Ep. 14 - Financial Aid & Mentorship

Welcome to Episode 13 of the CSUSB Advising Podcast! Summer registration is coming up, but what about financial aid? Also, what is it to be a Coyote virtually and why is mentorship important? 

In this episode, we have:

• Evelyn Knox - Pan African Collegiate Scholars Coordinator
• Keisha Rivers - Associate Director of Financial Aid

Follow us on social media:

• Instagram & Tik Tok - @csusbadvising
• Facebook - CSUSB Advising and Academic Services
• Twitter - @csusb_advising

Subscribe to the CSUSB Advising Podcast on Apple, Spotify, and more!

Follow us on social media:

Instagram - @csusbadvising
Tik Tok - @csusbadvising
YouTube - @csusbadvising

https://csusbadvising.buzzsprout.com/

Transcript

Star Wildes  
Welcome to the CSUSB Advising Podcast. Join us as we bring you the latest advising updates at Cal State San Bernardino. Each episode is specifically made for you the CSUSB students and parents. We provide you with advising tips, interviews with both CSUSB campus resources and those in academic advising. Sit back and enjoy. Go Yoties.

Matt Markin  
Hey, Yoties. Welcome to the latest episode of the CSUSB Advising Podcast. My name is Matt Markin, and I'm with Star Wildes, and by now you probably should have already received your summer and fall registration dates, so please check your mycoyote account on your Student Center to see those dates of when you'll be able to register for the upcoming terms for summer and for fall. And also, while you're on the Student Center, check to see if you have any holds on your account, and make sure you clear those so that way you can register on your registration day and time, and that way you get those classes that you need for graduation. We have two exciting interviews for you today. The first one coming up is with Evelyn Knox, who is the Pan African Collegiate Scholars coordinator at Cal State San Bernardino. And Evelyn has a lot of great information for you all about what being a coyote is even in a virtual environment the importance of finding a mentor and what mentorship is, and also her advice to you for developing professional relationships with your professors. So let's dive into that interview now.

Matt Markin  
Evelyn Knox is the Pan African Collegiate Scholars coordinator at Cal State University San Bernardino, and has worked for the campus since 2006 her work surrounds academic and personal mentorship, advocacy and persistence of students. She's a double alumna of CSUSB, and currently as she attends the University of Southern California, where she is pursuing her doctor of education and educational leadership. Evelyn loves her hometown of San Bernardino, and elevating the folks coming from that community. She also loves a good enchilada, traveling, music and photography. Evelyn, welcome to the CSUSB advising podcast.

Evelyn Knox  
Hello, hello. I'm so happy to be welcomed.

Star Wildes  
We're so excited to have you with us here, Evelyn, and it's been a long time, and I wish I could just reach out and give you a big hug. So I'm doing it virtually, so we're gonna go ahead and let's get started. How would you define your current role as the Pan African Collegiate Scholars coordinator?

Evelyn Knox  
Yeah. So this role, it really focuses on the retention and success of black students at Cal State San Bernardino, a lot of folks don't know that our our black student population is smaller compared to where it was some years ago. So the goal is to make sure that the folks that we have, our black students that we have, that we retain them through to graduation. So this program serves as a source of guidance, mentorship, of course, academic success and academic support, and also a gateway to the campus community at large, our black student community and just the general campus community. So I act as kind of a guide and a resource to these students, to let them know kind of certain, certain things, to help them along their journey to graduation. And I always, I like to describe it as like, you know, when your your parents or your family tell you to go somewhere, and they say, when you go in there, make sure to talk to such and such. I am such and such. So that's why I like to describe it to folks. It's just, you know, that guide that you have that'll tell you where to go. So that's kind of my role in a nutshell.

Matt Markin  
Yeah, and we know that you used to work with the star myself and advising academic services I did. And you know, there'll be a lot of students that that would come in and ask specifically for you, and I think a lot of it is students that you knew from when, from being an advisor, from the class that you taught to just people recommending those students to go and see you, because of what an impact that that you've had, and you've been doing such great things in your new role, and watching that new role because you've been in it for a while now. Yeah, but you know, we do, we do miss you in our office. And one of the things that you also love is being from San Bernardino. And you know, you're a double major from San Bernardino, you're proud of being a coyote. How do you describe what being a coyote is, especially since, you know, we've been virtual for a year, and even have students who started at CSUSB during the pandemic, how would you describe it to them?

Evelyn Knox  
Yeah, you know, being a student at Cal State, and just to go back to what you mentioned, I loved working in advising and academic services, especially with you and star such good times. And I'm so thankful that we still have a relationship to where we can still be resourceful to each other, but to the students also. And those students that would come in for me, I paid those students. I'm kidding. I didn't pay those but the students, you know, it's always cool. Cool to see students trust you. You know, ultimately, I think what it boils down to is trust if they come back a second time you did something right, sometimes you did something wrong, but it's good that they feel comfortable enough to come back. And my investment at Cal State has been what 15 years, I think, in April, and that includes my time as a student. So I always tell students, I love this campus. I love it. I grew here. I know Matt, that's something we've always talked about, kind of growing up on campus and literally seeing yourself from the beginning to the end, and being a coyote is something that I don't take for granted, and I've grown more and more proud of as the years have gone and and, and especially in looking back, Cal State was the only school I applied to, like, weirdly, the only school I applied to. And I wanted to go out of state to go to school, but, like, my mom, talked me out of it because it was was too expensive, according to her, which I learned later, there was something called financial aid. So I probably could have done it, but she talked me out of it. And even with that, I just didn't apply anywhere else, not even in the state of California. I went to Valley College San Bernardino. Valley College transferred here, and I didn't even know Cal State was here until 11th grade, and I lived down the street from Cal State the whole time, so it just became this source of pride for me, because it's like, wow. Like, this school really does offer a lot. And I think naturally, being from San Bernardino, or even being from the Inland Empire, you think, like, Okay, I want to go away. I got to get away from this place. And it's not a bad thing. It's just you want to go explore. You want to kind of get away from what's familiar. I was no different, but Cal State, even within it being so familiar, it was still something very new and very exciting. And you know, being a coyote means you're you're just exploring, kind of like a coyote, they just kind of scamper around and wander. And that was something that I was able to do, but it was very purposeful. And even moments being at Cal State, when it became kind of part of my identity as a student, as someone that represents Cal State, as an employee. Also it became this sense of I could do a lot here. And that used to be our slogan, come here, go anywhere. And that is literally true. Like I was able to go to New Zealand while I was in grad school. That's something I probably never would have done, ever. And a lot of folks don't get that opportunity. Even if you go to some big, you know, Ivy League school, there's still you get out what you put in, and I was able to get a lot out of Cal State.

Star Wildes  
It's so amazing. And what an amazing story. And thank you so much for sharing with us, Evelyn, and you know, during this time, like in appointments, some students have talked about struggles they have in some of their classes, but sometimes students are nervous to reach out to their professors. What advice do you have to help students develop those professional relationships with their professors, and the benefits of meeting with their professors, of their courses, of the classes?

Evelyn Knox  
You know? What star I know we've talked about this too, is all three of us have been instructors for freshmen seminar, and I know for a fact all three of us have had those students that just you know, they may have been reluctant to stick around after class or speak to you after class. And something that I always would tell students is, don't underestimate the impact of going to your professor's office hours, because for the simple fact that might make a difference between you getting a C plus and A B minus, because that develops a relationship that develops a sense of familiarity with you, you're not just a coyote ID number and A face in the classroom. Not that all professors reduce you that way, because they a lot of them don't, but a lot of them have such big class loads that, you know, you do have to distinguish yourself a little bit. So just for the sake of maybe even impacting your grade at the end of the term, if that's important to you, stopping by every now and again to talk to your professor is a good thing, even if it means, you know, stick around, say, an extra high and by at the end of the course or at the end of the class each time, that makes a difference. That's, I think that's one of the biggest pieces of significance, of developing a relationship and kind of trying to practice not being intimidated by your professor. That's something that's normal that you see, you know you're you're in school, you're trained to kind of sit and listen to the teacher. When you get to college, they want to hear from you. They want to hear your perspective, and you're paying very expensive tuition to be here. So utilize that opportunity to talk, speak, and don't be afraid. Try not to be afraid. Take risk, take chance, and speaking up and and you're you're in a space now where you're an adult. You're adulting big time when you're in in your college classes, and with that comes developing relationship with your professors, because y'all are both adults at this point. So I. Think practicing not being afraid and knowing that it's normal to feel intimidated, but you don't have to feel that way, especially with your professors. And a lot of professors, they they don't get a lot of interaction from students outside of the class, and even in the class, sometimes you're just shy. You don't want to speak. But it makes a difference. It will make a difference. It'll some of those professors, they may have a hardened demeanor, and they may, you know, not seem as friendly, but you'd be surprised with what your voice and perspective, it could soften that a little bit. So I say, Take a chance, take a risk, and you'll usually 9.9 times out of 10. You will usually yield a good result when you speak to your professors.

Matt Markin  
Yeah, that's great advice. And I would say like yode, is it, you know, even if it's an asynchronous class, you know, the instructor probably has a day or time that's set aside for for office hours. And I know sometimes we'll get this too, and we've talked about it where, you know, let's say a student wants to meet with their instructor, and then, and then the day and time conflicts with another class or work or something. We always tell students, like, make sure that you always, you know, maybe email to contact your instructor. Said, Hey, you know, this day and time doesn't work. Are you available at it at any other point? And hopefully right now, since we are virtual, hopefully that is something where there is a little bit more flexibility with your instructor to be able to meet with those students. But yeah, I think that's definitely great advice that that you give about, you know, just not being afraid and taking that chance. Now, we also hear a lot about mentorship and for students to find mentors, and we know that a lot of students see you as a mentor. And you know you've seen many, many students, or worked with many students. Why is mentorship important? And what are some steps maybe students can take in finding a mentor?

Evelyn Knox  
You know, I think it's a privilege for one to be considered a mentor, to be asked to be a mentor. Also, many times it's not as formal. Is that. I don't know if you two can agree or attest to this. Most times, nobody sits down formally and says, Will you be my mentor? And in the spaces that they do that is so I don't wanna say cute, because that seems kind of diminishing, but it is very, very fulfilling to be asked those moments where you just become a mentor. You know, just by nature of that relationship, like I just talked about, sometimes a teacher or a staff person or someone that you're close to in your college journey. Sometimes they'll just naturally check on you and ask questions about how things are going. You could consider that mentorship too. You know, if they're taking an interest in continuing to check on you, those are people that you really kind of want to stick close to. And you know, even ask formally, it's not, it's not a bad thing to ask if someone could be your mentor, because it's nice to be asked. You know, on the end of being a mentor, I think the significance of having a mentor, people forget that it's a two way street. It's it's a mutual relationship. It's a mutual transaction, just as much as mentors want to pour into you and support you and provide insight to you. We rely on that you know, seeing how you do, with the advice that we give, and just with your own ideas and your own experiences. We want to hear that. We want to hear it because it's it's a time commitment to between two people in a mentor, mentee relationship, and the payment is, I want to see how you do and you want to get advice or support or whatever. That's the that's the mutual piece of being a mentor that people forget. I think professors provide probably one of your first opportunities that, okay, this is someone I would potentially want to talk to about decisions I want to make, or, you know, maybe asking them to be my mentor. That's kind of a lot of times the first line of people looking for mentors, but you've got a lot of people on campus that you know work in spaces like your academic advisors, like star and Matt or myself, or people that you'll interact with in the student union that work in the student union that are coordinators of different programs, there's a lot of different spaces that you can find a mentor in your community, you can find a mentor to it, whether it's your church or you know, an organization or club you're a part of. There's a lot of opportunities around you to find a mentor, and it could be as formal as asking them, but it can also just be checking in with them and asking questions and, you know, engaging that way too. I don't know if that answered your question, Matt, I feel like I talked in like six circles.

Matt Markin  
No, you answered it perfectly. I loved it. 

Evelyn Knox  
I tried, I tried.

Star Wildes  
Yeah, we did. I loved it too. And Evelyn, very, very important again, you know, I love that you mentioned the non formal, but also it could be as formal as just asking, Hey, will you be my mentor? Hey, I look up to you and shout out to the students that have done that. And I love that you also stated it doesn't have to be within the educate or in higher ed. It could be within your church, within your community, someone that inspires you. You know. So uncle, someone that you've worked with in the past. So thank you so much for mentioning that. I think that really, really, really resonated with me, and I hope this also for all the listeners. So as academic advisors now, I know we've had previous roles, and I just want to give a quick shout out to my academic advisors. I know it's in the Educational Opportunity Program, also the student assistance and learning program. So shout out again to all academic advisors out there doing amazing things, right? Why is academic advising important? Evelyn, and why are academic advisors important?

Evelyn Knox  
That is a really, really important, not to double down on the word important, but that's a really that's a really important question, and I think especially for our students that are coming in new if they're coming from a high school environment where you're used to going to see a counselor when you have to get your schedule or they call you in for something, and that's usually rare. People think of advising as that, and when you get to college, you need an academic advisor to make sure that you're on track. I like to think of advisors as like, I was gonna say Mapquest. We are way pastMapquest. I don't even know why that was at the front of my mind. It's like Google Maps, or, you know, Maps on your phone, Apple Maps. This is going to make sure that you know all of the routes to get to the end, and it's going to help you choose the best route for you. Ultimately, you have a choice. If I need to, I live in Corona, if I need to go to LA, I have a couple different ways that I could get there, but the maps is going to tell me all right, there's a couple different ways. There's three ways to get to LA. One is going to take you 45 minutes. One's gonna take you an hour and 12, one's gonna take you 62 minutes, whatever you choose. But they're the ones helping you map out the journey. And just like you wouldn't necessarily get in the car and drive aimlessly somewhere, you don't want to take your college degree down that same path too. So academic advisors will help you navigate everything across this journey in college, because they know the rules. They know the rules, they know the laws. They know everything. Oh, not everything, but they know most, most everything, and what they don't know, they will tell you how to get that information. So that's why I think academic advising is important, and especially your advisors. Because a lot of times, especially at Cal State, a lot of our advisors went to Cal State. The three of us, we went here. We've been here for a while, so we know a lot of the different routes to get to the end of your degree. So that's what I think.

Matt Markin  
And Mapquest started about 24 years ago. 

Evelyn Knox  
I wanted to say Mapquest like, because that's what we grew up with. That's what we grew up with, yes, like printing the maps out before you leave. Yeah, I don't know how we did it.

Matt Markin  
Or if you had the the physical like, Thomas map.

Evelyn Knox  
Yeah, you have to, like, draw absolutely no. That's like, pay phones and phone books. Like,

Evelyn Knox  
I remember using the pay phones by the bookstore. I don't even know if they're still there. 

Matt Markin  
They're in a museum now.

Evelyn Knox  
Probably, yeah, relic.

Matt Markin  
well, Evelyn, you've given such great advice. And I know we want you on the podcast again to, you know, talk to you more. Love to. And I can't wait till we're actually on campus again and then we can see each other.

Evelyn Knox  
This would be dope if y'all took it on like location. I can see y'all just sitting outside having, oh no, this is dope.

Matt Markin  
We will have to do that. Yes, and you'll be the first guest on it.

Evelyn Knox  
I would love to, love to. I love talking to you both. And people don't know how valuable both of you are. I think people have an idea, but I would be remiss if I didn't say how impactful both of you are on campus, and it's for our students and for our staff community. So shout out to both of you for doing this work that you don't have to do, and for just continuing to think beyond what's today. You always, both of you have been thinking about beyond just today for our students and for our community. So I appreciate both of you

Star Wildes  
Likewise, likewise. Evelyn, so much respect for everything you do.

Matt Markin  
You're doing it too. Everything that you do is always like, how is it going to benefit the student? And what are we what? What are we doing now? But we can also do something better, so that way tomorrow, it's going to be even, even better. But if anyone has any questions on anything or wants to reach out to you, how can they reach you? 

Evelyn Knox  
They can reach me directly through my email, eknox@csusb.edu Please follow the Pan African Collegiate Scholars Program on Instagram. Uh, it's CS, USB underscore packs. So, P, A, C, S, and I don't know, look out for my mix tape. Don't look out for that. Yeah, no, no, no, but follow us on Instagram or you can email directly, and we'd love, of course, to see you following us.

Matt Markin  
So thank you so much Evelyn for joining us.

Star Wildes  
Thank you so much Evelyn for joining us and being our amazing guests. We hope that you've enjoyed and thank you again. Next up, we have Keisha rivers from financial aid and join us as she shares information about financial aid when your financial aid is distributed, and also summer information about your financial aid.

Star Wildes  
Hi, everyone. We are so excited to have Keisha Rivers, Senior Associate Director of Financial Aid and Scholarships, has over 20 years of experience in financial aid. She has been with CSUSB for seven years as a mother of college students. She relates well to the challenges and questions that students and their families have. She enjoys trying new recipes, relaxing on the pool side and listening to music. Here with us today, and joining us is Keisha. Welcome Keisha. Thank you so much for coming to join us.

Keisha Rivers  
Thank you for having me. I'm excited to provide the students with as much financial aid knowledge as I can.

Matt Markin  
Awesome. We're so glad for you to be here with us today, and so we have a few questions that we want to ask you, so we'll dive right in. So the first question that we'll ask is, with some students on their Mike howdy on their student center on their to do list, it might say that they need to submit some documentation to financial aid. In those cases, what's the best way that students can do so is it by mailing it, by dropping it off to the university? Can they scan an email in any documents? How does that all work? 

Keisha Rivers  
So given our remote environment, we've kind of relied heavily on some of those options that you've mentioned, because we are not in person. So as of right now, students can fax their documents, and for most of the documents that we're requesting from students, the fax number is located in the top right hand corner. They can mail in their documents, which is still an effective way of getting them to our office. But of course, there are a little bit of delays when sending them by snail mail. And then we which is new to our office, we have a drop box, and it's located directly in front of the University Hall entrance. It's a blue it looks like a mailbox, and students can drop their documents often there we have staff that goes to the office three times a week and picks up those documents for processing.

Star Wildes  
That's awesome. And Keisha, I know we've worked, you know, having these live sessions on our social media outlets and providing information. So this is a question that we've had a couple of times come in through our direct messaging, via our social platforms, if a student was going to miss a semester or a term and they are receiving financial aid, does the student need to contact financial aid and let you guys know, hey, or let you know, hey, they'll be missing a term. Is there a certain process that students need to follow if they were to miss one semester or two?

Keisha Rivers  
We definitely encourage students to let us know on our financial aid website, under our applications and forms, we have a change of status form. If the student isn't going to attend, they can submit one of those, it gives us early notification so that we can cancel any aid and that it doesn't disperse, and just making sure that everything is clean. But in the event that a student does not do that, because at times, maybe they can't, or maybe there's just, you know, some reason why they didn't, we catch those students at census if we've awarded students and the aid has not dispersed because they're not enrolled, we cancel once census hits. So it's not an absolute 100% need for our office, but it really does help. 

Matt Markin  
Great. Thank you so much for that. Now we know financial aid offers a variety of workshops a lot of times for the FAFSA applications, has the deadline already passed for students to submit the application? Can they still turn in an application for for FAFSA? And also, are there any workshops still that they can attend?

Keisha Rivers  
So this is a question we get all the time. Students, I'd say, on March 1, start to go into a panic, because March 2 is the priority deadline each FAFSA and California DREAM ACT Application opens on October, October 1, and the priority deadline is March 2. That is not the hard deadline, but for students who are looking to get Cal Grant, for students who are looking to get you know, priority awarding or other opportunities that may be available. We encourage students to complete their FAFSA by March 2. But if they don't, for whatever reason, maybe they forgot, or maybe they just couldn't, they can still submit their application after that, well into the upcoming school year. So for students who still have not submitted their 2122 FAFSA application, or California Dream Act application, they still have the opportunity to do so, and still can receive financial aid.

Star Wildes  
That's awesome. And thank you so much for covering that, Keisha, because I know I've had students that reach out and say, Oh no, I missed a deadline, and now I can't get financial aid, or now I'm not going to, you know, be able to apply for FAFSA and complete it. So thank you so much for sharing that. So you heard it from Keisha here. Please make sure that you're still able to there's no hard day deadline. So Keisha, I know we're talking about this prior to us recording the session, and it's about summer session, because that's coming up, and I know we have a lot we're going to have a lot of financial aid questions, so I'm excited about this being available to our listeners, but also to our students. So will summer financial aid be available? And if so, may we ask if you can tell us what types of aid are available to students?

Keisha Rivers  
Oh, now you want to get tricky. So luckily, I have the financial aid summer session website up. Yes, financial aid will be available for students who are enrolled in summer. Summer works a little bit differently than most other terms. For the fall and spring. When you complete your FAFSA, we award you. And then we adjust your aid based on your units for summer. You enroll in summer courses, and then we award financial aid. Not all financial aid that's available during the regular academic year is available during summer. For summer, we have Pell Grant. We have student loans if you did not use all of your student loans during the regular academic year. And then we also have a summer assistance grant. And the summer Assistance Grant is provided by the campus. It's an institutional aid that's awarded to students. It's limited. You don't get a whole lot of it, but it does help with some of the summer charges. And then for students who are planning to graduate this summer, there's the graduate Initiative Grant, and this is really to help students who have that one term left to just go ahead and take those classes in summer and get get finished. And so if we can provide funding to those students, I know that there is a process, and part of that process is meeting with specialists, and they prepare the student to see if the student has the classes that they need. Are they available in summer, and if they can enroll, then we award them with Graduate Initiative Grant to get that done.

Matt Markin  
Now for students to be eligible for financial aid over the summer. You know, how many units do they need to be enrolled in? Is it like per session? Is it overall? 

Keisha Rivers  
So, it is overall. So the student can take a combination of well, the student has to have a minimum of six units to be eligible. They can have three in session one and three in session two. Or maybe they can have six in session one, or they can have three in session one and three in the long 10 week session, or however long that session is now. But yes, they can have it spread out over the different sessions, just making sure that they have, you know, at least a minimum of six units now for the summer Assistance Grant. Oh yes, summer assists. Summer Assistance Grant is the same for gig. There is no unit limit or unit minimum for those students if they have two units left, which is rare. But if they do have two units left, then the campus will pay for those two units. Typically, they have one or two courses, and how many ever units those are, the campus will cover up to 14 units. 

Star Wildes  
And thank you so much for that information. I wanted to come back to current term. Let's say. Semester, I know we've been talking about summer and units and so forth. So let's say a student does not enroll for the minimum units. Now, for each semester, there's a minimum of 12 units for financial aid to be dispersed if they're eligible and receiving aid, right? So 12 units is minimum. And so if a student, because I know we've been getting this question, if, let's say they drop down to 10 during the term and before census and or they're just not able to meet that 12 minimum units, do they still get financial aid? Will stay be Will they still get something? Because a lot of students are saying, Oh, now I can't meet, you know, now I can't get financial aid. Can you kind of explain the process behind that and what students need to know.

Keisha Rivers  
Absolutely, and that's a really good question, because we get that a lot, especially when students start a term and, you know, their units are going up and down, up and down. They're adding and swapping and dropping and doing all these things that they can do as the term begins. So yes, students are eligible for financial aid if they are under 12 units. 12 units or more is considered the full time award. So when we originally award students, we award them assuming that they're going to be enrolled full time. They're not required to stay enrolled full time to receive financial aid. However, if they drop below so 11 units, eight units, six units, their financial aid is prorated, and that proration really depends on the type of award it is. For loans, they can have the full amount as long as they're enrolled in six or more units. For Pell Grant, their award is either at a three fourths half time or one or less than half time award amount. And then for the State University grant if the student, it matches the student's tuition charge. So if they're in zero to six units, there's a certain amount. If they're above six units, it's a different amount. And so it varies per student. Many students like to make sure that they're enrolled in that 12 units. So not only they get their tuition paid for, but they also receive the refund to help them with their other educational expenses. And that's completely understandable, but yes, it varies per student, and it really just depends on the number of units your award you're enrolled in, as well as the award types that you have.

Matt Markin  
Great. Thank you for that. So kind of going with that. So if a student, let's say they did register for the 12 units, and then they got awarded the full time, and then classes start, and then, prior to census, they drop on their classes, but they can't find another class to replace it with. So maybe now they're below, you know the 12 units, maybe they are at 11 units or 10 units. Would the student have to, like if would financial aid, I guess, repackage the student, or do some type of pro rate? Is a student having to pay the difference in that case?

Keisha Rivers  
So in that case, and I'm going to use the typical student in this case, just because this is where most of our students land. So we disperse financial aid for each term 10 days before the first day of class, that allows students to get their tuition paid, purchase books and any other equipment they need for the term if that student is enrolled full time at that point, we disperse the full amount in the event that the student drops below that amount. So maybe they drop one course, and now they're in eight units. The students financial aid automatically gets prorated if it's before census, and then if that student has already received their financial aid refund, they would owe back the money. If that student knows that they're going to make or add an additional course to get back up to 12 units, their financial aid will automatically adjust back up. So during the time between the first day of class and census, financial aid adjustments are happening nightly. They're going up and down, up and down as students do all these adjustments to their schedules. And then finally, at census, that's when we say, Okay, now let's make the final adjustments. And then we send students any notifications if they owe money. We also send students notifications if they are due any money. 

Star Wildes  
Thank you so much for clarifying that, because I know we've had a lot of questions regarding that, like, what happens we'll have to owe back or no? Like, so it's good to know that it it adjusts, you know, throughout the time, and then, once again. So that census lastly to add it or drop a class that that's when financial aid would be really closely looking at where they're at and then be notifying students. So thank you. I want to ask about SAP. Now, may I ask if you can explain what SAP is? Because I know some students may say, Hey, what is SAP? I know that acronym is used. You know, amongst us advisors and financial aid, but SAP and how can students avoid having to go into that SAP?

Keisha Rivers  
So SAP is Satisfactory Academic Progress in order to be eligible for financial aid or to remain eligible for financial aid, the US Department of Education says that students need to be forward progressing in their academics. That means that they need to meet a certain GPA depending on their grade level, and they have to pass a certain percentage of their classes during the year. For undergraduate students, they have to pass a minimum of 70% of their courses. And then the grade levels. The GPA for the grade levels are different for freshmen, sophomore and then junior, senior. So if a student does not Well, let's start with the positive. If a student does meet SAP, they never have to hear from us about it. We just send reminders and say, you know, make sure that you're meeting SAP. And they're fine for students who don't need SAP, and this could be for a variety of reasons. Those students are sent notifications, and then they are required to submit a staff appeal, and we've had cases where these are for medical reasons, for family reasons, for financial reasons. During this year, we've had a significant amount of students who did not meet SAP because of covid, and so the Department of Education has given us the authority to provide or to allow a little bit of leniency to students. In that case, of course, we do require students to write statements, provide documentation, maybe letters of support from areas, either off campus or on campus, if they're working with staff from another department, and they're reviewed by a committee and determined if the student is allowed one term of financial aid. During that term, we set conditions for students, so we tell them, Okay, yes, we are allowing you to have financial aid, but you need to meet a 2.0 GPA or 2.3 you need to make sure that you pay your parking tickets, or you need to make sure you do this or meet with this person. And so those are requirements, and at the end of that term that we've allowed them to have the additional financial aid for, we review the conditions to make sure that all of them have been met. If they are, then they're good to go for the rest of their academic career.

Matt Markin  
Great. Thank you. And to wrap up, if a student does have any questions and, you know, wants to talk to someone in financial aid, what's the best way for students who reach your office? 

Keisha Rivers  
That's a wonderful question. So there are several ways. Well, actually two, and we're opening up another students can call. So our phone lines are open during regular business hours, and that's Monday through Friday, 8am to 5pm students can call our office, speak to someone in our office. If that person does not have full access to all the information, they transfer them to someone who has a little bit more expertise and can maybe assist a student with a more in depth answer. Another way students can contact our office is through email, and those emails are answered surprisingly, seven days a week, we answer the emails of our students, typically, you know, questions about their own personal account, but we've had questions like, Where can I send documents? How do I submit this to you? Because your office isn't open, and so we also get those general questions, and so students can contact us both of those ways, but in the next few weeks, we are going to be open. Up an option where if the student calls in and maybe they need a little bit more detailed or attention for their file, they will have the option to meet with a staff member via zoom. It's going to be called Counselor of the day. And we're trying to implement this because there are certain situations where maybe it's not just the student, maybe it's the student and the parent, and we have a lot of that going on now, especially for our incoming high school student, or incoming students from high school, where you know they're just learning the ropes with college and how things work, and their parents want to make sure that they're doing what needs to be done. 

Star Wildes  
You've answered so many questions for us, and I know our listeners out there, students and parents alike, that they're listening and they're gaining all this information, getting all the information that's needed. Keisha, thank you so much as always, for always partnering with us, connecting with us and our students and providing the information that's needed. We truly appreciate your time and our guests.

Star Wildes  
Thank you so much, Keisha for providing all that information, useful information for our students, especially for our upcoming summer session and fall enrollment, please make sure you follow us on social media at CSUSB, advising you can find us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Of course, thank you for listening via our podcast.