Hi again,

Forgot to include this COE resource page for lots of helpful info on FAFSA. https://coenet.org/better-fafsa-support/

Better FAFSA Support - Council for Opportunity in Education

At COE, our commitment to the TRIO community goes beyond words. As we navigate the December launch of the transformative "Better FAFSA," we understand the concerns and questions that may arise.

coenet.org

Ginny Fowles Ward (she/her)

Associate Director

Bowdoin College Upward Bound

3400 College Station / Brunswick ME / 04011

Cell: 207-841-7539

Office: 207-725-3565

Zoom: https://bowdoin.zoom.us/my/ub.ginny

Why pronouns matter

From: - MEEOA-L - Maine Educational Opportunity Association members communication <[log in to unmask]> on behalf of Ginny Ward <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Thursday, January 18, 2024 6:19 PM
To: [log in to unmask] <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: State Leaders Meeting Updates for you!

Hi everyone-

Just here to report out on some of the updates from COE's monthly state leaders meeting. Apologies that a lot of this is TRIO-centric.

All things FAFSA:

FAFSA is open 24 hours now
There is still not a patch for the issue of parents without a SSN not being able to submit their information. They ARE able to create an FSAID and verify their identity through TransUnion.
The ISER process will be working as of 2/1 but no corrections will be able to be made until the end of February, so students needing to correct their FAFSA should do so on the FAFSA site, not through FA.
COE is advocating re: access to student aid data and would like SSS program input on whether you rely on student ISERs to calculate eligibility. Please respond here: https://fs3.formsite.com/coecoecoecoe/7wfjjsqene/index

Student Financial Aid Aquisiton Survey for TRIO College Programs

View this form on Formsite

fs3.formsite.com

SSS Competition

COE is advocating with the Dept. of Ed to establish a timeline that will have the grant competition completed by April (1^st slate) and May for the funding band. See the attached slide which was also shared by Jen Rudolph in our COE update at the conference
PPPs will NOT be the same as last competition
Hoping for a deadline of mid-December. If it's not, then it will be in early 2025
They expect new programs to be funded and urged us to message that programs are in competition with the SCORE, not each other. I know in Maine we collaborate and support each other's success, but it's a message worth reinforcing.
There will be several grant writing workshops offered by COE, in April (virtual) and in July (in person only, in Philly) which will include an opportunity to get feedback on sections.

Government Relations

The Senate passed a continuing resolution that will fund the government until March. House is expected to pass it as well; they were hoping it would happen today because legislators were itching to leave town before another storm grounds everyone in DC. No partial shutdown is expected.
Johnson & Schumer have a top line funding agreement that leadership expects to hold despite resistance from the Freedom Caucus. Expect to have FY 24 wrapped up by March in time to begin the FY 25 process for Policy Seminar

I hope that you are all staying well and warm as we grind through January's ups and downs. Thank you for all you do every day to support our students achieving their dreams!

Best,

Ginny