University Business - September 2012 - (Page 86)

CAmpus FINANCE OceanS Of Data Systems, Inc. Look for packages that offer a high degree of reporting flexibility and customizability, that provide the ability to add or remove common filters, change sortings and groupings, and change the presentation type, he advises. Such “flexible reference reports” can sometimes yield answers without the need to develop a report from scratch. Although Kulju likes the flexibility of CSU’s software (Oracle PeopleSoft for the majority of campuses) and the ability it gives them to customize, he’d still like to see more movement towards providing universally accepted or required reports being used by institutions nationally. “It can be time consuming to figure out the kinds of reports needed, and some of our smaller campuses may not have as much IT support, so I’d like to see more generalization and more out-of-the box reports,” he says. Financial aid administrators should view reporting “more in the context of business intelligence—taking data and transforming it into information that can then be used for further analysis and for strategic decision-making,” says Gary Allen, senior strategy manager for Oracle Higher Education. This requires tools that enable users to interact with data, and manipulate it or present it in different ways. Financial aid office teams should understand the type of aid a student has received and what costs the loans are supporting, says Evans. “This helps educate [students, families, and financial aid offices] as to how financial aid resources are being used and also helps students understand what they’ll need to pay for their education. It’s very important for schools to be open and transparent and to describe how the financial aid office is supporting students.” Many higher ed institutions are doing this, Evans says, but the challenge comes with managing data and finding time to create this total picture. The ability to compare school-specific to national data also offers greater relevancy. He believes this kind of analysis requires an enterprise solution with dashboard capabilities. Reports, Reports, and More Reports Every college or university student financial aid office produces reports—tons of them—specific to their particular institution. However, some reports are common to all. One is the annual FISAP (Fiscal Operations Reports and Application to Participate), which summarizes data for the just-completed award year and keeps a financial aid office eligible for federal funding, explains Mary Hillstrom, assistant director of operations for the University of Wisconsin, Madison, Office of Student Financial Aid. The university has 13 campuses; 12 have implemented Oracle PeopleSoft. Although the names differ, student financial aid offices everywhere produce “exception reports.” These alert financial aid counselors to information missing in a student’s financial aid application and what else the counselor needs to do. Depending on the time of year and institution, these could be run several times daily. All institutions must ensure they’re not over- or undercommitting their financial aid funds. The California State University system office accomplishes this through the Fund Management Report, shares Dean Kulju, director of student financial aid services and programs. When activity’s high, a campus might run this report weekly or monthly when activity slows. The administrators on each campus also want to know who has received aid and how much each student received. CSU financial aid officers will run quality control reports to ensure that (among other things) the right students were selected and the right amounts were given, explains Kulju. Hillstrom says their campuses are required to report annually to the administration via the Central Data Report (CDR). This contains data from other departments, including financial aid offices, which report on who is receiving financial aid, the demographics of that population, and if they’re Wisconsin or out-of-state residents. Transfer students receiving financial aid are tracked via the Transfer Monetary Report, which tells the university how much aid transfer students received at their previous schools and calculates the amount they should still receive. Think Long Term Financial aid data is complex and should be studied over a period of time, adds Evans. Administrators should conduct trends analysis and look at data on how students progress through the course of their education. Chesa Stanfield, executive director of solutions and sales for Global Financial Aid Services, explains the importance of this strategy. “Monitoring progress across the student population at key milestones will quickly isolate students who have stalled and may need outbound contact or an appointment to advance to the next step,” says Stanfield, whose company 86 | September 2012 universitybusiness.com http://www.universitybusiness.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of University Business - September 2012

University Business - September 2012
Contents
Editor’s Note
College Index
Ad Index
Behind the News
Viewpoint
Independent Outlook
Financial Aid
Virtual Viewbooks: Ready? Or Not?
Technology Changes Everything
Connecting Learners, On Campus and Off
The Changing Face of the CIO
Efficiency Greats
The Administrator's Bookshelf
Oceans of Data
Education Innovators
Internet Technology
End Note

University Business - September 2012