The annual Fiscal Operations Report for 2021–22 and Application to Participate for 2023–24 (FISAP) became available in August and is due on Friday, September 30. If you got caught up in the start of the semester whirlwind and haven’t had a chance to start this annual requirement, don’t panic. Here are some tips for efficiently and effectively completing the FISAP on time.
If you are a first-timer or feel out of practice, we recommend attending training provided by Federal Student Aid (FSA). You can also access a PDF version of the FISAP form (for planning purposes), but you must submit the FISAP via the online portal. FISAP forms, instructions and the Desk Reference can be found in the FSA Knowledge Center.
You must have access to COD to complete FISAP. If you don’t, immediately have your Destination Point Administrator (DPA) enroll you on the SAIG Enrollment website. If you need to register as the DPA as well, you can do so on the same site and then enroll in the Student Aid Internet Gateway (SAIG).
The first thing to do once you gain access to the form is to print Part I, Section B Certification and Warning, fill in the identifying information at the top of the page and send it to your CEO’s or President’s Office. They will need to sign it and have it in the mail to the address provided no later than September 30.
Next, review the PDF version of the application to determine where you will get the information to complete it. If you’re lucky, your Financial Aid Management System (FAMS) has canned reports that provide the information you need in the format you need it…but probably not all of it. For example, you’ll need to report the number of students enrolled, not just receiving aid, during the reporting period. If your institution is still managing a Perkins loan fund, you will need information about bank account balances and the amount of loan principal repaid. You will also need to know how much was drawn down for each campus-based program (FSEOG, FWS) and Pell grant and how it was utilized if it wasn’t all awarded to students. Make your requests of other departments quickly to give your colleagues as much time as possible to respond. Assign a deadline that is a few days earlier than September 30 in case you have questions about the data provided. Once all your requests for outside information have been made, you can focus on reviewing and extracting the data in your FAMS.
As you enter your data you can and should validate it — the online FISAP tool is intuitive and will make you review answers that don’t seem correct. Some errors must be corrected prior to submission. Others can be addressed as part of the edit process and you’ll have until December 15 to do so.
FISAP can be challenging and often requires resources from across your campus, but the reward is the funding that you are able to provide to your students that makes your institution more affordable. If you have questions about FISAP or other regulatory topics, email us at info@heag.us. Our expert consultants are happy to help!