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News to
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Office of Student Financial Assistance
Florida Department of Education
February 2005
Navigating Your Financial
Future
• We are pleased to announce that the
finishing touches are being put into place
for our Default Prevention Kit, “Navigating
Your Financial Future.” Your Outreach
Representative will be contacting you
shortly to determine how this product can
enhance your institutional Default
Management Plan.
Web Enabled System
• We are entering the testing phase for OSFA’s web
enabled front end system. The web-enabled front end
system will allow applicants and educational institution to
perform loan origination functions via the internet in a
secure environment. The system will continue to allow
for ‘real-time’ loan guarantees and is the first step of
many in improving OSFA’s loan technology. Special
thanks to the institutions that have agreed to pilot the
web enabled system. Once the testing is complete, we
will roll the product out to the Financial Aid Community.
Financial Aid Chats
• We are pleased to announce the following
financial aid chats available in March and April.
These chats are FREE to you and your students
through our sponsorship of Mapping Your
Future. If you need additional information,
please contact your Outreach Representative.
• Tuesday, March 8, 2005 @ 3 PM
– Online and distance education
• Tuesday, April 12, 2005 @ 7 PM
– Deferments, forbearances, and default prevention
Spanish Stafford Loan
Entrance Counseling
• Mapping Your Future has completed the testing phase of
the Spanish Stafford Loan Entrance Counseling and the
counseling is now open to all institutions that would like
to participate. If you currently do not participate in MYF’s
Online Student Loan Counseling, you may request
participation by completing the school submission form
at mapping-your-future.org/fao/signup/.
• Spanish Exit Counseling is ready to pilot, and will be
open to all institutions once the pilot phase is complete.
If you would like to participate in the pilot phase of this
program, please contact Carianne Behr at:
carianne.behr@mapping-your-future.org.
OpenNet
• Sallie Mae has released OSFA from the
pilot phase of OpenNet and we are now
fully functional within the OpenNet
program. Schools interested in using
OSFA as a guarantor through OpenNet
can request OSFA be added to their
guarantor list by contacting their Sallie
Mae Representative.
Enhanced DER Reporting
• For Term 2 of the 2004/2005 Academic Year, OSFA has enhanced the
functionality and efficiency of the DER reporting in order to facilitate
disbursement activities. The Term 2 DER’s are pre-filled with the same
data that was submitted, by program, in the Term 1 DER. This additional
functionality for all programs should help to expedite the web based
disbursement activity. This functionality was previously available for Bright
Futures, CDDV, Rosewood, Jose Marti, and Byrd. Now the following
programs also have this capability as a new feature:
– Access to Better Learning and Education (ABLE), Florida Resident
Access Grant (FRAG), Florida Student Assistance Grant (FSAG),
Florida Work Experience Program (FWEP), and Mary McLeod Bethune
Scholarship (MMB)
• Institutional responsibilities remain the same. Each institution is to
verify the number of hours enrolled/funded and the amount of the
disbursement, and update the Disbursement Code before submitting.
SSFAD Database Upgrade
• The SSFAD databases is scheduled to be
brought off-line for migration to a new
server on Friday, February 25, 2005 at
6:00 p.m. It is expected to be returned to
service by Monday, February 28,2005 at
6:00 a.m. During this time, the interactive
SSFAD portion of our website will not be
accessible. Thank you for your patience
while we upgrade our system to serve you
better!
OSFA’s NSLDS Submission
• In January 2005, OSFA began submitting
records to NSLDS on a semi-monthly
basis. Our submissions are processed by
NSLDS on the 2nd and 4th Thursday of
each month. The first February submission
occurred on February 10 and the second
will occur on February 24th.
Blanket Guaranty
Agreements
• OSFA welcomes 1st Student Financial as
the newest lender to execute blanket
guaranty agreements with our Agency. If
you would like to learn more about the
blanket guaranty agreement process,
please contact a member of the Outreach
Team for more information.
FY 2003 Cohort Default Rate
Calculations
• The DRAFT FY 2003 Cohort Default Rate
Calculations were released February 14,
2005. The OFFICIAL FY 2003 Cohort
Default Rate calculations will be calculated
on July 30, 2005 and released on
September 12, 2005. Please review your
DRAFT report in a timely manner so that
you may review the data included before
the calculations become final.
FY 2006 Budget Proposal
• The President's FY2006 budget proposal includes $13.59 billion for
Pell Grants (5,468,000 recipients), a $10 billion decline in
Consolidation Loan volume, and eliminating both the Perkins Loan
and LEAP programs. Both the SEOG and Work Study programs will
remain the same. New programs include: $100 million for
"Presidential Math and Science Scholars,” $33 million for "Enhanced
Pell Grants for State Scholars,” and $283 million for "Loans for Short
Term Training."
• The budget confirms that the Perkins loan program will be
eliminated and the Federal portion of the revolving funds will be
recalled. The Bush administration is also proposing to require
guaranty agencies to collect the 1% guarantee fee.
• To review the proposal in it’s entirety, please visit the website:
– http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/fy2006/pdf/appendix/edu.pdf
Mapping Your Future
Upgrades
• Mapping Your Future upgraded to Version 3.2 during
February 2005. This version provides school users with
a higher level of security and required all users to
change their passwords. In Spring 2005, Mapping Your
Future will upgrade to Version 3.5 and will include new
methods for establishing accounts, assigning user
names, and resetting passwords. In addition, the release
will give schools greater flexibility in setting up and
assigning account authority for staff. In Version 3.5, each
OSLC account will need an account super user to
administer the account and authorize additional users.
We will provide more details as they become available.
T-FAP (Training for Financial
Aid Professionals)
• Training for Financial Aid Professionals
(T-FAP) replaces the FSA University website;
you can use it to find a complete list of current
and future training activities and learning
resources provided by the Federal Student Aid
programs. Please visit the T-FAP website for
further information:
– http://www.ed.gov/offices/OSFAP/training/inde
x.html
USDOE Conference
Presentations
• If you were unable to attend the USDOE
Conferences held in 2004, copies of the
presentations are now available on the
IFAP website for your review:
– http://www.ifap.ed.gov/IFAPWebApp/currentC
PresentationsYearPag.jsp?p1=ED+Conferenc
es&p2=c
Black History Month
• In 1926, Dr. Carter G. Woodson, an African-American historian,
writer and educator, established Negro History Week during the
month of February to honor the contributions of African-Americans.
During the early 1970s, the name of the celebration was changed to
Black History Week. It was expanded to Black History Month in
1976. Use this Web special, which contains background information,
activities, keywords and online resources, to help your students
understand and appreciate the history, culture and achievements of
African-Americans. For more information, visit the CNN website:
– http://cnnstudentnews.cnn.com/2005/fyi/special/black.history.month/
Important Dates
For more information
about these events
and other future
• March 15-16, 2005 - FASFAA Region III Workshop, scheduled events,
Orlando, FL please visit
• March 17-18, 2005 - FASFAA Region V/VI Workshop,
Boca Raton, FL www.fasfaa.org and
• March 22-23, 2005 - FASFAA Region II Workshop, click on calendar.
Jacksonville, FL
• March 22-24, 2005 - SFA Spring Conference, Sparks,
NV
• April 7-8, 2005, FASFAA Region I Workshop, Panama
City, FL
• April 27-29, 2005 - Mapping Your Future Annual
Conference, Fort Worth, TX
• June 8-10, 2005 - FASFAA Spring 2005 Conference,
Miami Beach, FL
• July 3-6, 2005 - NASFAA Annual Conference, New
York, NY
• October 25-27, 2005 - FASFAA Fall 2005 Conference,
Orlando, FL
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.
Outreach Team Contact
Information
• Ernest Smith, Director of Market Development
850-322-6498
• Jacqueline Hill, Default Prevention Manager and Outreach
Representative
850-212-1108
• Karen Hurrell, Senior Outreach Representative
904-745-3091
• Lori Auxier, Manager of Outreach Services and Outreach
Representative
561-434-3993
• Stephanie Durdley, Outreach Representative
850-322-6219
• Armando Salas-Amaro, Outreach Representative
305-267-5528
Regional Contact Information
• Customer Service is our #1 Priority! Call us
today!
• 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
