Financial Aid Management and Student Outreach Services

The Vendor is required to provide for financial aid management and student outreach for the purpose of covering the entire lifecycle of financial aid support: from educating students before they borrow, through the compliance processes during enrollment, to helping them successfully repay loans after leaving a member institution.
- Student Financial Success and Financial Aid Support Services
1. Financial Literacy Education Programs
•    Tools or services to educate students on personal finance, budgeting, credit, and loan management during college (to improve financial wellness and retention).
•    Programs should be interactive and tailored – for example, providing online modules or workshops on budgeting, credit, student loans, and investing, and targeting the content to student needs (freshmen vs. seniors, etc.).
2. Student Debt Management and Default Prevention
•    Solutions to help manage and prevent student loan debt, such as counseling for in-school students and outreach to delinquent borrowers to reduce default rates.
•    Use data to focus efforts on at-risk borrowers (those nearing default) such as deploying proactive communication (debt letters, repayment option info) and offering personal counseling for those struggling.
3. Loan Repayment Counseling
•    Services (especially for graduating or departing students) that provide one-on-one guidance on selecting repayment plans, avoiding default, and understanding loan obligations.
4. Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) Verification Services
•    Support for verifying student FAFSA information and resolving flagged discrepancies in aid applications. 
•    This may include online verification platforms that streamline document collection and review.
•    Solutions should ensure compliance with department requirements, protect sensitive data, and expedite verification turnaround times to not delay aid award.
5. Professional Judgment (PJ) Advisory Services
•    Assistance with special circumstance appeals – helping financial aid offices evaluate and process adjustments to aid based on unique student situations (e.g. loss of income, etc.).
6. Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) Appeals Management
•    Tools to manage SAP monitoring and appeals (since maintaining academic progress is required for aid eligibility)
7. Enrollment Management and Student Retention Outreach
•    Services aimed at improving student outcomes and retention, such as outreach programs to engage current or withdrawn students and encourage them to persist or re-enroll. This can include contacting students who haven’t registered for next term, “stop-out” student re-engagement campaigns, and analytics to identify at-risk students.
•    For prospective students, this might involve financial education or counseling to help them through the aid process and encourage enrollment.
•    Use data analytics to identify students who may not re-enroll due to finances and intervene early.
8. Student Engagement and Communications
•    Solutions for proactive student communications regarding financial aid – e.g. debt letters, financial aid offer clarity, or Chatbot for answering aid FAQs, mobile apps for tracking loan balances or aid requirements, and personalized communications (e.g. annual debt summary letters) that keep students informed and on track.

- Contract Period/Term: 5 years
- Questions/Inquires Deadline: September 15, 2025