Getting to Know the Segal AmeriCorps Award &Your Campus Financial Aid Office

Compact Service Corps Conference

Who’s Presenting? . . .Shannon Cable Assistant Director- Student Employment & AmeriCorps the University of Colorado Colorado Springs (UCCS)

What are were going to cover? . . .

-The Segal AmeriCorps Educational Award-How students can utilize it-How to request payments-How to make connections with the Financial Aid Office

Welcome!!!

• The Segal AmeriCorps Education Award is a benefit AmeriCorps members receive upon successful completion of their term(s) of service.

• Students access and apply the award to costs using their My AmeriCorps Portal at https://my.americorps.gov/mp/login.do

• The award can be used for up to __7__ years

• Applying the award to current educational costs

• Applying the award to eligible student loans

• The award is subject to taxes in the year in which it is used.

• Must report on the next years FAFSA after award is used - - will be excluded and not count against the student for aid purposes!

• Use all at once or in partial amounts

• Great resource for educational award info: http://edaward.org/ -http://www.americorps.gov/for_individuals/benefits/benefits_ed_award_use.asp

The Segal AmeriCorps Educational Award

• All AmeriCorps award requests must be certified/approved by the school’s Financial Aid Office.

• The Office of Financial Aid is responsible for ensuring the requested award fits into each individual student’s financial aid package - - the requested educational award can impact other types of aid a student may already have

• Each school determines a Cost of Attendance (COA) and looks at each member’s request to make sure they can apply the requested amount. In cases where the requested award will impact the student’s financial aid package the school may reduce other types of aid, contact the student to work out what the student would like to do, or deny all or a portion of the award.

- Aid Calculation Worksheet – assist FA with correctly applying AC award

• AmeriCorps awards are federally regulated to assist students and can even be excluded from Estimated Financial Assistance, up to the amount of any subsidized direct loan. This means an AmeriCorps award can overlay a subsidized loan up to the loan amount without impacting the student’s need for that type of aid!

Applying the award to current educational costs

AmeriCorps Award & Aid Calculation Worksheet

• To apply the educational award to eligible student loans a member must complete their request using their My AmeriCorps portal. This request will need to be sent directly to their lender (servicer)

• The member/student may not know who their lender (or servicer) is - - they will need to know in order to complete their request

- Can find their lender information and also view their loans using the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS).- If a student sends a loan request to a school it will be denied

• The student can choose from numerous strategies to best utilize their award dollars for loan repayment.

• Use all at once or in partial amounts

Applying the award to eligible student loans

• Make the first connection

• Find out who will be certifying/approving incoming AmeriCorps award requests

• Work with them to notify students of your school’s approval and payment process & build realistic student expectations of when and how they will see their award appliedo Will the requests be certified immediately or will the school

wait until census for COA?o Will the student need to complete a direct deposit to have

overages be refunded?

• Work out a communication plan for students with questions on how to apply their awardo Make sure the FA Office contact knows who to contact with student questions on how to access their award - - this part of the process can seem gray - - who can assist a student in requesting their award - - o What happens if a request is denied?o How can a student work with the FA Office when a request impacts their financial aid package?

1.) Building the Relationship &

Collaborating with your Financial Aid Office- AmeriCorps

• All materials available online on CCC website after conference or by emailing Shannon at shuddles@uccs.edu.

• Any questions you can email or call at 719-255-3055

To Conclude: