RESEARCH TOOLS, TIPS, AND RESOURCES
FOR FINANCIAL AID ADMINISTRATORS
PRESENTERSMary Ann Coughlin, Springfield College, MABonnie Joerschke, Purdue University, INBarry Simmons, Virginia Polytechnic
Institute & State University, VA
SASFAA PRECONFERENCE WORKSHOP, FEBRUARY 11, 2007, NASHVILLE, TN
INTRODUCTIONAGENDA
9:00 a.m. Introduction and Goals 9:10 a.m. Why Conduct Research 9:30 a.m. COOL Demonstration10:00 a.m. EXPT Demonstration10:30 a.m. BREAK10:45 a.m. PAS Demonstration12:00 p.m. LUNCH12:45 p.m. National/Regional/State Sources 1:15 p.m. Institutional Sources 1:30 p.m. Research Tools
2:00 p.m. Hands On Exercises 2:50 p.m. Wrap Up 3:00 p.m. Close
GOALS
• Become familiar with information on your campus, the internet, or from external sources that will help you answer questions about your aid recipients or funds.
• Learn how to build comparative data.
• Provide an overview of available and frequently used financial aid databases and their limitations.
WHY CONDUCT RESEARCH?
Why Research?
• Compliance
• Federal Quality Assurance Program
• FISAP
• Donor Relations
• Defend/Support/Eliminate Programs
• Program Creation
Benchmarking
• Comparison group can be– Peer– Aspirational– Competitor– Predetermined
Program Creation Process
• Determine/Goal Outcome
• Build Conceptual Framework
• Secure Funding
• Develop Infrastructure
• Implement Infrastructure
• Evaluate Infrastructure Outcomes
IPEDS
THE INTEGRATED POSTSECONDARY EDUCATION
DATA SYSTEM
LUNCH
NATIONAL/REGIONAL/STATE SOURCES
NATIONAL/REGIONAL/STATE SOURCES
• Common Data Set – CDS
• Postsecondary Education Opportunity: Tom Mortenson’s Pell Report Card
• U.S. Department of Education
• Federation of State Public Interest Research Groups (PIRG)
• The College Board
NATIONAL/REGIONAL/STATE SOURCES
• Grapevine
• The Institute for College Access and Success
• U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics
• State Grant Agencies or Higher Education Authority, Guarantors, etc.
• NASFAA
NATIONAL/REGIONAL/STATE SOURCES
Common Data Set: www.commondataset.org– Collaborative effort between colleges and
publishers (College Board, Peterson’s, and U.S. News & World Report) to provide standard data items and definitions
– Set of standards and definitions of data items (not a survey instrument or set of data in a database.
NATIONAL/REGIONAL/STATE SOURCES—COMMON DATA SET
• Excellent source of information specific to an individual institution (e.g., financial need, indebtedness, need-based aid; grant or scholarship aid; self help aid, etc.)
• No central location of data; must search individual school’s website for comparative data
• Caution: school’s definition of a type of aid may differ from yours; requests completed data either for the prior year or estimated data for the current academic year. Be sure to compare same academic year data.
NATIONAL/REGIONAL/STATE SOURCES—COMMON DATA SET
Sect. A General InformationSect. B Enrollment DataSect. C First-Time FreshmenSect. D Transfer ActivitySect. E Academic OfferingsSect. F Student LifeSect. G ExpensesSect. H Financial AidSect. I Faculty/Class SizeSect. J Degrees Conferred
NATIONAL/REGIONAL/STATE SOURCES—Common Data Set
• Completing the Common Data Set” A Guide for Financial Aid Professionals, NASFAA Monograph Number 19, May 2006– Reports on some of the concerns in collecting and
reporting data– Provides advice on how to complete the college costs
and financial aid reporting requirements– Provides terminology and data definitions
NATIONAL/REGIONAL/STATE SOURCES
• Postsecondary Education Opportunity (The Mortenson Research Seminar on Public Policy Analysis of Opportunity for Postsecondary Education.
• Password protected spreadsheets on the website (www.postsecondary.org) contain data on financial aid packages, gender, Pell Grants sorted by state, family income, etc.)
• Source of data: National Center for Education Statistics (NCES)
NATIONAL/REGIONAL/STATE SOURCES
U.S. Department of Education• Numerous data bases besides COOL/EXPT or
PAS. Including– NSLDS – COD Reports– National Center for Education Statistics (NCES)
• National Education Data Resource Center (NEDRC) tables• Quick Tables• Data Analysis System (DAS)
– Central Processor: draws a sample of applicants quarterly for QC and research purposes
NATIONAL/REGIONAL/STATE SOURCES
• Federation of State Public Interest Research Groups (PIRGs) www.uspirg.org/home/ – Data on student aid, college costs, textbook
prices, and student debt– Links to individual state PIRGs
• The College Board www.collegeboard.org– Trends in College Pricing: national trends in the
cost of attendance; tuition discounts, etc.– Trends in Student Aid: annual data on amount of
financial aid distributed to students
NATIONAL/REGIONAL/STATE SOURCES
• Grapevine www.coe.ilstu.edu/grapevine – Reports on state tax appropriations for the new fiscal
year– Available tables include: state tax appropriations per
capita; appropriations per $1,000 of personal income; state rankings on one, two, five and ten-year percentage changes; annual average five-year percentage changes in state tax appropriations; and state tax appropriations by region.
– Also includes a 50-state summary table showing total state tax appropriations for the current year and percent of changes over time (1, 2, 5, and 10 years).
NATIONAL/REGIONAL/STATE SOURCES
• The Institute for College Access and Success www.economicdiversity.org – First publicly available source of campus-level data on
student income, race and ethnicity, and student loan usage that can be compared over time and across institutions.
– 200 different data elements for 3,000 colleges– Summary page available for institutional profiles– Comparison tool builds tables from selected variables
at the state, regional or national level. Table can be printed or downloaded into Excel files.
NATIONAL/REGIONAL/STATE SOURCES
• U.S. Dept. of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics www.bls.gov/cpi. Provides an inflation calculator as well as individual indices for goods and services
CPI INFLATION CALCULATOR
NATIONAL/REGIONAL/STATE SOURCES
• State Grant Agencies or Authorities, Guarantors, etc.– Source of state level data for colleges and
universities• For example: The Indiana Commission for Higher
Education provides a series of reports that contain information about Indiana postsecondary education.
• The “CHE Dynamic Report” soon to be available will allow users to make multiple selections for personalizing report information and analysis.
NATIONAL/REGIONAL/STATE SOURCES
• National Assn. of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA) www.nasfaa.org – Annotated Bibliography of Student Financial Aid: summaries of
student aid research
– National Profile of Federal Student Aid Programs: information about each program, number of students served and
appropriations.– Research Tools, Tips & Resources for Financial aid
Administrators– Staffing and Salary Tools & Models– So You’d Like to Do Some Research—An Introduction to the
New ERIC (Education Resources Information Center)
INSTITUTIONAL SOURCES
INSTITUTIONAL SOURCES
• Annual Reports
• Data Digests
• Fact Books
• Data Warehouses
• Digital Dashboard (Desktop)
INSTITUTIONAL SOURCES
• Annual Report– Key document that delivers information about
your department – Various formats– Can be overwhelming task to create one– Tips:
• Create a schedule for writing and production• Involve members of staff--you do not have to do it
alone• Determine your target audience• Determine the theme/content of your report
INSTITUTIONAL SOURCES
• Annual Report– Excellent on-line source: “Creating an Annual Report
in Microsoft Word”, State Library of Iowa,
www.silo.lib.ia.us/for-ia-libraries/tell-library-story/Props/annual-reports/index.htm
• They state: “Annual reports are used by all kinds of institutions. . .as a public relations piece. They are a way of being accountable and proving your value. They can tell statistical stories, but they should also include some of the memorable highlights of the year…”
INSTITUTIONAL SOURCES—ANNUAL REPORT
PURDUE UNIVERSITY WEST LAFAYETTE
ACADEMIC YEAR NATIONAL AVERAGE* AVERAGE AWARD
1991-1992 $1,530 $1,531
1992-1993 $1,543 $1,550
1993-1994 $1,506 $1,450
1994-1995 $1,502 $1,445
1995-1996 $1,515 $1,431
1996-1997 $1,577 $1,488
1997-1998 $1,696 $1,579
1998-1999 $1,878 $1,749
1999-2000 $1,933 $1,799
2000-2001 $2,070 $1,985
2001-2002 $2,298 $2,234
2002-2003 $2,436 $2,436
2003-2004 $2,467 $2,471
2004-2005 $2,441 $2,474
2005-2006 $2,486 $2,495* Source: U.S. Department of Education, Office of Post Secondary Education (as reported on the ACE, Center for Policy Analysis website) and from FinAid.org website: Pell Grant
HISTORY OF AVERAGE FEDERAL PELL GRANT AWARDS
INSTITUTIONAL RESOURCES—ANNUAL REPORT
2005-2006 2004-2005 2003-2004 2002-2003 2001-2002 2000-2001 1999-2000 1998-1999 1997-1998 1996-1997
Number of Recipients 5,107 5,499 5,507 5,395 5,160 4,850 4,863 5,258 4,877 4,818
Total Dollars Received $12,740,069 $13,604,722 $13,606,513 $13,142,094 $11,528,126 $9,628,637 $8,749,179 $9,195,052 $7,700,701 $7,167,724
Average Award $2,495 $2,474 $2,471 $2,436 $2,234 $1,985 $1,799 $1,749 $1,579 $1,488
Undergraduate Enrollment * 32,291 32,198 32,377 32,461 32,648 32,668 32,526 32,038 30,850 30,213
Percent of Undergraduates with Pell Grants 15.8% 17.1% 17.0% 16.6% 15.8% 14.8% 15.0% 16.4% 15.8% 15.9%
*Revised 11-20-06 to include Statewide Technology Enrollment
PURDUE UNIVERSITY--WEST LAFAYETTE: TOTAL FEDERAL PELL GRANT RECIPIENTS
INSTITUTIONAL SOURCES—ANNUAL REPORT
Resident: 2005-2006 2004-2005 2003-2004 2002-2003 2001-2002 2000-2001 1999-2000 1998-1999 1997-1998 1996-1997
Maximum Pell $4,050 $4,050 $4,050 $4,000 $3,750 $3,300 $3,125 $3,000 $2,700 $2,470
Average Pell per Purdue Student $2,443 $2,437 $2,453 $2,391 $2,190 $1,964 $1,791 $1,792 $1,553 $1,529
Fees/Tuition $6,458 $6,092 $5,860 $5,580 $4,164 $3,872 $3,724 $3,564 $3,370 $3,210
Percent of Fees Covered by Average Pell 38% 40% 42% 43% 53% 51% 48% 50% 46% 48%
Percent of Fees Covered by Maximum Pell 63% 66% 69% 72% 90% 85% 84% 84% 80% 77%
Nonresident: 2005-2006 2004-2005 2003-2004 2002-2003 2001-2002 2000-2001 1999-2000 1998-1999 1997-1998 1996-1997
Maximum Pell $4,050 $4,050 $4,050 $4,000 $3,750 $3,300 $3,125 $3,000 $2,700 $2,470
Average Pell per Purdue Student $2,690 $2,625 $2,543 $2,628 $2,450 $2,097 $1,833 $1,624 $1,686 $1,372
Fees/Tuition $19,824 $18,700 $17,640 $16,260 $13,872 $12,904 $12,348 $11,784 $11,170 $10,640
Percent of Fees Covered by Average Pell 14% 14% 14% 16% 18% 16% 15% 14% 15% 13%
Percent of Fees Covered by Maximum Pell 20% 22% 23% 25% 27% 26% 25% 25% 24% 23%
PURDUE UNIVERSITY--WEST LAFAYETTE: FEDERAL PELL GRANT RECIPIENTS BY RESIDENCY
INSTITUTIONAL SOURCES—ANNUAL REPORT
FISCAL YEAR
RATE TYPE
PROGRAM TYPE
# BORROWERS
ENTERED REPMT &
DEFAULTED
# BORROWERS
ENTERING REPMT
COHORT DEFAULT
RATE
NATIONAL COHORT DEFAULT
RATE1987 Official FFEL 103 4786 2.2 17.61988 Official FFEL 89 4831 1.8 17.21989 Official FFEL 120 4412 2.7 21.41990 Official FFEL 101 3891 2.6 22.41991 Official FFEL 94 4002 2.3 17.81992 Official FFEL 113 3690 3.1 15.01993 Official FFEL 108 3888 2.7 11.61994 Official FFEL 136 4156 3.2 10.71995 Official FFEL 176 4379 4.0 10.41996 Official FFEL 239 4751 5.0 9.61997 Official FFEL 190 5196 3.6 8.81998 Official FFEL 164 5204 3.1 6.91999 Official FFEL 122 5249 2.3 5.62000 Official FFEL 142 5331 2.6 5.92001 Official FFEL 90 6431 1.3 5.42002 Official FFEL 84 4707 1.7 5.22003 Official FFEL 70 5287 1.3 4.52004 Official FFEL 39 4495 0.8 5.1
PURDUE UNIVERSITY - WEST LAFAYETTE
FEDERAL STAFFORD LOAN COHORT DEFAULT RATES
INSTITUTIONAL SOURCES—ANNUAL REPORT
FISCAL YEAR
RATE TYPE
COHORT DEFAULT
RATE
NATIONAL COHORT DEFAULT
RATEUniv. of Ill.
Ind. Univ.
Univ. of
Iowa
Univ. of
Mich.
Mich. State Univ.
Univ. of
Minn.
North-western
Univ.
Ohio State Univ.
Penn State Univ.
Univ. of
Wisc.1987 Official 2.2 17.61988 Official 1.8 17.21989 Official 2.7 21.41990 Official 2.6 22.41991 Official 2.3 17.81992 Official 3.1 15.01993 Official 2.7 11.61994 Official 3.2 10.7 3.3 3.2 3.3 3.8 4.9 3.5 1.4 5.5 3.0 2.91995 Official 4.0 10.4 4.8 4.8 3.7 4.0 5.0 5.1 1.3 6.3 3.5 2.51996 Official 5.0 9.6 4.0 5.3 3.5 3.8 5.4 3.5 1.7 4.4 4.1 2.81997 Official 3.6 8.8 4.5 5.3 4.2 4.2 6.4 4.6 1.6 6.9 4.9 1.81998 Official 3.1 6.9 3.4 4.3 3.7 2.8 5.0 3.1 1.4 5.0 3.8 2.11999 Official 2.3 5.6 2.4 4.4 3.1 2.6 3.9 1.9 0.6 4.3 3.2 1.02000 Official 2.6 5.9 2.4 4.8 3.2 2.3 3.4 2.6 0.5 3.9 3.3 1.22001 Official 1.3 5.4 1.7 3.9 2.4 2.4 2.7 2.3 0.7 4.2 4.2 1.22002 Official 1.7 5.2 1.6 3.2 2.2 1.7 2.4 2.0 0.9 3.7 3.8 1.02003 Official 1.3 4.5 1.3 2.4 1.8 1.2 1.9 1.6 0.8 2.7 2.6 0.82004 Official 0.8 5.1 1.4 2.3 1.5 1.2 2.3 1.6 0.9 2.9 2.9 0.3
PURDUE UNIVERSITY - WEST LAFAYETTE COMPARISON TO BIG TEN SCHOOLS' COHORT DEFAULT RATE
FEDERAL STAFFORD/FEDERAL DIRECT STAFFORD LOAN COHORT DEFAULT RATES
INSTITUTIONAL SOURCES—ANNUAL REPORT
FISCAL YEAR
RATE TYPE
COHORT DEFAULT
RATE
NATIONAL COHORT DEFAULT
RATE
Cornell Univ.-Ithaca
Georgia Inst. Of Tech.
Penn State Univ.
Texas A&M Univ.
Univ. of
Ariz.
Univ. of
Calif. - Berk.
Univ. of
Calif.-Davis
Univ. of Ill.
Univ. of
Mich.
Univ. of
Texas-Austin
Univ. of
Wisc.1987 Official 2.2 17.61988 Official 1.8 17.21989 Official 2.7 21.41990 Official 2.6 22.41991 Official 2.3 17.81992 Official 3.1 15.01993 Official 2.7 11.61994 Official 3.2 10.7 3.0 3.3 3.8 2.91995 Official 4.0 10.4 3.5 4.8 4.0 2.51996 Official 5.0 9.6 4.1 4.0 3.8 2.81997 Official 3.6 8.8 4.9 4.5 4.2 1.81998 Official 3.1 6.9 2.2 2.2 3.8 3.7 4.0 3.8 3.8 3.4 2.8 4.8 2.11999 Official 2.3 5.6 1.0 2.2 3.2 2.1 3.5 2.9 2.3 2.4 2.6 3.5 1.02000 Official 2.6 5.9 1.2 1.5 3.3 2.3 4.7 2.9 2.3 2.4 2.3 3.8 1.22001 Official 1.3 5.4 1.2 1.6 4.2 2.5 4.1 1.7 1.8 1.7 2.4 4.0 1.22002 Official 1.7 5.2 1.1 1.2 3.8 1.7 3.4 2.0 1.6 1.6 1.7 3.0 1.02003 Official 1.3 4.5 0.7 0.7 2.6 1.7 2.8 1.1 1.4 1.3 1.2 2.7 0.82004 Official 0.8 5.1 0.6 0.9 2.9 2.0 3.6 1.5 1.1 1.4 1.2 2.4 0.3
PURDUE UNIVERSITY - WEST LAFAYETTE
FEDERAL STAFFORD/FEDERAL DIRECT STAFFORD LOAN COHORT DEFAULT RATES
COMPARISON TO PEER INSTITUTIONS' COHORT DEFAULT RATE
INSTITUTIONAL SOURCES—DATA DIGESTS
• Used by many post secondary institutions as their official source of data.
• Purdue University—West Lafayette Data Digest provides information on:– General facts and figures– Student data– Instruction and student life– Faculty and staff data– Finance facilities– Research
www.purdue.edu/DATADIGEST/
INSTITUTIONAL SOURCES—DATA DIGESTS
INSTITIUTIONAL SOURCES—DATA DIGESTS
INSTITUTIONAL SOURCES—DATA DIGESTS
INSTITUTIONAL SOURCES—DATA DIGESTS
INSTITUTIONAL SOURCES—DATA DIGESTS
INSTITUTIONAL SOURCES
• Fact Books– Similar to Data Digests: a structured
presentation of information about the institution frequently requested by students, faculty, staff, and other publics.
• Data Warehouses– Computer-based information systems that
contain data that originated from another application or an external system or source.
INSTITUTIONAL SOURCES
• Data Warehouses– Managers use them to extract information quickly and
easily – “Read only”, integrated databases designed to
answer comparative and “what if” questions– Unlike operational databases that are set up to handle
transactions and are kept up to date as of the last transaction, data warehouses are analytical, subject-oriented and structured to aggregate transactions as a snapshot in time. Useful in analyzing historical transaction data to detect patterns and trends.
Source: Minnesota State Archives at www.mnhs.org/preserve/records/dwintro.html
INSTITUTIONAL SOURCES
• Digital Dashboard (Desktop)– Resembles a car’s dashboard, organizing and
presenting information that is easy to read.– Integrates information from various
components into a dashboard– Graphics turn volumes of data into something
easy to read and understand. Helps the user focus on data important to their operation.
– Many companies offer dashboard technology (e.g., Microsoft).
INSTITUTIONAL SOURCES
• Digital Dashboards: additional reading– “Digital Dashboards: Driving Higher Education
Decisions”, Educause Center For Applied Research, Research Bulletin, Volume 2003, Issue 19, Sept. 16, 2003.
– “Tracking Key Performance Indicators with a Digital Dashboard”, by Leonard Gude, NASFAA Student Aid Transcript, Volume 17, No. 2, 2006.
INSTITUTIONAL SOURCES
TOOLS
TOOLS
• ISIR Analysis Tool– Designed by Federal Student Aid (FSA) to
help financial aid administrators improve the accuracy of ISIR information used to determine student eligibility for need-based aid.
– Use by non-QA schools does not release them from federal verification requirements.
TOOLS
• ISIR Analysis Tool– Steps to conduct a meaningful analysis of
changes in ISIR data1. Define the goal of your analysis2. Determine relevant records to be analyzed3. Decide which reports to run4. Run the reports and review results5. Apply improvements
• Participant’s Guide located atifap.ed.gov/qahome/guidance.html
TOOLS
• Excel– Trend Analysis– Comparative Analyses– Charts and Graphs for Annual Reports– Digital Dashboards– Pivot Tables
Tools
• Access
• Crystal Reports
• Brio
• Excel - Pivot Table
Dashboardin Excel
USF…Leonard Gude
TOOLS
Pivot Table Demonstration
• Pivot Table is an Excel Feature
• Database extract loaded into Excel
• Research Question:
Of the Pell population, what is the average award, TFC and unmet need by residency?
TOOLS
• Pivot Table Finding
– In-state unmet need = $3105
– Out-of-state unmet need = $7141
HANDS ON EXERCISES
WRAP UP
Contact Information
Dr. Mary Ann CoughlinSpringfield [email protected]
Bonnie C. Joerschke Purdue [email protected]
Dr. Barry W. Simmons Sr. Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State [email protected]