For some of you, the 2024-2025 year has already started. For others, it’s coming up in just a few short months! To help set yourself up for a successful year, we recommend reviewing your Grant & Aid setup before the business of admissions season really hits. Here’s how to get started.
Update Deadlines
Be sure our Grant & Aid landing page, your website, and communications all accurately reflect deadlines and any process changes. Let your account manager know about your different deadlines so that we can have those recorded for our teams taking your families’ calls.
Application Questions
To review your current application, go to Grant & Aid >> Term Setup >> Form Preview. Ask yourself some of these questions:
- Are there questions asked on your application that you never review that you could get rid of?
- Do you need to rephrase or eliminate custom pandemic related questions?
- Are there things that you are following up consistently with applicants for that you could ask on your application?
- Are there questions that could be tucked under a conditional question to shorten your application?
Email your account manager to request any changes to your application.
Supplemental Documents
Supplemental Documents allow you to collect and review documents outside of the tax documents that FACTS processes. For those with supplemental documents, review to ensure you still want to collect those documents and consider adding help text if your parents have previously had questions on the documents. For those not using this feature – are there documents you are collecting from parents that you could add to the application process? Email your account manager to request changes to supplemental documents.
Internal Tracking Fields
Once your 2024-2025 term has been created, remove any internal tracking fields you won’t be using. For any fields that you want the data to roll over from last year, be sure to go in and select “enable term-to-term data rollover” before applications are submitted. After the first year selecting the rollover setting, you will not have to go back in each year, unless you want to stop the data rollover.
You can set up and edit internal tracking fields by going to Grant & Aid >> Term Setup >> Internal Tracking (under Data Management heading).
Custom Reports
First, get rid of any custom reports you no longer use so that you have less noise during the year. Then, think about data points that you are consistently reviewing, adjusting in the formula, or marking internal tracking fields for that could be done in mass. Consider ways that you could automate processes within a custom report and get those built.
Grant Management – Funds & Fund Eligibility
Have you been leveraging the eligibility criteria to help funnel students into the appropriate buckets or fund? Review that for accuracy and evaluate if there are additional criteria that could help automate your awarding processes, for example an internal tracking field that you mark for a customized status that indicates if they are ready for awarding. If you aren’t using Grant Management, now is a great time to go in and enter (or import!) your 23-24 awards so that you can use prior year awarding information in 24-25. For a training on how to use Grant Management, check out this recorded webinar: https:/bit.ly/FGAAGM
Returning Families
Returning families sometimes need to be reminded (and re-reminded) to submit their application the next year. If deadlines differ from new families, make sure that this is communicated clearly, especially for families in their first year as returning families. To help automate this, set up a student-based report in the 23-24 year in the applications area and add the field “has applied to new term.” This field gives a yes/no on whether you have an application in the 24-25 term for that student. Then filter down to the “no,” select all, and email reminders for families to apply.
With tips like these and the right team in place, we’re confident you’ll be ready to tackle the 2024-2025 financial aid application year with ease!
