Federal financial aid rules are frequently changing; is your staff up-to-date?

When rules change, we help schools understand the new requirements by training their financial aid office staff on the new procedures. And when we conduct compliance audits that uncover high error rates, you can engage us to train your institution's staff to take corrective action.

CHESS has trained extensively in the areas of Return to Title IV Funds (R2T4) calculations, loan pro-ration, and packaging aid.

We offer onsite training, which allows your staff to get professional training using their systems, their student files, their academic programs, and their policies. The benefit is tremendous. Your staff become expert in your school's processes while working on actual student cases at your facility.

Is your institution facing an audit or lawsuit?

CHESS can help; learn how.

Does your school need financial aid support services during busy times?

If so, we can help. CHESS provides short-term onsite management support for colleges and universities to address unexpected management vacancies in the financial aid office. And we also offer support to the institution's excutive staff when they need assistance with policy decisions — we recommend the action; they make the policy.

Do you have questions about financial aid and how it relates to your institution?

Learn about our Statistical Analysis Support services.

Are you seeking to streamline your financial aid systems?

The team at CHESS can assist your institution with the implementation of new computer systems, KIOSK technology, and electronic document imaging. We can also help your school identify system and application needs, including authoring systems requirements, requests for proposals (RFPs), evaluating vendors, and implementing the system.

If you already have a system in place, we can identify unused system capabilities and implement those to automate tasks — and reduce data entry and compliance errors. When evaluating existing systems, CHESS consultants often identify computer issues, such as lack of security, production schedule, backup schedule, off-site backup, or disaster recovery plan. And then we assist the school in taking corrective actions.

Would you like to automate your financial aid packaging policy? We can assist by writing computer support programs to achieve the desired result.

Members of our staff have significant knowledge of computer systems and system. In fact, we enabled Appalachian State University to be the first public university in North Carolina to electronically certify loans and receive funds through electronic funds transfer. And our president was a contributing author of "E-Aid Office 2000: Financial Aid Software, Selection, Implementation, and Operation" (NASFAA Monograph, June 2000, Issue 12).

If your institution needs financial aid training or support, contact us today.