Quality in Student Financial Aid Programs A New Approach (1993) / Chapter Skim
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C Applying for Federal Student Financial Aid for 1992-93
C Applying for Federal Student Financial Aid for 1992-93
Pages 197-214
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From page 197... ...
For the 1992-93 school year, applications supplied by MDEs were required to incorporate verbatim all the instructions and data items from the federal version; they were permitted to append additional items needed to administer financial aid programs, including nonfederal programs, at the schools they served. For 1992-93, the AFSA was the appropriate form for the following federal programs: · Pell Grants · Stafford Loans · Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants · College Work-Study · Perkins Loans THE 1992-93 AFSA: PAPER VERSION The paper version of the AFSA for the 1992-93 school year became available to applicants late in 1991.
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From page 198... ...
The English AFSA for 1992-93 consists of a 4-page form and preaddressed mailing envelope stapled in the middle of a 12-page booklet. The AFSA booklet, as distinguished from the application form itself, consists mainly of instructions, definitions, and work sheets needed to fill out the application form.
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From page 199... ...
These design variations might present challenges for data entry personnel as well as applicants. Panel members were concerned that the current design of the AFSA could cause inadvertent response errors that would complicate the processes of advising applicants, checking the accuracy of responses, and correcting erroneous data.
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From page 200... ...
Reviewers were generally critical of the AFSA: · "The aid application forms and process are much more complex and onerous on applicants than they need be, more onerous than a 1040 tax form. Ironically, most of the students seeking aid come from low-income families which either file no tax return or file a 1040EZ.
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From page 201... ...
If the information is not used in determining eligibility for aid, they thought the section should become a work sheet in the instruct~ons. _ Marital status plays an important part in some key decisions applicants must make about which questions on the application form they are supposed to answer.
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From page 202... ...
Check with your financial aid administrator." This statement has no apparent relationship to the questions in that section, all of which deal with loans received in the past. The instruction to enter "0" if the applicant has not received a Stafford Loan contradicts the direction given on the questionnaire.
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From page 203... ...
Another option that might be useful for this complex form is to convert the AFSA instructions into a working copy of the application. The questions and the answer categories would be interspersed with the complete instructions, examples, definitions, and work sheets, if any, needed for each data item.
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From page 204... ...
whenever VEAP, FDC, and they are cited so on) designate each item in every form consistently · restrict the AFSA to an · put work sheets on the application form and same page as the · give the "completed" instructions; place all instructions for them or tax return and program information in put all work sheets in "estimated" tax return the student guide one place in item 22 more accurate names and · move the AFSA · number the pages of define them reference to the the form student guide from · warn students not to page 11 to page 1 · delete the chart on apply too early (e.g., page 1 of the AFSA before January 1, expand the form to 1992)
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From page 205... ...
OSFA should provide for methodological improvements to be made in future field tests, including, for example, use of longer data collection periods, use of experimental application forms in the actual application process, use of sampling schemes that more directly identify specific subpopulations, employment of probability sampling techniques, and use of larger samples; and
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From page 206... ...
examining AFSA answers item-by-item separately for first-time applicants and renewers to identify those items that cause problems (not necessarily errors) for students and/or processors, and · analyzing the apparent impact, if any, on answers to core data items of variations among application forms used by various states, such as font size, layout, and specific additional questions.
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From page 207... ...
One of the applicant letters the OMB forwarded to the Department of Education stated that the line item identification on the SAR should conform to the identification on the original submission to make it easier to review or correct and, therefore, more accurate. Three-fourths of the comments received by the department referred to confusion in reviewing or correcting data because of the lack of correspondence between the item sequence on the SAR and the item sequence on the AFSA.
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From page 208... ...
208 V: Cal ; o ._ a, o .~ 4 C~ 50 o U)
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From page 209... ...
, a demonstration of the system held at the Department of Education, OMB clearance materials, and experimenting with the software by entering answers for imaginary appli cants. In Stage Zero's Electronic Needs Analysis System, financial aid personnel can perform the following functions on student data already keyed: · calculate the expected family contribution (to the student's financial needs)
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From page 210... ...
Additional information about the questions mentioned in the instructions is available for every data item, even those for which no instructions appear in the paper AFSA. These help messages usually contain the information from the paper AFSA and information specific to Stage Zero, such as which characters are permitted (no commas in the address, for example)
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From page 211... ...
a pop-up message on a red background states: "The remaining questions will ask you for information about your, (your spouse's) , and your parents' finances." The help message for the definition of parents that applies in the remainder of the application does not include all the information in the instructions for the paper AFSA: the contents of the red box labeled "Parents' information red areas," which explain the complex rules governing parents who have divorced, separated, and perhaps remarried, are not included in the electronic AFSA.
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From page 212... ...
In Stage Zero those work sheets are not needed; the software makes the calculations automatically. The on-screen notice to those who have a choice is worded more clearly than the equivalent information on the paper work sheets.
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From page 213... ...
Installation of the Electronic App software requires approximately 2.0 megabytes of available space on the hard disk. Your additional data storage needs will depend on the size of your database, with each application record requiring about 600 bytes of storage space.
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From page 214... ...
If they could use a tailored version of Stage Zero, high schools, churches, community organizations, civic groups, and mentors with access to a computer could aid applicants in filling out the form. REFERENCES DeMaio, Theresa, ed.
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