News to Know

1. News to Know Office of Student Financial Assistance Florida Department of Education April 2005

2. Web Enabled Front End System • We are pleased to announce that we are ready to enter the testing phase of our new Web Enabled Front End System. We will be conducting on site visitations to three beta test sites during May 2005 and expect to roll out the product to the Financial Aid Community at the FASFAA Spring Conference. Mark your calendars to stop by our booth at the Conference to learn more about how this innovative product can assist your institutional loan process. Or, contact your Outreach Representative directly for more information.

3. Navigating Your Financial Future To learn more about this innovative product, contact your Outreach Representative today!

4. Borrower Contact Assistance • To enhance your Default Prevention efforts, we have created ‘sample’ letters to assist institutions in contacting delinquent or defaulted borrowers. By working together, we can help our borrowers’ enter a successful repayment program. For your free sample, contact your Outreach Representative.

5. FASFAA Workshop Presentations • If you were unable to attend one of the FASFAA Regional Workshops and would like a copy of the presentations that were made on behalf of the Florida Department of Education, please contact your Outreach Representative. • Topics included: Guarantor Update, State Program Update, NSLDS Reporting, Managing Your Cohort Default Rate, and Specialty Claims.

6. What is the role of the OSFA Program Review Unit? • The Florida Department of Education (OSFA) routinely performs Program Reviews at institutions located within the State of Florida. Program Reviews are necessary to insure that institutions are complying with Federal Regulations. The US Department of Education requires state agencies to conduct Program Reviews and report the results to the USDOE. This information is then available and shared between guarantors. Therefore, while it may appear that we conduct reviews more than other guarantors within the state, other state based guarantors are completing the same function within their own home state and reporting their results to the USDOE, as well. Our Program Review Unit works diligently with Florida institutions to perform these reviews quickly and professionally with minimal disruption to the institutional workflow. Our goal is to assist Florida institutions in insuring that Title IV is administered correctly and efficiently. Like all of our staff, the Program Review Unit is here to help you.

7. What’s Happening in FSA - An Update • To view the above presentation that is from the March 2005 Career Colleges Region VI Conference, please visit the link at: • http://ifap.ed.gov/presentations/0305CareerCollegesRegVI.html

8. Federal Work Study Program Community Service Request • To learn more information on requesting a waiver of the 2005-2006 community service expenditure requirements under the Federal Work Study Program, please visit: • http://ifap.ed.gov/dpcletters/CB0505FWSCSWRequest.html

9. EDExpress Training • The 2005-06 instructor-led online training in Application Processing with EDExpress and FAA Access to CPS On-line is still available until late June. You can choose the class that best fits your schedule. All classes will be conducted using the Department's Distance Education system which will allow you to participate without leaving your desk. Registration is required for these sessions. To learn more about the sessions, please visit: • www.register123.com/event/profile/web/index.cfm?PKwebID=0x11458afc5&varPage=info

10. NASFAA 2004 Fall Training Materials • If you were unable to attend NASFAA's Fall 2004 Training Series on Student Loan Issues, you can now order the reference materials distributed at the workshops. The materials answer frequently asked questions, provide the latest guidance received from ED, and clarify areas that often cause confusion. For more information, please visit the website: • http://www.NASFAA.org/publications/2005/ctfall04materials010305.html

11. SASFAA Summer New Aid Officer’s Workshop • Online registration is now available at (www.sasfaa.org) for the 2005 SASFAA Summer New Aid Officer’s Workshop. Select the “Training” tab from the home page and you will find information regarding the workshop, as well as the link to register. Space is limited, so register today! The workshop will be held on the beautiful campus of University of North Carolina (Asheville) from June 19 – 24, 2005.

12. Mapping Your Future named “Best of the Web” • Forbes.com named Mapping Your Future as a “Best of The Web” winner in the Spring 2005 Best of The Web, just released online at www.forbes.com/bow. Mapping Your Future was named in the College Planning category and is among less than a dozen sites chosen for this recognition. The recognition includes a review of the site and compliments Mapping Your Future by saying this “easy-to-navigate, easy-to-read source for general information will ease you into the college planning process.” OSFA is proud to sponsor this winning organization!

13. Mapping Your Future Annual Conference • “Blazing a New Frontier” -- the Mapping Your FutureTM (MYF) Annual Conference will be held in Fort Worth, Texas on April 27-29, 2005. It’s still not too late to register and take advantage of this low cost alternative for professional development. The registration fee is $150 and registration is available online at: • mapping-your-future.org/apps/Surveys/index.cfm?reqSurveyID=53

14. MYF Financial Aid Chats • We are pleased to announce the following financial aid chat is available in May. This chat is FREE to you and your students through our sponsorship of Mapping Your Future. • Tuesday, May 10, 2005 @ 7 PM • Loan consolidation, forgiveness, cancellation, and discharge • www.mapping-your-future.org

15. Top 10 Financial Aid Blunders • Experts were asked to name the financial aid blunders families tend to make. Here are the top 10 and how to help your students avoid them: • http://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/articles/050418/18mistake.htm

16. Mission Statement • The Florida Department of Education, Office of Student Financial Assistance (OSFA), serves as a guarantor for the Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP), and the administrator of Florida’s scholarship and grant programs. The OSFA Mission is to facilitate higher education access and services by providing exemplary customer attention, comprehensive financial aid information, and convenient and efficient products.

17. Philosophy • As a public agency, OSFA has the ability to offer its partners and customers something few guarantors can: the ability to shape OSFA programs and services based on their specific concerns. Earnings generated from OSFA’s loan programs are used to help fund scholarship and grant programs, financial aid workshops and publications, and to provide better services for our participants. When schools and students choose to use the OSFA guarantee for student loans, they are actually helping countless other needy and deserving students by investing in education programs. So, if a participant has a problem or suggestion, OSFA administration listens and does whatever it takes to implement a solution that meets their needs. Public dollars deserve that kind of accountability in education finance.

18. 2005 Important Dates • April 20-21, FASFAA Region V/VI Workshop, Ft. Lauderdale, FL • April 27-29, Mapping Your Future Annual Conference, Fort Worth, TX • June 8-10, FASFAA Spring 2005 Conference, Miami Beach, FL • June 19-24, SASFAA Summer New Aid Officers Workshop, Asheville, NC • July 3-6, NASFAA Annual Conference, New York, NY • October 25-27, FASFAA Fall 2005 Conference, Orlando, FL • October 31 - November 3, SFA Electronic Access Conference, San Diego, CA • November 29 - December 2, SFA Electronic Access Conference, Atlanta, GA For more information about these events and other future scheduled events, please visit www.fasfaa.org and click on calendar.

19. Outreach Team Contact Information • Ernest Smith, Director of Market Development • 850-322-6498 • Jacqueline Hill, Default Prevention Manager • 850-212-1108 • Karen Hurrell, Senior Outreach Representative • 904-745-3091 • Lori Auxier, Manager of Outreach Services and Outreach Representative • 850-212-2997 • Stephanie Durdley, Outreach Representative • 850-322-6219 • Armando Salas-Amaro, Outreach Representative • 850-264-6008

20. Regional Contact Information • Lori Auxier, Manager of Outreach Services and OSFA Outreach Representative • 3715 Kirkwood Circle • Boynton Beach, FL 33436 • 561-434-3993 (office) • 850-212-2997 (cellular) • lori.auxier@fldoe.org

21. Closing • Confidence in the institution’s ability to determine our integrity, character, and truthfulness is of the utmost importance to OSFA. The Office of Student Financial Assistance wants to know and deliver what you seek in a partner. You have the right to choose. Together, we have the power to make a difference. Trust the Office of Student Financial Assistance to help you help your students. They are our future.