The Monthly Memo

Please visit our web page. The site address is: heab.state.wi.us

Points of Interest:

1. I wish each of you a happy New Year! We are very pleased to report that the transition to the new year has been relatively transparent. Our web site and email are functioning. We have loaded federal files without any complications and expect to run voucher and notification jobs tomorrow as planned. Just a reminder that we have not changed any file formats on data we send you.

2. If your school transfers data to HEAB via an FTP site, please notify Barb Moermond at barbara.moermond@heab.state.wi.us as soon as possible whenever any changes in your FTP set-up, software, IP, etc. occur. Once notified, Barb will make all the necessary changes that need to be made at our end in order for HEAB to continue to be able to transfer data to and from your school.

3. Once again, HEAB is holding one-day training programs for new and continuing financial aid admistrators. The training session covers all aspects of the programs administered by HEAB, including:
   How To Voucher
   How To Do File Maintenance
   An Overview of the Individual HEAB Programs
   A Review of HEAB Reports

   The program is being offered:

   March 16, 2000
   May 18, 2000
   (The January workshop is already full.)

   The program begins at 10:00 a.m. and ends no later than 3:00 p.m. It is held at the HEAB offices at 131 W. Wilson St, Suite 902, Madison, WI. We have room for up to 6 people at each session.

   If you want to register for a session or need more information, please call Jim Buske at (608) 267-9865 or send email to james.buske@heab.state.wi.us.

Points Related to Processing:

1999-2000

1. 1999-2000 notification lists and other associated reports are scheduled to print 1/4/00 and 1/18/00.

   Here are a few tips for bringing in your electronic Notification Files:

   1. set all margins to 0.25"
   2. set paper orientation to landscape
   3. set font to Courier (or Lucida Console if you have it)
   4. set point size to 9

   Also, if you encounter problems opening the file directly from email, try saving it to your server or hard drive using either Notepad or WordPad to open it. If this doesn't work, please give Barb Moermond a call at (608) 266-3091 and she will work with you to try to find a solution.

2. We continue to run the 1999-2000 vouchering process on Tuesday and Friday nights of each week. Just a reminder that we cannot guarantee that your request can be loaded on the same day it has been received if the information arrives after 12NOON. Please keep in mind that it takes two to three business days after the vouchering process runs before checks are physically printed. So please plan accordingly. Please only voucher funds for students who are registered for coursework. Contact me if you have any questions.

3. Please be aware that if you request a disbursement of less than $250 for a term or a semester or if the student has used nine semesters of eligibility, the voucher request is manually handled through a "special voucher" which is run on Wednesday nights.

4. Also be aware that you cannot voucher funds for a student you just sent FAFSA changes for to the federal processor. Please voucher funds for students after they are reflected on the notification list. Our agency will calculate an award the Tuesday or Friday night after file maintenance is received or after the student is loaded from the federal record (which we draw down daily). However, the notification list which communicates the student award to you is run every other Tuesday. Please keep all of this in mind when you are making student record changes or vouchering funds. Please also keep in mind that we calculate awards on the most recent information that is received either through file maintenance or from the federal processor.

5. Just another reminder that students can receive up to ten semesters of a combination of WHEG/WTG rather than ten semesters of each.

6. 1999-2000 award commit for WHEG and WTG is as follows:

   UW WHEG Award Commit	=	127.19%	(last year at this time it was 126.16%)
   UW WHEG Award Spent	=	56.30%	(last year at this time it was 69.30%)
   WTC WHEG Award Commit	=	139.85%	(last year at this time it was 150.84%)
   WTC WHEG Award Spent	=	68.40%	(last year at this time it was 74.30%)
   WTG Award Commit	=	108.71%	(last year at this time it was 115.26%)
   WTG Award Spent	=	52.88%	(last year at this time it was 65.02%)

Jane Hojan-Clark, Executive Secretary
Wisconsin Higher Educational Aids Board