March 2001 University Reporter

by Teresa Jardon

January 2000 brought a highly anticipated and much needed change to the Financial Aid Services Office (FAS). For years FAS had muddled through with a legacy software system, but regular and complex changes in US Federal Department of Education regulations illuminated the need for a more powerful system. The FAS staff suggested PowerFAIDS as an alternative to the legacy system so the administration of aid could be expedited more efficiently.

PowerFAIDS is a powerful software program designed, marketed, and supported by the College Board. It is a windows-based system, which allows staff to become comfortable with it quickly. Basic navigational training is minimized, and staff can easily become acclimated.

PowerFAIDS allows exportation of files in a variety of formats, which in turn allows for quick and easy data exchange with a number of offices on campus. Another benefit is the ability to customize letters quickly and easily. We can also send e-mail, thus saving time and money. In addition, PowerFAIDS can track the times, dates, and types of communication with students.

Generating reports in the old legacy system was difficult, and time-consuming, and required specific knowledge of the system. Moreover, report writing was understood by a limited number of staff. PowerFAIDS is so simple to use that report writing is no longer an arduous task.

PowerFAIDS gives the FAS staff the ability to retrieve data from over 200 individual fields.
Year-end reports to the US Department of Education will no longer be a 30-to-60 day labor-intensive process. At the end of each fiscal year, FAS is required to complete a Fiscal Operations Report and Application to Participate (FISAP) detailing how and to whom financial aid was disbursed. PowerFAIDS includes an excellent reporting tool that can provide year-end reports in the same detail as required by the FISAP yet more quickly than the old software could.

PowerFAIDS is used nationwide at over 500 colleges and universities. Thus UMass Boston can attract and retain highly qualified, experienced, and knowledgeable staff who require a minimum amount of training. This also gives us access to other users for advice and problem-solving. PowerFAIDS has enhanced the staff's ability to counsel students because it provides detailed tracking of forms, allows faster updates of information, and displays the loan history of each student.

In addition, PowerFAIDS allows FAS to give more time to training professional and support staff members. FAS permits more focus on customer service and professional services because of its increased integrity. Although PowerFAIDS has been in operation at UMass Boston only nine months, the staff is increasingly satisfied with the system.

This column is a part of a continuing monthly series featuring Best Practices at UMass Boston. Interested in highlighting your best practices? Submit your ideas to Leigh DuPuy at news@umb.edu

Financial Aid Adopts PowerFAIDS as a Best Practice

by Teresa Jardon