College Goal Sunday

1. College Goal Sunday Changes in Higher Education: The Impact on College Goal Sunday College Goal Sunday Forum May 25, 2010

2. College Goal Sunday Tim Christensen Program Manager, Direct Loan Transition Education Services Vangent, Inc.

3. Agenda • Recent Legislation • FAFSA Simplification • College Access Challenge Grants • Volunteers and Money • Q&A, Success Stories, and Discussion

4. Recent Legislation • March 30: President signed Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 • Education initiatives started with president’s budget proposal-May 2009 • Continued with Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act-July 2009 • Stalled in Senate-December 2009

5. HCERA • Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act (Public Law 111-152) • Passed by House and Senate on March 25 • Signed into law by President Obama on March 30

6. HCERA Key Provisions • Eliminates Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP) • No new (first disbursed) Stafford, PLUS, or consolidation loans after June 30, 2010 • Income-Based Repayment (IBR) • Beginning July 1, 2014, new borrowers will qualify for IBR if standard repayment exceeds 10% of discretionary income • Currently 15% • “Discretionary income” is amount of AGI that exceeds 150% of the poverty line for the borrower’s family size

7. HCERA Key Provisions, cont. • IBR, cont. • Loan forgiveness occurs after 20 years of repayment • Decreased from 25 years • In-School Consolidation • Borrowers with loans in Direct, FFEL, or held by the government may consolidate into a Direct Consolidation Loan • Must consolidate between July 1, 2010 and July 1, 2011

8. HCERA Key Provisions, cont. • Consolidation, cont. • Must have at least one loan in each of two of the three programs • Must not have entered repayment on at least one of those loans • Increased Pell Grants • Maximum $5,550 in 2010-11 (up from $5,350 this year) • At least $6,000 by 2017 • Indexed to Consumer Price Index for five years starting in 2013

9. HCERA Key Provisions, cont. • Servicing Contracts for State Non-profits • State entities not owned or controlled in whole or in part by a for-profit entity • Have principal place of business in that respective state • Eligible for Direct Loan servicing contracts in that state • Must meet servicing standards • Secretary may reallocate, increase, reduce, or terminate allocation based on performance

10. HCERA Key Provisions, cont. • Assistance to Institutions Participating in the Direct Loan Program • $50 million for technical assistance • ED has provided checklists, guides, and a “suite” of Webinars • In-depth telephone support through Student Aid Internet Gateway/Central Processing System tech team • Campus support visits • No direct grants to schools

11. HCERA Key Provisions, cont. • Community College and Career Training Grant program • $2 billion over four years • Designed to help unemployed and others facing barriers to employment • Support for HBCUs, Hispanic-serving institutions, Tribal Colleges and Universities, and other MSIs • College Access Challenge Grants (more to come)

12. HCERA Key Provisions, cont. • Pays off most of the FY 2011 Pell Grant shortfall • Provides $10 billion for deficit reduction

13. SAFRA Provisions Dropped • Changes to need analysis that would have eliminated consideration of assets • Asset caps for Pell Grants and subsidized Stafford Loans • Elimination of Perkins Loan Program in favor of Federal Direct Perkins Loan • And a few others

14. FAFSA Simplification • “Skip logic” allows applicants to skip questions not relevant to them • Questions about parents’ financial information eliminated for students who are: • At least 24 • Married • Single screening question before existing three questions about homeless status allows most to skip

15. FAFSA Simplification, cont. • Allows men over age 26 to skip question about selective service registration • Students who qualify for simplified needs formula skip asset questions • Questions about untaxed income and other financial information presented in simplified “check box” format

16. FAFSA Simplification, cont. • In January 2010, students using online FAFSA to apply for aid for the remainder of 2009-10 can retrieve tax information from IRS and transfer to FAFSA • Students can link from FAFSA to state financial aid applications • Schools that find FAFSA over-simplified can use CSS Profile (currently about 250)

17. FAFSA Simplification, cont. • FAFSA simplification is an ongoing, iterative process • College access professionals are challenged to stay on top of changes • Families need to be kept informed

18. Good News, Yet Challenges • Pell Grants are increasing • FAFSA simplification is well underway • The big challenge: Agencies that often took the lead in outreach and information services are being forced to cut staff and services

19. College Access Challenge Grants • We’re going back to the Health Care and Reconciliation Act now • Purpose: • Foster partnerships among federal, state, and local governments and philanthropic organizations • Matching challenge grants • Aimed at increasing the number of low-income students prepared to enter and succeed in postsecondary education

20. College Access Challenge Grants, cont. • Challenge Grants provide funding for: • Information on college and career planning for students and families • Professional development for guidance counselors, financial aid administrators, and college admission counselors • Need-based grant aid for low-income students

21. College Access Challenge Grants, cont. • Match required • Federal funds may pay up to two-thirds of the cost of activities and services • States must provide non-federal funds equal to one-third of costs • Match may be cash or in-kind • It cannot be waived • Sources may include states, private organizations, or both

22. College Access Challenge Grants, cont. • Who may apply: • Any state agency designated by the governor of the state • If a state is awarded a grant and fails to meet its matching requirement, the Secretary will reduce the state’s award proportionately and may re-award those funds to a philanthropic organization

23. College Access Challenge Grants, cont. • Qualifying Students and Families • Must make activities and services available to all qualifying students and families regardless of: • Choice of postsecondary institution • Type of student loan received • Server of such loan • Student’s academic performance • Cannot charge a fee to participate • Cannot require students to meet any condition other than eligibility for Title IV aid

24. College Access Challenge Grants, cont. • Priority • Must be given to students and families who are living below the poverty line applicable to the individual’s family size

25. College Access Challenge Grants, cont. • Funding status • FY 2008: $66 million • FY 2009: $66 million • FY 2010: $150 million • This is a 127% increase • Formula-driven • Minimum award was $330K in 2009 • Increases to $1.5M in 2010 • Range up to $7.6M in 2009 and $15M in 2010 (California)

26. College Access Challenge Grants, cont. • Sub-Grants to Non-Profits • May award sub-grants to one or more non-profits or partnerships of organizations provided they: • Were in existence on or before September 27, 2007; and • Participate in activities and services related to increasing access to higher education

27. College Access Challenge Grants, cont. • FY 2010 application became available May 17, 2010 • Deadline: July 2, 2010 • Contact: • Karmon Simms-Coates • E-mail: karmon.simms-coates@ed.gov • (202) 502-7807

28. College Access Challenge Grants, cont. • Arkansas launched “Say Go College Week” in February that ended with College Goal Sunday • As a result, 47% more high school seniors completed the FAFSA in College Goal Sunday than in the prior year • Kansas supplemented existing CGS funding with CACG funds • CGS attendance increase 30%, from 838 students in 2008 to 1,091 in 2009

29. College Access Challenge Grants, cont. • Maine expanded CGS to include additional sites, additional nights, and FAFSA completion lab events. • Attendance increased 16% over prior year • Michigan created a college access network, launched a college access Web portal, and brought local providers into the conversation • CGS participation increased 51%

30. College Access Challenge Grants, cont. • Mississippi partnered with GEAR UP to launch its first-ever CGS event • Approximately 400 families attended 22 sites staffed by 250 volunteers • 22 students (one per site) were awarded $500 scholarships • The Montana CACG team videotaped families filling out the FAFSA for its go2collegeMT Web site • Also working on FAFSA completion tutorial

31. College Access Challenge Grants, cont. • Puerto Rico developed a pilot based on CGS to bring FAFSA completion via UPR to high schools • 59 high schools participated, 100 are expected in 2010, and all will participate in 2011 • South Carolina expanded CGS to provide intervention by local institutions and partnered with TRIO and Foster Care • Over 900 students received support

32. Volunteers and Money • Potential varies from state to state • Make sure every prospective funding partner knows about College Goal Sunday • Promote and network persistently • Seek opportunities for collaboration • Be able to answer the “what’s in it for me” question (the value proposition)

33. Organizations to Connect With • State department of education • State loan servicer, if available • State association of student financial aid administrators • TRIO organizations • State College Access Network, if there is one • State GEAR UP organization

34. Organizations to Connect With, cont. • State university system • Community foundations • Private philanthropy • Business and industry • Others? You suggest • Reference: CAM Budgeting Brief • http://www.pathwaystocollege.net/pdf/CAM-Budgeting.pdf

35. Discussion • Q & A • Success stories • Other comments Thank You! Tim Christensen timothy.christensen@vangent.com 703-284-5809