The effective practices are a mechanism for schools to share financial aid management practices that work well on their campus (related to Title IV or not). This tool is a means for participating Title IV schools to share and review best practices submitted by other participating schools. Since many practices are unique to individual schools and may not work in every campus setting, the U.S. Department of Education does not specifically endorse the practices posted on this site.

The success of this tool depends on participants' willingness to share what works best on their campus. We hope that you will find this tool helpful to you in your administration of Title IV Aid and we thank you in advance for sharing practical knowledge with your student financial aid colleagues.

To view current effective practices click here.
To submit effective practices fill out the form below. Please submit one form for each effective practice.

Name of Institution: Institutional Contact Person: Title: Phone Number: Contact E-Mail Address: Best Method and Time to Reach the Contact Person:

1. What is the primary focus of this effective practice? Select One Aid packaging Application processing Award disbursement General information literature Inter-office communication Intra-office team building Responding to parent/student inquiries Staff training Verification outcomes utilizing the ISIR Analysis Tool Web-based communication Other Other:

2. Does this effective practice relate to any assessment topics? [check ALL that apply]: Students Schools Student Eligibility SAP FSA Verification Institutional Eligibility Default Prevention and Management Consumer Information Automation Managing Funds Innovation Fiscal Management Return of the Title IV Federal Work-Study (FWS) FSEOG Perkins Awarding & Disbursement Perkins Due Diligence Perkins Repayment Perkins Forbearance & Deferment Perkins Cancellation Other (Provide topic heading that is best related to this effective practice):

3. Description of effective practice: a) What are the goals of this practice? b) Please provide a two-or-three sentence description of the practice: c) How long did it take from planning to implementation?   Less than 30 days   6-9 months   1-3 months   9-12 months   3-6 months   1 year or more Comments: d) If publications on your campus required revision as a result of implementation of this effective practice, please indicate how this was accomplished. e) What offices were involved in the effective practice? What was the impact, if any, the effective practice had on the offices involved? f) Please estimate the total implementation costs for this practice (this information will provide colleagues with guidance concerning equipment, publications, staffing, etc.): g) What were the expected benefits for this effective practice and were they realized? How did you measure them?

4. Institutional characteristics: Type of Institution:   2-year public   4-year public   4-year private   Career college/private vocational Size of Institution:   Small (1-800 financial aid recipients)   Medium (801-10,000 financial aid recipients) or   Large (10,001+ financial aid recipients) Title IV Participation (check all that apply):   Graduate Aid   Undergraduate Aid   Federal Pell Grant   Federal SEOG   Federal Perkins Loan   Plus Loan   FFEL Subsidized   Direct Loan Subsidized   QA Program Participant   FFEL Un-Subsidized   Direct Loan Un-Subsidized   Distance Learning Pilot   Experimental Site

5. Would you like a copy of this effective practice sent to you? If so please make sure that your email address is provided above.   Yes              No