USA Funds Offers Fall Financial-Aid Workshops

USA Funds^®’ Fall-2005 Financial-Aid Workshop series begins in October at locations across the country. The free workshops offer the latest information to help you administer federal student loans and other financial-aid programs.

Workshop topics for the fall-2005 series include:

• Policy and regulatory update. Review the progress of the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act. Preview updates to the 2006-2007 Free Application for Federal Student Aid and the federal student-aid-delivery system.
  
• FAFSA worksheets. Discuss the information collected on FAFSA worksheets A, B and C, which collect information about a family’s untaxed income and benefits received.
  
• Uncommon assets affecting financial need. Explore some of the less-common types of assets considered when determining financial need. For federal financial-aid purposes, three types of assets — investments, businesses and investment farms — are considered in addition to cash, savings and checking accounts.
  
• USA Funds advantage. Gain insight into USA Funds’ products and services that deliver added value to you and your institution. This session highlights new online-learning opportunities, debt-management and default-prevention tools, as well as enhancements to the OpenNet loan-delivery system.
  
• Stress management. While eliminating stress from your life is impossible, learning how to manage your stress can be one of the best ways to reduce its harmful effects. This session describes how to manage stress in your work and personal life.
  
• FERPA. Learn about the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, which was designed to protect personally identifiable information within students’ educational records. Because much of the information maintained in the financial-aid office falls under the FERPA regulations, this session reviews whose rights are protected, how these requirements affect the financial-aid office, and what procedures should be followed to ensure compliance.

Register for a workshop at location and date convenient for you. Registration and a continental breakfast begin at 8 a.m. The workshop begins at 8:30 a.m. and adjourns at approximately 12:45 p.m.