GovDelivery Messages to Aid Administrators August 12, 2020 MiSSG Security Access Form Reminder Financial aid directors must submit the Academic Year 2020-21 MiSSG Aid Administrator Security Access Form for the users at their institution prior to the deadline on September 14, 2020 to renew or add MiSSG user accounts. MiSSG user accounts that have not been added or renewed by the deadline will be deactivated. Each security access form must be: • Completed electronically by the aid director. o Please do not send a handwritten form. • Emailed to [email protected]from the aid director’s email address. o Forms sent to or from different addresses will not be accepted. For reference, aid directors may request a copy of their institution’s Academic Year 2019-20 MiSSG Aid Administrator Security Access Form by emailing [email protected]. July 30, 2020 New Contacts for TIP and CVTG After 43 years of service with the State of Michigan, Kathy Welch will be retiring on July 31, 2020. Congratulations, Kathy! New program coordinators are: • Deanna Hudson - Children of Veterans Tuition Grant (CVTG). o Phone: 517-335-7426 o Email: [email protected]• Emily Hurtado-Arboleda - Tuition Incentive Program (TIP). o Phone: 517-241-0097 o Email: [email protected]Deanna Hudson began working for the Department of Treasury in 2015 as a Department Analyst in the Office of Fiscal Responsibility. In 2017, she joined the Office of Postsecondary Financial Planning as a member of MI Student Aid. Deanna is passionate about working with youth and preparing them for financial success in college. As a MI Student Aid analyst, Deanna educates students regarding how to apply for scholarships as well as how to navigate the financial aid process. Deanna obtained a Master of Business Administration Degree from Northwood University in 2008. Emily Hurtado-Arboleda joined the Michigan Department of Treasury, MI Student Aid Outreach Team in 2018. In her role as a Departmental Analyst, Emily supports high school counselors and their students by providing services focused on financial literacy. Emily works to educate counselors and students on how to access State financial aid programs and other resources as students prepare for postsecondary education. Prior to this role, Emily served as the Outreach and Recruitment Coordinator for the University Michigan Blavin Scholars Program, where she helped encourage students who had experienced time in foster care to pursue their dream of earning a college degree. Emily began her career as a Foster Care Case Manager for the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS). Emily earned her bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Eastern Michigan University in 2010.
Transcript
GovDelivery Messages to Aid Administrators
August 12, 2020
MiSSG Security Access Form Reminder Financial aid directors must submit the Academic Year 2020-21 MiSSG Aid Administrator Security Access Form for the users at their institution prior to the deadline on September 14, 2020 to renew or add MiSSG user accounts. MiSSG user accounts that have not been added or renewed by the deadline will be deactivated. Each security access form must be:
• Completed electronically by the aid director. o Please do not send a handwritten form.
• Emailed to [email protected] from the aid director’s email address. o Forms sent to or from different addresses will not be accepted.
For reference, aid directors may request a copy of their institution’s Academic Year 2019-20 MiSSG Aid Administrator Security Access Form by emailing [email protected].
July 30, 2020
New Contacts for TIP and CVTG After 43 years of service with the State of Michigan, Kathy Welch will be retiring on July 31, 2020. Congratulations, Kathy!
New program coordinators are:
• Deanna Hudson - Children of Veterans Tuition Grant (CVTG). o Phone: 517-335-7426 o Email: [email protected]
• Emily Hurtado-Arboleda - Tuition Incentive Program (TIP). o Phone: 517-241-0097 o Email: [email protected]
Deanna Hudson began working for the Department of Treasury in 2015 as a Department Analyst in the Office of Fiscal Responsibility. In 2017, she joined the Office of Postsecondary Financial Planning as a member of MI Student Aid. Deanna is passionate about working with youth and preparing them for financial success in college. As a MI Student Aid analyst, Deanna educates students regarding how to apply for scholarships as well as how to navigate the financial aid process. Deanna obtained a Master of Business Administration Degree from Northwood University in 2008. Emily Hurtado-Arboleda joined the Michigan Department of Treasury, MI Student Aid Outreach Team in 2018. In her role as a Departmental Analyst, Emily supports high school counselors and their students by providing services focused on financial literacy. Emily works to educate counselors and students on how to access State financial aid programs and other resources as students prepare for postsecondary education. Prior to this role, Emily served as the Outreach and Recruitment Coordinator for the University Michigan Blavin Scholars Program, where she helped encourage students who had experienced time in foster care to pursue their dream of earning a college degree. Emily began her career as a Foster Care Case Manager for the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS). Emily earned her bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Eastern Michigan University in 2010.
Emily is excited to begin her new role as Program Coordinator for the Tuition Incentive Program (TIP) and she is looking forward to working with colleges and universities statewide!
July 28, 2020
4th Quarter Certification and Reimbursement Requests – EXTENDED To be included in the 4th Quarter payments, awards must be certified and reimbursements requested successfully by the deadline of 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday, August 4, 2020. The 4th Quarter payment is the final payment for Academic Year 2019-20. No additional awards will be paid after the 4th Quarter payment. Institutions may certify awards and request reimbursements for the following terms/semesters:
• Fall 2019
• Winter 2020
• Spring 2020
• Summer 2020
If you need assistance, contact Student Scholarships, Grants and Outreach at 888-447-2687.
July 23, 2020
TIP Certification Deadline Extended for 2020 Grads The Michigan legislature has approved an extension of the TIP certification deadline for the graduating Class of 2020. Class of 2020 graduates will now have until August 31, 2021 to certify their TIP benefits. To qualify for the extension, a student must have graduated high school after March 15, 2020 and before September 1, 2020. If you have questions, please contact Student Scholarships, Grants and Outreach (SSGO) at 1-888-447-2687 or by email at [email protected].
July 22, 2020
Citizenship Rule in MiSSG As previously announced, effective Academic Year 2020-21, any student who has a FAFSA showing SSA Citizenship Match as Legal Alien-Eligible to Work or Legal Alien-Not Eligible to Work will be flagged in MiSSG. The flag will require colleges to verify if the student meets one of eligible citizenship requirements. If the student meets the citizenship requirement, School Users can simply clear the flag in MiSSG by selecting Clear Ineligible Reasons, find the student's name and mark Citizenship Eligible box by his/her name. You do not have to clear citizenship for every program. Once you clear it in one program, the flag is cleared across all programs in MiSSG. In addition, staff from Student Scholarships, Grants and Outreach (SSGO) will be reaching out to students who have a citizenship flag in MiSSG. Your office may experience an increase in student contact referencing this issue due to this communication. Our staff will make every effort to assist students in resolving the citizenship issue and clear the flag, if possible. If you have questions, concerns or suggestions, please contact SSGO at 1-888-447-2687 or by email at [email protected].
4th Quarter Certification and Reimbursement Requests/Payments
Institutions may certify awards and request reimbursements for the following semesters/terms:
• Fall 2019 • Winter 2020 • Spring 2020 • Summer 2020
To be included in the 4th quarter payments, certifications and reimbursements must be requested successfully by the deadline of 5:00 p.m. on July 31, 2020. Remember 4th quarter is the LAST time you can certify awards and request reimbursement for Academic Year 2019-20. No additional awards will be paid after 4th quarter payment.
The following State financial aid programs are available in MiSSG and each should be evaluated for student eligibility and payment:
• Children of Veterans Tuition Grant • Fostering Futures Scholarship • MI GEAR UP Scholarship • Michigan Competitive Scholarship • Michigan Tuition Grant • Tuition Incentive Program
Please note, the Police Officer’s and Fire Fighter’s Survivor Tuition Grant operates on a different payment cycle. Institutions with eligible students will be contacted separately.
If a refund is due after 4th quarter payments, institutions will receive a year-end balance statement. Institutions must send a check (instructions included in the balance statement) for refund amount to Student Scholarships, Grants and Outreach (SSGO) no later than September 14, 2020.
Academic Year 2020-21 At this time, the legislature and Governor Whitmer have not come to terms on a new fiscal year budget. However, institutions can access a listing of eligible students using the “report” feature within MiSSG to determine which of your students may qualify for a tentative award. Additional details will be shared when the budget is finalized.
Class of 2016
Eligible students from the Class of 2016 who have not yet started using their Tuition Incentive Program (TIP) benefits must do so by this coming Fall 2020-21 semester or permanently forfeit TIP eligibility.
NOTE: These students will appear as “eligible” in MiSSG for Academic Year 2020-21; however, they must receive a TIP reimbursement for Fall 2020 semester/term to receive TIP reimbursement for any other semester/term.
Class of 2015
Eligible students from the Class of 2015, who have previously initiated their Tuition Incentive Program (TIP) benefits, have until Summer 2021 semester/term to use program funds. Students can use TIP up until six years from high school graduation. Class of 2015 will expire during Summer 2021 semester.
TIP Application Deadline
Eligible students from the Class of 2020 have until August 31, 2020 to complete their Tuition Incentive Program (TIP) application. If a student fails to apply by midnight August 31, they will permanently forfeit TIP eligibility. A student can apply via the MiSSG Student Portal or by calling our Customer Care Center at 1-888-447-2687.
July 8, 2020
ISIR Loading within MiSSG After July 6, 2020, SSG stopped automatically loading subsequent 2020-21 ISIRs into MiSSG.
If a student or the college updates the 2020-21 FAFSA, SSG must be notified so that a manual upload of the subsequent transaction(s) can be performed.
The first ISIR transaction received for a student will continue to automatically load throughout Academic Year 2020-21.
If you have questions, please contact our Customer Care Center at 1-888-447-2687.
June 30, 2020
Year-end Balancing
Michigan Competitive Scholarship (MCS) and Michigan Tuition Grant (MTG) Before the 4th quarter payment, aid offices must prepare for year-end balancing for MCS and MTG. During this time, institutions can project the amount expected to receive or owed back to Student Scholarships and Grants (SSG) for the 4th quarter payment. For your reference, the 4th quarter payment is scheduled for August 3, 2020. To prepare for year-end balancing within MiSSG, the following steps should be followed:
• Under the MiSSG tab, click Report, then click on School Totals Report. • The School Totals Report is a listing of your awarded students by semester/term and should be compared to
your internal records. • Select the 2019-20 Academic Year and the Aid Program, then click Generate Report. • Review your Total Award amount. • After you have your Total Award amount, click the tab on the left menu for either the Michigan Competitive
Scholarship or the Michigan Tuition Grant. • Click on Payment History. • Review the Payment Total amount in the Payment History. • Compare this figure with the total indicated on your School Totals Report. • Reviewing these figures will determine if your institution owes a refund from an overpayment or if our office
owes your institution a 4th quarter payment.
The equation: Sum of all awards for program across all semesters for current year = Total Award 1st quarter payment + 2nd quarter payment + 3rd quarter payment = Total Payment Amount Total Award – Total Payment Amount = 4th Quarter Payment Amount If there are discrepancies in your reports or totals, please review your students individually on the School Totals Report to compare their award information in MiSSG to your institutional records.
For MCS and MTG, please also provide the institution’s year-end totals to Marion Seelman at [email protected] by July 14, 2020 to confirm total figures or to resolve discrepancies.
All State Aid Programs MCS/MTG must be balanced PRIOR to 4th quarter payment. When balancing is complete, institutions will be billed for any
MCS/MTG overpayments made/received during the 2019-20 payment process. An SSG Refund Worksheet is not required for current year MCS/MTG billing. Institutions must balance expenditures for all other State aid programs following 4th quarter payments. Institutions must issue any refunds owed to SSG no later than September 14, 2020 and complete the SSG Refund Worksheet.
June 9, 2020
Guest Students Students who are identified as guest students at your institution may receive SSG program funds if they meet the following:
• Have been a legal resident since July 1 of the previous calendar year, and
• Credits earned at your institution will be transferred and applied to a certificate or degree at their home
institution, and
• They are currently enrolled in a degree seeking or certification program at their home institution, and
• The Guest Student Verification form has been completed. (Institutions must keep this form with the student’s
financial aid records.)
Note: Students may not receive funds at two institutions at the same time. TIP students may not use Phase I funds if they have previously received Phase II funds.
May 28, 2020
Dear High School Counselor/Community Partner, MI Student Aid wants to hear from you and learn how we can best support you and your students during these unprecedented times. That being said, we would like to invite you to attend a virtual community collaborative session to be hosted on three separate days. Please register for the session that works best for you. (Please choose one) June 9th 1:30 pm - 3:30 pm (Register) June 10th 1:30 pm - 3:30 pm (Register) June 11th 1:30 pm - 3:30 pm (Register) During each collaborative session, MI Student Aid Outreach staff will provide updates from our office, present statewide and regional specific TIP data, and have open discussion that will allow all attendees an opportunity to share ideas or strategies to continue preparing students for postsecondary success. Thank you for your continued dedication in supporting students during this unusual time. We look forward to collaborating with you soon!
Michigan Competitive Scholarship (MCS) and Michigan Tuition Grant (MTG) Before the 4th quarter payment, aid offices must prepare for year-end balancing for MCS and MTG. During this time, institutions can project the amount expected to receive or owed back to Student Scholarships and Grants (SSG) for the 4th quarter payment. For your reference, the 4th quarter payment is scheduled for August 3, 2020. To prepare for year-end balancing within MiSSG, the following steps should be followed:
• Under the MiSSG tab, click Report, then click on School Totals Report. • The School Totals Report is a listing of your awarded students by semester/term and should be compared to
your internal records. • Select the 2019-20 Academic Year and the Aid Program, then click Generate Report. • Review your Total Award amount. • After you have your Total Award amount, click the tab on the left menu for either the Michigan Competitive
Scholarship or the Michigan Tuition Grant. • Click on Payment History. • Review the Payment Total amount in the Payment History. • Compare this figure with the total indicated on your School Totals Report. • Reviewing these figures will determine if your institution owes a refund from an overpayment or if our office
owes your institution a 4th quarter payment.
The Equation Sum of all awards for program across all semesters for current year = Total Award 1st quarter payment + 2nd quarter payment + 3rd quarter payment = Total Payment Amount Total Award – Total Payment Amount = 4th Quarter Payment Amount If there are discrepancies in your reports or totals, please review your students individually on the School Totals Report to compare their award information in MiSSG to your institutional records. For MCS and MTG, please also provide the institution’s year-end totals to Marion Seelman at [email protected] by July 14, 2020 to confirm total figures or to resolve discrepancies.
All State Aid Programs Institutions must balance expenditures for all State aid programs following 4th quarter payments. Institutions must issue any refunds owed to SSG no later than September 14, 2020 and complete the SSG Refund Worksheet.
May 11, 2020
3rd Quarter Payments Quarter3 payments were due to be processed today. However, there has been a slight delay. We are awaiting legislative action. We anticipate being able to process payments by the end of the week.
April 29, 2020
CARES Act - Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF) - Student Portion This is a response to questions our office has received regarding the impact of the student portion of the CARES Act HEERF on State financial aid programs.
Since these funds were approved for the sole purpose of addressing additional expenses students have encountered due to COVID-19 and are not to be applied to tuition or remaining balances on student accounts, there is no impact on State financial aid programs. If students contact our office asking about these funds and their eligibility, we will redirect them back to their college since each institution’s awarding process may differ.
April 15, 2020
Change to Citizenship Rule in MiSSG Effective Academic Year 2020-21, any student who has a FAFSA showing SSA Citizenship Match as Legal Alien-Eligible to Work or Legal Alien-Not Eligible to Work will be flagged in MiSSG. The flag will require colleges to verify if the student meets one of the following eligible citizenship requirements:
• A U.S. citizen, or • A U.S. national, or • A U.S. permanent resident who has:
o A Permanent resident card (I-51c), or o An Arrival-departure record (I-94) from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security
showing one of the following designations: ▪ “Refugee,” or ▪ “Asylum Granted,” or ▪ “Indefinite Parolee,” or ▪ “Humanitarian Parole,” or ▪ “Cuban-Haitian Entrant, Status Pending,” or ▪ “Conditional Entrant” (valid only if issued before April 1, 1980).
Undocumented students do not qualify for State aid programs. There have been situations where undocumented students have received notification that they are TIP eligible. They are not eligible.
If the student meets the citizenship requirement, School Users will simply clear the flag in MiSSG by selecting Clear Ineligible Reasons, find the student's name and mark Citizenship Eligible box by his/her name. You do not have to clear citizenship for every program. Once you clear it in one program, the flag is cleared across all programs in MiSSG. The above citizenship requirements will be documented in the 2020-21 State Program Procedures Manual. If you have questions or need assistance please contact our office at 1-888-447-2687 or email [email protected].
March 30, 2020
3rd Quarter Payments 3rd Quarter payments will be processed as scheduled. Institutions may certify awards and request reimbursements for the following semesters/terms:
• Fall 2019 • Winter 2020 • Spring 2020
To be included in 3rd Quarter payments, awards must be certified and reimbursements requested successfully by the deadline of 5 p.m. on May 8, 2020. Remember when uploading files allow sufficient time to reprocess in case of errors.
Please reference the MiSSG Manual for Aid Administrators for assistance or contact our office at 1-888-447-2687 or email [email protected].
March 6, 2020 You Spoke, We Listened Based on your feedback, a new field has been added to the Eligible Students Report and Certification Roster to assist School Users in evaluating student eligibility for programs in MiSSG.
Eligible Students Report
1. On Activity Reports tab, select Eligible Students Report 2. Select the Academic Year 3. Select the Aid Program 4. Select how you want the report sorted 5. Generate the report
1. On Rosters tab, select Certification Roster 2. Select the Academic Year 3. Select the Aid Program 4. Select the Term 5. Select how you want the report sorted 6. Generate the report
HS Grad Confirmed by CEPI
The new field indicates whether or not a student has been verified as a high school graduate by the Center for Educational Performance and Information (CEPI).
If you have questions, please contact [email protected] or call 888-447-2687.
February 18, 2020 2nd Quarter Certification and Reimbursement Requests – February 21, 2020 Deadline Institutions may certify awards and request reimbursements for the following terms/semesters:
• Fall 2019 • Winter 2020 • Spring 2020
To be included in the 2nd Quarter payments, awards must be certified and reimbursements requested successfully by the deadline of 5:00 p.m. on February 21, 2020.
Those who certify or request reimbursement by uploading files should allow sufficient time to reprocess in case of errors.
The following State financial aid programs are available in MiSSG and each should be evaluated for student eligibility and payment:
• Children of Veterans Tuition Grant • Fostering Futures Scholarship • MI GEAR UP Scholarship • Michigan Competitive Scholarship • Michigan Tuition Grant • Tuition Incentive Program
Please note, the Police Officer’s and Fire Fighter’s Survivor Tuition Grant operates on a different payment cycle. Institutions with eligible students will be contacted separately.
Please reference the MiSSG Manual for Aid Administrators for assistance or contact our office at 1-888-447-2687 or email [email protected].
February 6, 2020 Michigan Competitive Scholarship Student Award Adjustments at Private Institutions Only When processing any Michigan Competitive Scholarship (MCS) award adjustments for Fall 2019, you will need to select the $900 amount in the Payment History screen.
If you have questions, please contact Marion Seelman at [email protected] or 517-241-3106.
January 7, 2020 Certification/Reimbursement Requests Now Available Institutions may begin certifying awards and requesting reimbursement on January 7, 2020 for the following terms/semesters:
• Fall • Winter • Spring
As a reminder, the following State financial aid programs are available in MiSSG:
• Children of Veterans Tuition Grant • Fostering Futures Scholarship • MI GEAR UP Scholarship • Michigan Competitive Scholarship • Michigan Tuition Grant • Tuition Incentive Program
Please note, the Police Officer's and Fire Fighter's Survivor Tuition Grant operates on a different payment cycle. Institutions with eligible students will be contacted separately.
To be included in the 2nd quarter payments, awards must be certified and reimbursements received successfully by the deadline of 5:00 p.m. on February 21, 2020.
Please reference the MiSSG Manual for Aid Administrators for assistance or contact our office at 1-888-447-2687 or email [email protected].
December 19, 2019 Thank you to those institutions who have submitted their Disbursement Adjustment Worksheets!
As a reminder, these worksheets are to be used when increasing the existing Fall 2019 Michigan Competitive Scholarship (MCS) paid award. Please do not use this worksheet to modify the student’s Enrollment Status (column D) or the student’s Fall MCS Award (column E). If an adjustment needs to be made to change the student’s enrollment status or to
reduce the student’s award, please process the adjustment manually in MiSSG. Instructions for manually adjusting an award in MiSSG are available in the MISSG Manual on pages 55 and 56.
Please note, if you submitted a Disbursement Adjustment Worksheet, the following student records will not be processed:
• Change in Enrollment Status (column D). • Change in Fall MCS Award (column E). • Any amount that exceeds the supplemental amount (column E + column F cannot exceed semester/term
maximum).
If you have submitted a Disbursement Adjustment Worksheet or have completed manual adjustments in MiSSG, please verify the accuracy of each student’s record.
December 17, 2019 Thank you! Your commitment and dedication to meet the December 16 deadline is deeply appreciated.
Michigan Tuition Grant (MTG) Payment Update 1st Quarter MTG payments were tentatively scheduled for December 17, 2019; however, the supplemental budget has not been signed. Once the supplemental budget has been signed, payments will be released to institutions. Additional details will be shared as we learn more.
December 10, 2019 MiSSG File Format Updated The MCS/MTG Upload Certification File Format has been updated. A value is now required for ‘Reason Award Amount Lowered’ if the award amount for the Michigan Competitive Scholarship (MCS) or the Michigan Tuition Grant (MTG) was reduced.
Valid Values include:
“Overaward” “Other Gift Aid” “Other”
Previously, this field was only required during online Certification, but now is required during Certification file uploads. If necessary, please notify your IT team or the person(s) responsible for modifying MiSSG file formats. This is especially important as we near the certification period for the Winter term and Spring semester.
For questions, please contact our Customer Care Center at 1-888-447-2687 or email [email protected].
December 6, 2019 Michigan Tuition Grant Update Effective Friday, December 6, 2019, all Michigan Tuition Grant (MTG) awards have been restored for Academic Year 2019-20. This grant provides need-based renewable scholarships for undergraduate students attending eligible private or independent degree-granting, non-profit institutions.
Private/Independent Degree-granting, Non-profit Institutions Only
Academic Year 2019-20
• Award Maximum: o Michigan Tuition Grant (MTG): $2,800 o Michigan Competitive Scholarship (MCS): $2,800
• Institutional Maximum: o Michigan Tuition Grant (MTG): $4.8 million
Academic Year 2020-21 Award amounts in MiSSG are tentative until the Fiscal Year 2021 (FY21) budget has been approved.
Next Steps Student Scholarships and Grants (SSG) has notified students and institutions impacted by this update with further information and instructions. Students with questions about their awards have been directed to contact their financial aid office.
November 22, 2019 You Spoke, We Listened Recently a new report was added, and an existing report was enhanced in MiSSG to assist School Users in evaluating students’ eligibility for the Tuition Incentive Program (TIP).
New Report: TIP Eligible w/HS Grad Data This report provides a listing of TIP eligible students along with their high school graduation year and month. Institutions are encouraged to utilize this report to determine expiration of TIP benefits from high school completion.
Enhanced Report: Eligible Students Report (TIP only) A new column has been added to the Eligible Students Report for TIP labeled, “Received Phase II” with a returned field of Yes or No.
• Yes: A student has received a Phase II payment greater than $0 in a prior or current academic year. • No: A student has not received a Phase II payment greater than $0 in a prior or current academic year.
As a reminder, once Phase II benefits have been initiated, students can no longer access Phase I benefits.
November 7, 2019 1st Quarter Payments 1st Quarter payments were processed this afternoon for the following programs:
• Children of Veterans Tuition Grant (CVTG)
• Fostering Futures Scholarship (FFS)
• Michigan Competitive Scholarship (MCS)
• Michigan GEAR UP Scholarship (MI GEAR UP)
• Tuition Incentive Program (TIP)
Institutions should expect to receive these funds within 3-5 business days.
Reminder MiSSG will begin accepting Certification/Reimbursement Requests for:
• Winter on Monday, January 6, 2020
• Spring on Tuesday, January 7, 2020
October 30, 2019 Deadline for 1st Quarter Certification and Reimbursement Requests Extended The 1st Quarter payment date is quickly approaching, and several institutions have yet to certify their awards and/or submit reimbursement requests. As a result, the deadline has been extended. To be included in the 1st Quarter payments, awards must be certified, and reimbursements requested by the deadline of 5:00 p.m. on November 6, 2019.
1st Quarter payments will be processed on November 7, 2019.
October 30, 2019 You're Invited
Join Student Scholarships and Grants (SSG) on December 4, 2019 from 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. for a FREE training that will provide:
• Detailed State financial aid program information • An in-depth look into the functions of MiSSG • One-on-one MiSSG assistance from SSG experts
Schedule
• 9:00 a.m. – 9:30 a.m. Check-in/refreshments • 9:30 a.m. – 10:00 a.m. State financial aid program overview • 10:00 a.m. – 10:30 a.m. MiSSG overview • 10:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Topics of interest/one-on-one assistance
Registration Information Registration is now available and is limited to the first 40 attendees.
Registered attendees are strongly encouraged to bring a laptop for the best training experience.
If after registering for the event you are unable to attend, please contact [email protected] to cancel your registration to allow others to participate.
Training Location
State of Michigan – Operations Center
7285 Parsons Drive
Dimondale, MI 48821
Note: Parking is free and plentiful!
Map
October 29, 2019 The 2019-20 State Programs Procedures Manual – Overview of Operations for Financial Aid Professionals is now available! Financial Aid Administrators can locate the manual on our Web site by clicking on the College Aid Administrators tab and scrolling down the page.
Policy Updates Several updates were made to the 2019-20 manual and you may want to pay particular attention to the following:
• High School Requirements (pages 11, 12) • Residency Requirements (page 12) • Incarceration, Felony, and Drug Offenses (page 14) • TIP Reimbursement Requests for Consortium Students (page 15) • Guest Students (page 15) • Withdraws and Enrollment Changes (page 22) • Year-end Balancing (page 22)
State Financial Aid Program Pages The program pages offer program-specific details.
• Children of Veterans Tuition Grant (pages 23, 24) • Dual Enrollment (page 25) • Fostering Futures Scholarship (page 26) • Michigan Competitive Scholarship (pages 27, 28, 29) • Michigan GEAR UP Scholarship (page 30) • Police Officer’s and Fire Fighter’s Survivor Tuition Grant (page 31) • Tuition Incentive Program (pages 32, 33, 34)
Glossary A glossary has been added to the end of the manual for term definitions. For questions, please contact the MI Student Aid Customer Care Center at 1-888-447-2687 or [email protected].
October 3, 2019 Fall Certification/Reimbursement Requests - Opens Monday, October 7, 2019
Institutions may begin certifying awards/requesting reimbursements for the Fall 2019 term/semester on October 7.
To be included in the 1st Quarter payments, awards must be certified and reimbursements requested by the deadline of 5:00 p.m. on November 1, 2019.
The following State financial aid programs are available in MiSSG and each should be evaluated for student eligibility and payment:
• Children of Veterans Tuition Grant • Fostering Futures Scholarship • MI GEAR UP Scholarship • Michigan Competitive Scholarship • Tuition Incentive Program
Please note, the Police Officer's and Fire Fighter's Survivor Tuition Grant operates on a different payment cycle. Institutions with eligible students will be contacted separately.
Please reference the MiSSG Manual for Aid Administrators or for assistance, contact 1-888-447-2687, or email [email protected].
2019-20 SSG Payment Schedule
Clear Ineligible Reasons MiSSG School Users should be accessing MiSSG to review the “Clear Ineligible Reasons” and to update ineligible student records, if applicable. The deadline to clear ineligible reasons for MCS is October 6, 2019.
October 1, 2019 FY20 Budget Signed by Governor On Monday, September 30, 2019, Governor Whitmer signed the FY20 budget which funds Student Scholarships and Grants (SSG) programs for Academic Year 2019-20. All programs received appropriations, which allow them to remain at level funding, except the Michigan Tuition Grant.
Children of Veterans Tuition Grant (CVTG)
• No program changes.
• $2,800 annual maximum award.
Fostering Futures Scholarship (FFS)
• No program changes.
• $3,000 annual maximum award.
Michigan Competitive Scholarship (MCS)
• No program changes.
• $1,000 annual maximum award.
Michigan GEAR UP Scholarship (MI GEAR UP)
• Annual maximum award increased to $2,000.
Michigan Tuition Grant (MTG)
• Currently line item vetoed, which means all funding was eliminated.
Fact Sheets for SSG programs are updated for the new academic year:
• 2019-20 Children of Veterans Tuition Grant (CVTG) Fact Sheet • 2019-20 Fostering Futures Scholarship (FFS) Fact Sheet • 2019-20 Michigan Competitive Scholarship (MCS) Fact Sheet • 2019-20 Michigan GEAR UP Scholarship (MI GEAR UP) Fact Sheet • 2019-20 Police Officer’s and Fire Fighter’s Survivor Tuition Grant (STG) Fact Sheet • 2019-20 Tuition Incentive Program (TIP) Fact Sheet
All publications, manuals, and MiSSG will be updated soon to reflect these changes.
October 1, 2019
On Monday, September 30, 2019, Governor Whitmer signed the Fiscal Year 2020 budget.
On Tuesday, October 1, 2019, a line item veto was announced, which eliminated funding for the Michigan Tuition Grant (MTG).
As a result of the veto. the following actions will occur:
• MTG will become an inactive program in MiSSG, which means all current awards for Academic Year 2019-20 will be removed and no new awards will be created.
• MiSSG School Users who have MTG security rights will retain those rights for referencing Academic Year 2018-19 and prior.
• The MiSSG Student Portal will no longer display any reference to MTG. • Publications referencing MTG will be updated.
The maximum annual award amount for the Michigan Competitive Scholarship (MCS) at private/independent institutions will be $1,000 for Academic Year 2019-20. Additional details will be shared as we learn them.
September 10, 2019 Data Reporting Deadline Approaching Pursuant to MCL 388.1856, public universities, community colleges, and independent institutions are required to submit to the Center for Educational Performance and Information (CEPI) the number of students who ever received a Pell Grant or TIP award and successfully earned a degree or certificate in the most recently completed academic year. The deadline to report the data to CEPI is October 15.
Your Academic Year 2018-19 data must be submitted to CEPI through the Michigan Student Data System within the Student Record and Academic Record Repository (STARR) Collection.
STARR collects student-level transcript data that includes the following information:
• Student demographics • Awards and degrees • Sessions
Collecting this information in STARR allows CEPI to create reports required in law for TIP and Pell student outcomes. If a postsecondary institution does not report the data necessary to CEPI by October 15 via STARR for the prior academic year, Phase I TIP funds will not be awarded to students at that institution.
The Institution of Higher Education (IHE) Web page has information and supporting documents regarding the STARR collection process.
If you have questions regarding how to submit your data to CEPI, please send an email message to [email protected] or call 517-335-0505 and select option 3. Please provide your name, college name and college entity code, telephone number (including area code and extension), email address and any specific questions.
September 9, 2019 Fall Certification and Reimbursement Requests MiSSG was scheduled to begin accepting Fall certification and reimbursement requests on September 16, 2019. However, this date has been postponed until after the FY20 State budget has been approved.
Additional details will be shared when the budget is finalized. With that said, SSG encourages institutions to apply the estimated awards displayed in MiSSG to students’ accounts to alleviate the financial burden on those students.
More Time to Clear Ineligible Reasons The School Change Deadline Date was September 15, 2019; however, the deadline has been extended until the FY20 State budget is approved. An institution’s MiSSG users are encouraged to utilize this extra time to continue to clear ineligible reasons from students’ MCS and MTG records where possible.
August 29, 2019 MI GEAR UP Scholarship Update for 2019-20 and 2020-21 Good news! The MI GEAR UP Scholarship (MI GEAR UP) award amount for Academic Years 2019-20 and 2020-21 has increased! The scholarship will also extend to a fourth academic year for eligible students (expiring Summer 2021).
The 2019-20 award amounts in MiSSG will be updated Friday, August 30, 2019.
• 2017-18 Annual Maximum Award: $1,000 • 2018-19 Annual Maximum Award: $1,000 • 2019-20 Annual Maximum Award: $2,000 • 2020-21 Annual Maximum Award: $2,000
Note: The MI GEAR UP Scholarship is Federally funded (Public Law 105-244, High Education Amendments of 1998) and Student Scholarships and Grants (SSG) has received the funding allocation through Summer 2021.
As a reminder, MI GEAR UP is not tuition-specific and does not require financial need; however, the student’s award cannot exceed the student’s Cost of Attendance (COA).
Please review the MI GEAR UP Fact Sheet for additional details.
August 27, 2019 MiSSG Security Access Form Deadline Approaching Financial aid directors must submit the 2019-20 MiSSG Aid Administrator Security Access Form for the users at their institution prior to the deadline on September 3, 2019 to renew or add user accounts at their institution. Also, you are
encouraged to consider ‘View Only’ access for campus partners (i.e. admissions staff, enrollment services staff, welcome center staff, etc.). MiSSG user accounts that have not been added or renewed by the deadline will be deactivated.
Each security access form must be:
• Completed electronically by the aid director. o Please do not send a handwritten form.
• Emailed to [email protected] from the aid director’s email address. o Forms sent to or from different addresses will not be accepted.
For reference, aid directors may request a copy of their institution’s 2018-19 MiSSG Aid Administrator Security Access Form by emailing [email protected].
Class of 2015: Last Chance to Start Using TIP Eligible students from the Class of 2015 who have not yet started using their Tuition Incentive Program (TIP) benefits must do so this coming Fall 2019-20 semester or permanently forfeit TIP eligibility.
Note: These students will appear as “eligible” in MiSSG for Academic Year 2019-20; however, they must receive a TIP reimbursement for the Fall 2019 semester/term to receive a TIP reimbursement for any other semester/term.
Clear Ineligible Reasons MiSSG School Users should be accessing MiSSG to review the “Clear Ineligible Reasons” and to update ineligible student records, if applicable. The deadline to clear ineligible reasons for MCS and MTG is September 16, 2019.
2020-21 Institution Budgets in MiSSG Opening Soon Between September 3, 2019 and October 1, 2019, institution budget screens for Academic Year 2020-21 may be updated (with prior-year (2019-20) data).
To update your institution's 2020-21 budget, please follow these instructions:
1. Log into MiSSG, click on the Michigan Competitive Scholarship menu.
2. Click School Profile.
3. Change the Academic Year at the top of the screen from Year 2020 to 2021.
4. Click Budget.
5. Enter both the Tuition and Fees and Room and Board using your institution's 2019-20 budget information.
6. Click Save.
For private institutions, once the MCS budget is entered, the MTG budget fields will populate automatically with the same budget information. No further action is required in the MTG school profile regarding the budget after MCS is updated. If a budget is not entered by October 1, your 2018-19 budget information will be used for 2020-21 awards.
August 23, 2019
State Financial Aid Internal Process Survey We need your help! Student Scholarships and Grants (SSG) wants to better understand your institution’s internal process for administering State financial aid programs. Please complete this survey (or pass this message along to the most knowledge person(s) about your process).
We would like to have ALL institutions to have completed the survey by 5:00 p.m. on Friday, September 20, 2019.
The answers provided will be complied into an SSG internal document to be shared with staff only.
• Note: This survey will be distributed to institutions annually.
We appreciate your support and look forward to providing Michigan’s students with a superior level of customer service that increases access to State financial aid programs.
July 30, 2019
4th Quarter Certification and Reimbursement Requests – August 5, 2019 Deadline Institutions may certify awards and request reimbursements for the following terms/semesters:
• Fall 2018 • Winter 2019 • Spring 2019 • Summer 2019
To be included in the 4th Quarter payments, awards must be certified and reimbursements requested successfully by the deadline of 5:00 p.m. on August 5, 2019.
As a reminder, the 4th Quarter payment is the final payment for Academic Year 2018-19. No additional awards will be paid after the 4th Quarter payment.
The following State financial aid programs are available in MiSSG and each should be evaluated for student eligibility and payment:
• Children of Veterans Tuition Grant • Fostering Futures Scholarship • MI GEAR UP Scholarship • Michigan Competitive Scholarship • Michigan Tuition Grant • Tuition Incentive Program
Please note, the Police Officer’s and Fire Fighter’s Survivor Tuition Grant operates on a different payment cycle. Institutions with eligible students will be contacted separately.
Please reference the MiSSG Manual for Aid Administrators for assistance or contact our office at 1-888-447-2687 or email [email protected].
2018-19 Year-End Balancing Thank you for your efforts in balancing your MCS/MTG students. Please contact Marion Seelman at [email protected] or 517-241-3106 with any final year adjustments.
Academic Year 2019-20 At this time, the legislature and Governor Whitmer have not come to terms on a new fiscal year budget. However, institutions can access a listing of eligible students using the ‘Report’ feature within MiSSG to determine which of your students may qualify for a tentative award. Additional details will be shared when the budget is finalized.
July 18, 2019
Office of Postsecondary Financial Planning In July, the Student Financial Services Bureau became the Office of Postsecondary Financial Planning.
State Treasurer, Rachel Eubanks, announced, “Governor Whitmer has directed each state department to prioritize her 60/30 initiative, which is to have 60% of Michigan’s citizens hold some type of postsecondary credential by 2030. The
Office of Postsecondary Financial Planning will report directly to Chief Deputy State Treasurer Jeff Guilfoyle so we can better support the Governor and her team for this initiative.
Our use of “Postsecondary” is intentional. It is more inclusive of certificate and associate degree programs than the traditional “Higher Education” label and utilizes both financial literacy planning and planning for paying for college using financial aid programs.”
FY20 Budget Additional program details will be shared once the FY20 budget is signed, which funds Student Scholarships and Grants (SSG) programs for Academic Year 2019-20.
MiSSG Security Access Form Reminder Financial aid directors must submit the 2019-20 MiSSG Aid Administrator Security Access Form for the users at their institution prior to the deadline on September 3, 2019 to renew or add MiSSG user accounts. MiSSG user accounts that have not been added or renewed by the deadline will be deactivated.
Each security access form must be:
• Completed electronically by the aid director. o Please do not send a handwritten form.
• Emailed to [email protected] from the aid director’s email address. o Forms sent to or from different addresses will not be accepted.
For reference, aid directors may request a copy of their institution’s 2018-19 MiSSG Aid Administrator Security Access Form by emailing [email protected].
Policy Clarification
Processing Gift Aid for Michigan Competitive Scholarship (MCS) and Michigan Tuition Grant (MTG) When gift aid is monitored, a revised need is calculated by using the real-time budget for the appropriate year and subtracting the Federal EFC rather than the Factored EFC. This allows the student an opportunity to keep part of or perhaps all of the State award when the gift aid is being monitored.
The Factored EFC is used with the prior year budget to calculate ‘need’ only during the initial determination of eligibility of the award.
Residency If the student met the initial residency requirements for an award, the student may remain eligible for the award during the entire academic year.
2019-20 Student Records
MiSSG Student Portal: Fall Transfers Students transferring their institution within the MiSSG Student Portal should be reminded to doublecheck that they are processing the transfer for the correct academic year. Several students have recently initiated a transfer for Fall 2018-19 rather than Fall 2019-20, by mistake.
Clear Ineligible Reasons MiSSG School Users should be accessing MiSSG to review the “Clear Ineligible Reasons” and to update ineligible student records, if applicable. The deadline to clear ineligible reasons is September 16, 2019.
Upcoming Webinars Please share the following Webinar events with your networks.
Webinar for High School Counselors High school counselors have been invited to join us for one of two live Webinars, focused on State financial aid programs, accessing and navigating the data management system MiSSG, understanding MiSSG reports, the MiSSG Student Portal, and more. A question and answer period will also be available.
Register for one of the dates below:
• Thursday, September 12, 2019, from 9:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m. (Register) • Wednesday, September 18, 2019, from 2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. (Register)
Webinar for Admissions Counselors Admissions counselors have been invited to join us for a live Webinar, focused on State financial aid programs, the data management system MiSSG, the MiSSG Student Portal, strategies for supporting your students with financial aid resources, and more. A question and answer period will also be available. The Webinar is scheduled for Wednesday, July 31, 2019 from 10:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. (Register)
June 13, 2019
MiSSG 2019-20 User Access Information Financial aid directors must annually renew the users at their institution by submitting a new security access form. The 2019-20 MiSSG Aid Administrator Security Access Form is now available. MiSSG user accounts not renewed by September 3, 2019 will be deactivated. Each security access form must be:
• Completed electronically by the aid director. o Please do not send a handwritten form.
• Emailed to [email protected] from the aid director’s email address. o Forms sent to or from different addresses will not be accepted.
For reference, aid directors may request a copy of their institution’s 2018-19 MiSSG Aid Administrator Security Access Form by emailing [email protected].
ISIR Loading within MiSSG After July 6, 2019, SSG will stop loading subsequent 2019-20 ISIRs automatically into MiSSG. If a student or the college updates the 2019-20 FAFSA, SSG must be notified so that a manual upload of the subsequent transaction(s) can be performed. The first ISIR transaction received for a student will continue to load throughout Academic Year 2019-20.
