Business Office Operations

HEAG financial aid professionals are always looking for ways to help higher education institutions improve efficiency and student services. Here are some recent blog posts related to business office operations.

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June 26, 2018

The HEAG Spring/Summer Newsletter is now available. In this issue: Meet HEAG’s New Executive Director – Joanne Dashiell Good News Regarding Student Loans for Those Attending Community College The Life of a Financial Aid Consultant Consumer Financial Protection …

January 19, 2018

In case you missed it, here are some of our most popular blog posts from 2017 for college and university financial aid offices. HEAG’s financial aid consultants often write on issues related to Title IV compliance, verification, file review and processing supp …

November 27, 2017

HEAG’s Fall Newsletter is now online. It includes articles for financial aid professionals on: HEAG’s Consultants Share What They’re Thankful for HEAG ~ Growing to Serve You TechTalk: 2018-2019 FAFSA Changes: IRS Tax Data and Securing Personal Information Fede …

November 9, 2017

The state of Illinois went 736 days without a budget deal, but that ended on July 6 as lawmakers overrode Gov. Bruce Rauner’s veto of a spending bill and tax hike. State universities have now started the school year with the promise of state money from Springf …

October 19, 2017

The future is here for communicating with college students and the current Millennial generation is leading the way, with 98% of them now owning a smartphone.  1 in 5 Americans rely solely on data plans from their smartphone and not other internet access with …

October 12, 2017

Year-round Pell is back for 2017-18. This is good news for Pell-eligible students who want to attend in the summer to accelerate their progress toward graduation. According to Secretary of Education, Betsy DeVos, “this decision is about empowering students and …

October 2, 2017

$713 Million in Federal Financial Aid to be Paid Back? The U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Inspector General has released the results of a compliance audit of Western Governors University. Citing concerns about an inadequate faculty role, the inspecto …

September 21, 2017

In the last few years, it seems data breaches have been become common place in our country. Back in 2013, giant retailer Target was hacked, affecting an estimated 70 million consumers. This caused many Americans to have their banks/credit card companies issue …

August 23, 2017

HEAG’s Summer Newsletter is now online. It includes articles for financial aid professionals on: Summer Reading and the Dream Act New Year-Round Pell: How It’s Different This Time Around Student Loan Servicers, And Then There Was One Are You Using Social Media …

July 20, 2017

The Higher Education Assistance Group’s blog includes more than 200 articles on financial aid topics prepared by the Group’s expert financial aid consultants and systems analysts. Search by topic: Compliance Federal Student Aid Programs Technology File Review …

May 22, 2017

Technology in financial aid affects several metrics within your office. It can affect touches of a student’s file, it can affect time to complete verification, but it can also affect a student’s ability and ease with which they can complete the financial aid p …

May 2, 2017

On Tuesday, January 31st, 2017, the Higher Education Assistance Group held their annual training session for consultants and directors. It was an informative day with topics ranging from changes to the 2017-18 verification process to quality assurance and clie …

April 19, 2017

HEAG’s Spring 2017 Newsletter for financial aid professionals is here! This issue includes: HEAG’s Consultants Share Their Favorite Commencement Memories HEAG ~ Growing to Serve You HEAG’s Annual Staff Training 7 Principles of Great Service Gainful Employment …

February 23, 2017

In part one of this series, I talked about asking your customers, the students, for feedback on the level of service you were providing. In part two, I’ll give some ideas to help you improve your customer service levels. How do you get started improving the se …

February 16, 2017

Ask the Students Instinctively, you may want to answer “yes” to that question. You are a college president, supervisor, or director that wants your students to be taken care of. You have mentioned it several times in staff meetings. You send email reminders to …

October 31, 2016

HEAG’s Fall 2016 Newsletter is here. This issue includes: HEAG ~ Growing to Serve You Tech Talk Corner – 2017/2018 Has Begun! Gainful Employment Debt-to-Earnings – An In-Depth Look HEAG ~ Recent and Upcoming events Upcoming Changes to 2017-18 Verification Proc …

September 14, 2016

Just the thought of compliance and accreditation can cause stress and anxiety for many of us. It’s okay. Take a deep breath and let’s look at how we can change our view on compliance. Accreditation and compliance should not …

August 24, 2016

It wasn’t the numbers in the blog post, “FAFSA Non-Filers: What the Research Says,” by Paula Acevedeo on the National College Access Network¹ that caught
 our attention, it was the experiments conducted by ideas42. With at least 2 million students failing to c …

August 23, 2016

We share industry news and stories on Twitter throughout the week at @HEAG_INC. Here is a recap of our most recent tweets, focusing on topics of Title IV financial aid and higher education. 8/9/16 – ED Urges Caution in Setting Priority Deadlines Read more 8/10 …

August 9, 2016

HEAG was proud to be a part of the Eastern Association of College and University Business Officers (EACUBO) recent Spring 2016 Workshop held at the New School in New York City on June 15th, 2016.  The workshop topics included fund accounting, tax update, risk …

August 3, 2016

This quarter’s employee spotlight is Dr. Erica Holmes…. Name: Dr. Erica Holmes Current Position: Financial Aid Consultant What do you enjoy most about your current position at HEAG? I enjoy the diversity of working with different institutions. Working in cul …

July 27, 2016

Accreditation and Compliance Standards At the forefront of education is the notion of accountability. Whether post-secondary or secondary, at times we all wonder why so much oversight and what really is the role of regulatory bodies, accreditation agencies, an …

July 27, 2016

We share industry news and stories on Twitter throughout the week at @HEAG_INC. Here is a recap of our most recent tweets, focusing on topics of Title IV financial aid and higher education. 7/18/16 – A recap of HEAG attending the annual NASFAA Conference, “A H …

July 26, 2016

Proprietary Schools Accreditation Concerns In mid-June, the Department of Education (ED) announced a new round of proposed regulations aimed at the proprietary sector of higher education. “We won’t sit idly by while dodgy schools leave students with piles of d …

July 21, 2016

HEAG’s quarterly Newsletter reports on developments in the financial aid industry. Topics include administering Title IV aid efficiently and effectively, maintaining compliance, file review and verification, staffing solutions and technology tools. The Summer …

June 3, 2016

HEAG is proud to be a part of the upcoming Eastern Association of College and University Business Officers (EACUBO) Spring 2016 Workshop taking place at the New School in New York City on June 15th, 2016. The workshop topics will include fund accounting, tax u …

May 19, 2016

HEAG Can Help With Interim Staffing. Many financial aid offices are experiencing the pressure to increase productivity, meet deadlines and improve customer service. You don’t have to do it alone! Our team of consultants are COMPLIANCE EXPERTS, experienced with …

May 9, 2016

Has someone in your office ever misfiled a W-2 in another student’s file? It can have a snowball effect. Starting as an innocent mistake, it consumes fruitless hours of searching through files, then requires an apologetic phone call to an unhappy parent and de …

January 28, 2016

Let VERIFY, HEAG’s premier remote verification service, and our COMPLIANCE EXPERTS handle your verification process from start to finish. Benefits of VERIFY Decreased Staffing Costs Lessened Administrative Burden Reduced Compliance and Audit Risk Seamless, Pap …

August 18, 2015

Peak period always means increased work volume, high pressure, and intense stress. Despite what you may think, you can improve morale and productivity during this time. 3 Ways to Lessen the Stress 1. Counselor on Duty Establishing a counselor(s) to manage the …

August 11, 2015

Posted:  August 11, 2015 By: Jane Domenico, HEAG Consultant In March of this year, the Department of Education released a partial list of the nearly 560 institutions that, as of March 1, were subject to the financial restrictions known as Heightened Cash Monit …

May 27, 2015

Posted May 27, 2015 Are you beginning to feel the heat of summer peak processing demands? Many financial aid offices are experiencing the pressure to increase productivity, meet deadlines and improve customer service. You don’t have to do it alone! HEAG can he …

January 21, 2013

On Tuesday, January 15th, a student shot the Director of Financial Aid[1], Greg Elsenrath, at the Stevens Institute for Business and the Arts in the chest before he turned the gun on himself.  It has been reported that the Director was attempting to follow up …

March 19, 2012

By Duane Quinn, Senior Consultant, HEAG Having hired a good number of temporary staff members during my career, and now during retirement being one myself, I have come to understand a lot of the positive and negative aspects of working with consultants and sta …

September 12, 2011

For those schools new to Direct Loans, reconciliation is a federal requirement and is required of all DL participants. On a monthly basis, schools must ensure that not only do their internal records match (between the FAO and the Business Office), but that the …

August 15, 2011

As Financial Aid Administrators, we are faced each and every day with opportunities to help our students succeed.  In these uncertain economic times, students and their families rely on us even more to guide them through their college career.  The information …