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Ask HESAA Submitted by Gisele Joachim, HESAA HESAA is often asked processing/administrative questions about its programs. In order to enhance communication between HESAA and the aid community, we will address some of the questions most frequently asked by our financial aid colleagues in this and future editions of the NJASFAA Newsletter. Question: Why are spring grants and scholarships cancelled automatically when the institution cancels fall awards prior to January 1? Answer: Foremost, the timely cancellation of awards is critical to maintaining adequate cash flow for the TAG program. Only as awards are cancelled are the funds associated with these awards made available to other eligible students. When award changes and cancellations are not communicated to us in a timely manner a ripple affect is created, impacting our ability to project expenditures and disburse funds. The impact of this was demonstrated last spring, when full disbursement of TAG awards could not be made until July, after sufficient award cancellations were reported to HESAA. A TAG projection model is used to estimate expenditure levels. Monitoring TAG expenditures is an ongoing process that relies on the availability of fall and spring term cancellation rates throughout the academic year. Historically, early spring cancellations have enabled HESAA to accurately project TAG expenditures as well as to identify trends that could impact future TAG appropriation levels. Continued availability of this information is critical to this process. In the early years of the TAG Program, staff analyzed cancellation and reinstatement rates and determined that the vast majority of awards are cancelled for both the fall and spring semesters. In light of this, we determined it would be more efficient and less burdensome to the institutions if both the fall and spring awards were cancelled. As a result of recent inquiries concerning this practice, HESAA has reviewed cancellation and reinstatement rates and found that this pattern has not shifted. While the need to reinstate some spring awards may seem burdensome, it is far less so than having to cancel spring awards individually. Across all sectors, many more awards are cancelled for both the fall and spring terms than for the fall only. As of this date last year, we had 18,835 fall cancellations and 16,447 spring cancellations. At the end of the year, we had 20,900 fall cancellations and 28,441 spring cancellations. You should note the increase in BOTH fall and spring cancellations. At the county college sector, only 17.5% of cancellations are fall only. At four-year public institutions, 16.6% awards are cancelled for the fall only, while at the independent sector 15.2% of awards fall into this category. We hope this provides you with useful information and a better understanding as to "why things are the way they are." Please feel free to provide feedback or send questions you would like to see answered in future "Ask HESAA" articles to Gisele Joachim at gjoachim@hesaa.org. We look forward to continued open, professional dialogue with our NJASFAA colleagues.
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