New capability gives students one stop process for aid application and optimizes enrollment for institutions
Frederick, MD – Today, Regent, the leading provider of financial aid management software solutions for the education industry, announced the first-ever early needs analysis program and digital Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) as a fully integrated part of the Regent Student Self Service Portal. These enhancements will be offered at no additional charge and as part of the Regent Enterprise solution. This new functionality will allow prospective and current students to receive an early estimate of financial aid eligibility without a fee or third party service provider.
Previously, students had to either complete an application from a third party provider or wait until January 1 to complete the FAFSA electronically through the Federal Department of Education. Regent’s new early needs analysis feature allows prospective students and their families to fill out the FASFA form to obtain an early estimate of their financial aid award directly from the institution, without paying a fee or submitting an application through a third party agency. The results go directly into the Regent Financial Aid Management (FAM) Solution, giving the school the ability to immediately package an early award offer for the student based on the preliminary needs analysis information. In January, the institution can confirm the information is correct, obtain the appropriate family signatures and submit the application directly to the Department of Education for formal processing.
“The updates we have made to our Student Self-Service Portal will allow financial aid administrators to respond faster to students’ needs and dramatically reduce the stress for the student associated with applying for aid,” said Leonard Gude, Regent’s Vice President of Financial Aid Solutions. “The institution can now increase effectiveness of lead conversion and optimize enrollments around early admissions instead of waiting until February. They can also begin offering award letters earlier, making them more competitive and extremely responsive to students’ needs”
Regent’s newly enhanced Student Self Service Portal also provides E-forms and E-signatures, which reduce the need for institutions to mail forms to students, or for students to have to go to financial aid offices to pick up or turn in completed forms.
The complete, real-time, online process includes benefits such as:
- Faster completion and submission of forms by students
- Reduced printing and mailing costs for students and the institution
- Significantly reduced scanning and data entry
- Elimination of lost and/or misplaced documents
With multiple forms to fill out, review, and sign, financial aid can be one of the most difficult processes for students and their families to understand. To ease stress and allow students to communicate directly with the financial aid office, Regent has incorporated advanced instant messaging feature via Live Chat, into the Student Self Service Portal.
Live Chat benefits include:
- Instant, real-time communication between students and financial aid staff
- Preferred communication for today’s tech savvy students
- Improved efficiency of financial aid resources
- Improved relationships between students, families and the financial aid office
Regent FAM Student Self-Service Portal lets students manage their financial aid and communicate with the financial aid office while on the go, 24/7, from their laptop, PDA or cell phone. The real-time information is automatically updated in an institution’s financial aid files along with change tracking capabilities. To brand the award offer letter for the institution, Regent’s comprehensive system generates personalized award status letters for students that are imprinted with the school’s logo and colors. Additionally, Regent’s multilingual design supports the needs of an increasingly international population, enabling students to work in their language of choice.
The Regent Enterprise Student Self Service Portal key benefits include:
- Early needs assessment and aid offer
- Student entered information is populated in real-time
- Viewing, accepting/rejecting awards in real-time
- Viewing of application status and academic progress status
- Viewing of messages to student
