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September 1997

Fiscal Officer Training Workshops

SUMMARY: This letter describes a nationwide series of Fiscal Officer Training Workshops and lists the sites, dates, and registration procedures.

Dear Colleague:

We are pleased to announce an upcoming series of Fiscal Officer Training Workshops. The two-day workshops will focus on accounting, recordkeeping, and reporting elements that postsecondary institutions need to know in order to administer the student financial aid programs under Title IV of the Higher Education Act.

1. WHAT WILL BE COVERED AT THE WORKSHOP?

Fiscal Officer Training features nine highly interactive sessions that either supersede or expand on topics covered in the Fiscal Officer Training in 1995, and in the 1995 edition of The Blue Book:

ACCOUNTING, RECORDKEEPING, AND REPORTING BY POSTSECONDARY EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS FOR FEDERALLY-FUNDED STUDENT FINANCIAL AID PROGRAMS.

Topics will include the new recordkeeping and audit requirements, new financial risk ratio regulations, new cash management provisions, and the new Grants Administration and Payments System (GAPS). The training will also cover long-standing issues involved with institutional responsibilities, the management of Campus-Based Program funds, and the administration of refunds and repayments. An accounting issues session will be entirely devoted to case studies. The final session will cover Reauthorization of the Higher Education Act (HEA) and other current issues.

At the end of each workshop day, a separate question and answer session will be scheduled to give every workshop trainee an opportunity to raise further questions and concerns.

For more details on the agenda, please refer to ENCLOSURE A.

2. WHO SHOULD ATTEND THE WORKSHOP?

The training is designed for fiscal officers at the intermediate level, including comptrollers, bursars, cashiers, bookkeepers, and other business office staff at postsecondary institutions. Prospective trainees should have at least one year of experience with the fiscal administration of the Title IV aid programs. We are not encouraging financial aid administrators to attend the 1997 workshops, unless they have similar fiscal administration experience.

3. WHERE, WHEN, AND HOW LONG ARE THE WORKSHOPS?

Thirty-two workshops will be offered from October 27 to December 19, 1997 within the continental U.S., Hawaii, and Puerto Rico. All workshops will be held at hotels, except for the workshop in Hawaii, which will convene at a postsecondary institution. Please refer to ENCLOSURE B for the address, telephone number, and date of each workshop. Each day of the workshop will begin at 9:00 a.m. and end at approximately 5:00 p.m., including lunch and breaks.

4. HOW DO I REGISTER FOR THE WORKSHOP?

We are using our automated phone-in registration system for this workshop series. Please call 1-800-341-5682 to register. A series of enus and prompts will guide you through registration.

YOU SHOULD HAVE CERTAIN INFORMATION AT HAND WHEN YOU CALL, including:

- The two-digit code number of your desired workshop; it is found to the left of each workshop listed in ENCLOSURE B;

• Your telephone and fax numbers; and
• Your Title IV school code number.

YOU WILL NOT BE ASKED TO GIVE YOUR SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER. Instead, the system will assign a confirmation number for each person registered. Please record and keep this confirmation number should you later want to make a change or cancellation, and register for only one workshop, as space is limited.

IF SPACE IS AVAILABLE AT THE WORKSHOP, you will be told that you are confirmed for attendance at that workshop and you will be given a confirmation number. This verbal confirmation will be the only one you will receive from the system -- no paper confirmation will be sent to you. The registration system tracks the number of attendees at each workshop and produces a sign-in sheet for each workshop (the Record of Attendance form). IF SPACE IS NOT AVAILABLE, you will be told during your call and allowed to choose another workshop. When your call concludes, you will have an option to register up to four more persons.

AFTER REGISTERING FOR A WORKSHOP, IF YOU NEED TO CANCEL OR CHOOSE A DIFFERENT WORKSHOP, please call 1-800-341-5682. As with your initial registration, menus and prompts will take you through this process. Because of limited space, we ask you to make changes as soon as possible.

IF YOU ARE UNABLE TO ACCESS THE PHONE-IN REGISTRATION SYSTEM, please call the registration assistance line at (202) 205-2667 between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., Eastern Time, Monday through Friday. This line will help you use the phone-in registration system and, if needed, provide you with the services of a sign language interpreter at your workshop. However, this line cannot give information about other training or register you.

After hours you may leave a voice mail message and we will return your call.

5. WHAT COSTS ARE INVOLVED, WHAT MATERIALS WILL BE PROVIDED, AND WHAT DO I NEED TO BRING TO THE WORKSHOP?

Fiscal Officer Training has no registration or materials fees. However, registrants should arrange and pay for their own transportation, meals and lodging. Please note that a limited number of rooms have been reserved at a group rate at each of the hotel workshop sites. Each hotel will have a set date when the group rate will expire. Your reservations should be made only after you have been confirmed for attendance at your workshop. If you have any questions about the hotel or postsecondary institution site, including directions or parking, please telephone the site.

Every registered participant at the workshop will receive a free copy of the Participant's Guide: Fiscal Officer Training Workshop. Please bring a two-inch thick, three-ring binder for the Guide, and a pocket calculator so that you can more easily follow the lecture and participate in the exercises.

6. WILL CONTINUING PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION (CPE) CREDITS BE OFFERED TO CERTIFIED PUBLIC ACCOUNTANTS WHO COMPLETE A WORKSHOP?

We are currently seeking sponsorship for CPE credits for Fiscal Officer Training. An application for registration was sent to the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA); New York State Board for Public Accountancy; Illinois Departmentof Professional Regulation; and Indiana Professional Licensing Agency. We expect to be registered by all four entities before the start of the workshops.

The automated registration procedure allows you to indicate whether or not you wish to take this training for Continuing and Professional Education (CPE) credits for CPA licensure in your state. IF YOU DO, YOU WILL NEED TO ATTEND THE ENTIRE WORKSHOP AND SIGN A RECORD OF ATTENDANCE FORM IN THE MORNING AND FTERNOON OF EACH DAY IF YOU WISH TO RECEIVE CPE CREDITS. Each trainee at the workshop who meets those requirements will receive either a Certificate of Attendance at the end of the workshop or a letter serving the same purpose after the workshop concludes. Both documents will indicate the number of CPE credits earned.

We believe participation in Fiscal Officer Training will assist you in the administration of the Title IV aid programs at your postsecondary institution. Thank you in advance for your interest in this training.

Sincerely,

Elizabeth M. Hicks

Deputy Assistant Secretary

Student Financial Assistance Programs

Enclosures

ENCLOSURE A:

AGENDA CONTENTS

1997 Fiscal Officer Training

 

OVERALL AGENDA

Day One

INTRODUCTORY SESSION

SESSION 1: Institutional Responsibilities and Recordkeeping

SESSION 2: Audits and Financial Responsibility

SESSION 3: Financial Risk Ratios

SESSION 4: Managing Campus-Based Program Funds

SESSION 5: Cash Management

PART 1 QUESTION AND ANSWER SESSION

OVERALL AGENDA

Day Two

SESSION 6: Refunds and Repayments

SESSION 7: Accounting Issues

SESSION 8: Grants Administration and Payments System,

or GAPS

SESSION 9: Reauthorization and Other Current Issues

PART 2 QUESTION AND ANSWER SESSION

DETAILED AGENDA

INTRODUCTORY SESSION:

SESSION 1: INSTITUTIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES AND RECORDKEEPING:

A. General Responsibilities

B. Individual Office Responsibilities

C. Record Retention

SESSION 2: AUDITS AND FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY:

A. Overview of Recent Changes in Requirements

B. Audit Changes and Requirements

C. Financial Responsibility Changes and Requirements

D. ED's New Approach to Institutional Oversight

1. Case Management Process

2 Risk Analysis Model

3. Action Taken

4. The New IPOS (Institutional Participation and Oversight

Service in ED)

SESSION 3: FINANCIAL RISK RATIOS:

Session contents not yet finalized.

SESSION 4: MANAGING CAMPUS-BASED PROGRAM FUNDS:

A. Participation in the Campus-Based Programs

B. Federal Perkins Loan Program

C. Federal Work-Study Program

D. Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant Program

E. Administrative Cost Allowances

F. Transfer and Carry Forward/Carry Back Provisions

G. Case Study

Appendix: State Commissions for National and Community Service

SESSION 5: CASH MANAGEMENT:

A. Requesting Funds

B. Maintaining Funds

C. Disbursing Funds

D. Returning Funds

PART 1 QUESTION AND ANSWER SESSION:

Contents to be determined by trainers and trainees at each workshop.

SESSION 6: REFUNDS AND REPAYMENTS:

A. Determining whether Refunds and Repayments are Required

B. Determining Which Refund Calculations must be Performed

C. Calculating Refunds and Repayments

D. Required Disclosures on School Refund and Repayment Policies

E. Case Studies

SESSION 7: ACCOUNTING ISSUES:

A. Case Study 1. Financial Responsibility

B. Case Study 2: FWS Funding Calculations

C. Case Study 3: FWS Funds Management

D. Case Study 4: FSEOG Funds Management

E. Case Study 5: Administrative Cost Allowance

F. Case Study 6: Matching FSEOG Funds

G. Case Study 7: General Ledger and Balance Sheet