUNY College at Plattsburgh

Phone: (518) 564-2072Fax:(518) 564-4079

email: todd.moravec@plattsburgh.edu