Oklahoma’s Promise

1. Oklahoma’s Promise Scholarship & Grant Training July 12, 2010 Carol Alexander Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education

2. Legislative Changes

3. Oklahoma’s Promise • Fall 2010 – Implementation of law requiring lawful presence • Fall 2010 – Implementation of law requiring change to college GPA • Fall 2012 – Implementation of law regarding the second income limit of $100,000

4. Undocumented Students • For all state financial aid programs except OKPromise, undocumented students can be eligible only if they provide to the institution a copy of a true and correct application or petition filed with the USCIS to legalize the student’s immigration status. • Fall 2010 – Implementation of law requiring U.S. citizenship or lawful presence for OKPromise

5. Undocumented Students • Students who enrolled in OKPromise after July 2, 2007 must be a U.S. citizen or lawfully present in the U.S. at the time they enter college to receive the OKPromise award.  • Students that later become a U.S. citizen or lawfully present may become eligible for the award at that time.  • Students will be flagged on the electronic verification site when you check eligibility.

6. OKPromise – College GPA • Currently, students must be in “good academic standing” in order to remain eligible for OKPromise benefits in college. • Fall 2010 - Implementation of law requiring changes to college GPA

7. OKPromise – College GPA • Beginning with students that start receiving OKPromise awards in the fall 2010 and thereafter, recipients must achieve: • a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.0 for courses taken through the student's sophomore year OR • a minimum GPA of 2.5 for courses taken during the student's junior year and thereafter.

8. OKPromise – 2nd Income Limit • Currently, the family's income is not re-evaluated again after the student initially enrolls in the program and qualifies at the $50K income limit. • Fall 2012 – Implementation of law regarding the second income limit of $100,000

9. OKPromise – 2nd Income Limit • Families must still initially qualify based on the $50K income limit. • At the time the student begins college, the family income will be re-evaluated and must be under $100K at that time. • We are still in discussions as to how this will happen, but it will likely involve the use of FAFSA data.

10. Cooperative Alliance An agreement between one or more public Oklahoma institutions and one technology center as a joint vision of a collaborative partnership designed to benefit students and enhance the technical workforce in that part of Oklahoma. A Cooperative Alliance is voluntary and agreed upon by all partners and their governing boards. The State Regents for Higher Education and the State Board of Career and Technology Education review and approve the agreement for each Cooperative Alliance. The approved Cooperative Alliance agreement remains in force until the governing boards of the Cooperative Alliance partners dissolve the agreement.

11. Cooperative Agreement A formal, academic program offered by institutions in the Oklahoma State System for Higher Education that includes approved courses taught by a CareerTech technology center and leads to an Associate in Applied Science (AAS) degree or a college-level certificate in a technical or occupational field.

12. Cooperative Agreement (cont.) • Students should follow the rules of the cooperative agreement. • Co-enrolled; must pay charges to institution • Claim should show name of coop agmt program (i.e. Applied Tech) and name of the public institution

13. Resource PageFinancial Aid Resources for Institutions • http://www.okhighered.org/admin-fac/FinAidResources/ • One location for up-to-date information including: • Administrative rules and statutes • Report form templates • Reporting instructions • Other information related to OSRHE financial aid programs

17. OK PromiseEligibility Report • https://www.okhighered.org/ohlap/ohlapelig/Login.aspx • Same username and password as O-SAFE • Multiple Report Options: • Current Eligibility (2009-10) • Current Eligibility (2010-11) • Potential Eligibility (2010 grads only) • Two Processing Options: • Individual • Batch

20. OKPromiseFile created by institution Column A SSN Column B Student ID

21. Column A = ID Column B = Elig/Not Column C = Elig. code for text file Column D = Expiration Date Column E = Student last name Column F = Date enrolled in OKP OKPromiseFile returned to the institution

22. Troubleshooting Eligibility Report Errors • Error: the # of columns does not match …Answer: too many columns in your spreadsht or SSN field may be blank • Error: Website require you to login to use … or “the specified request cannot be executed from current application pool.”Answer: Save the file to a lower version (Microsoft Office Excel Workbook.xls)

23. Troubleshooting (cont.) • Problem: Found a student in May; the following September, the student is not on the list.Answer: Student’s eligibility has probably expired • Problem: you click ‘start process’ and nothing happens.Answer: this is an Internet Explorer issue; you’ll need to get an instruction doc. from me that will show you how to adjust a security setting.

24. Troubleshooting (cont.) • Problem: Student is coming up as “not eligible”Answer: • Student did not complete the rqmts. • Possible incorrect SSN • No SSN on record • Question: Why does one OKPromise student have an expiration date and another does not?Answer: The 1st student has a disbursement on record with OKPromise; the 2nd does not (yet).

25. Automating your OKPromise claim • Do as much as you can electronically • Pulling data from your FA Management System into your claim form • Please share your practices or ideas

26. OKPromise Helpful Tips • Financial Aid handbook • FAQ for HS Seniors & FAQ for College Students • OKPromise Scholarship Rates (2010-11 is on the website!)

27. Contact Information okpromise@osrhe.edu OR 1.800.858.1840 (option 2) Carol Alexander: calexander@osrhe.edu Delia Gilbert: dgilbert@osrhe.edu