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Running head: MILITARY FINANCIAL AID PROCESS 1

Military Financial Aid Process – Project Proposal

Jeanne Penta

Post University

EDU627

MILITARY FINANCIAL AID PROCESS – PROJECT PROPOSAL 2

Military Financial Aid Process – Project Proposal

Introduction

The Office of Student Finance at Post University has seen a lot of growth over the last

eight months, and two departments (Financial Aid Processors and Tuition Planners) have been

merged into one, Financial Aid Advising (FAA). In addition, the Office of Military Benefits has

been fully absorbed by FAA, and six new hires have been added to the department. Military

benefits are very different from traditional financial aid with more stringent rules and processes

(Tuition Assistance and Benefits, 2016). This has created a serious gap in knowledge and

experience needed to support the military students and their financial aid needs.

Opportunity

This instructional design project plan provides an opportunity to create a process that

takes a military (active, retired, veteran) student or eligible family member from inquiry to

enrollment. A Power Point training presentation will be created that will introduce the new

process and information regarding military student enrollment and tuition assistance programs

for each branch of the military. As a follow up to the presentation, an interactive classroom

module will be created using a web-based program called EasyGenerator. This technology

based, interactive training will include two fictional case study type scenarios which learners will

navigate through in order to connect the proper financial aid information to the “student”. Links

to proper documentation will be provided in the training module and will be used to educate all

current Financial Aid Advisors, as well as any new hires, on the new process and all benefit

information regarding military students.


Stakeholders

Stakeholders are considered to be the people and organizations that have a vested interest

in this project (Cox, 2010, p. 7). The stakeholders that have been identified for this specific

project are the 12 military Admissions Counselors, Director of Military Admissions (Dan Stack),

28 Financial Aid Advisors, two Assistant Directors of Financial aid (Cheryl Wilde and Matt

Vining), Associate Director of Financial Aid (Mike Greer), Chief Finance Officer (Scott Allen),

President (Don Mroz), Vice President of Student Finance (Sharon Sweeney), and every military

student (enrolling and returning).

Project Proposal

This instructional Design Project Plan is an opportunity to determine a problem within

the current specs of the everyday duties of the Enrolling Financial Aid Advisors at Post

University and create a solution to that problem. Components of the project plan are described

by Cox (2010) as being, but not limited to, a project charter summary, scope statement, budget,

schedule and risk management plan. In addition, a Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) was

created in order to assemble and organize tasks based on the level of action needed to accomplish

them.

There are three task levels used in the WBS. The primary tasks (Level 1) are the overall

tasks that must be done in order to complete the project. These primary tasks can be completed

individually without access to any of the other tasks. Main tasks (Level 2) are necessary to

complete the primary task and are followed by Supporting tasks (Level 3) which are necessary

for completing the Main tasks (Cox, 2010). The WBS created for this project include all three

levels of tasks that will need to be completed in order to meet the desired goal, which is to bring


conformity and structure to the enrollment process for potential, new and returning military

students at Post University.

Problem/Opportunity Definition

Recent cultural changes and restructuring of the Office of Student Finance have required

two separate departments to merge into one. As a result, a major insufficiency was discovered in

current staffing needs and this created a substantial need to fill those positions with a group of

new hires (Post University, 2014). In addition to merging and hiring, the military department,

which had previously worked solely with the military students, was disbanded and absorbed

among several different departments and took on new roles. A standard of practice or training

module had never been needed, so one was never created. The current outcome of this lack of

preparation is that of confusion, chaos and frustration on the parts of Military Admissions

Counselors, Financial Aid Advisors and the students trying to enroll in programs at Post

University.

Proposed Solution

In order to solve the problem concerning the lack of knowledge and training regarding

military enrollment needs for financial aid and tuition assistance, it is proposed that a

compilation of required material will be collected and put together for every Financial Aid

Advisor to utilize (Tuition Assistance and Benefits, 2016). In addition, a training module will be

created that will explain the step-by-step process of moving military students from inquiry to

enrollment and registration, so that everyone has the same information and follows the same

process. This provides continuity for the student, the Admissions Counselor and the Financial


Aid Advisor. This new process will also clear up the confusion that has slowed down

productivity immensely.

Scope

This project will be able to develop a standard practice process that will include

references to proper documentation submissions for enrolling students from every branch of the

military by the end of MOD 4 ( April 30,2017) at the cost of $1,150 and 32 combined man-

hours.

Budget

Man-hours and hourly wage were only calculated and included for those participants that

are not on salary as the assigned tasks are already part of their every-day work expectancies.

Instead, budget for the project was calculated by using the average hourly wage for those

involved and designated tasks to complete. This average hourly wage ($22/hour) was then

multiplied by the estimated time it would take to complete each supporting task, and a stipend of

$50 was added to cover the cost of printer ink and paper required to create the learning packets.

In addition, much of the programming and software needed to complete this project is already

being used by Post University and is currently covered in the annual budget for expenses.

Milestones

There are three major milestones which will be incorporated into the project. Collection

of all required documents will be completed by the end of week one. These documents are the


basis for the project and are a requirement for any other part of the project to begin. Then, once

all required documents are collected, a flow chart will be created so that the new process can be

structured and organized in a way that maximizes optimal productivity. This should be

completed by the end of week three of the project as it will take more time to meet with directors

and trainers regarding best practices. Finally, since the scope of this project does not include all

of the unperceivable situations that may come up based on outliers that cannot be predicted.

Therefore, a FAQ wiki sheet will be created by the Post University IT department and uploaded

to the financial aid database folder that will allow for constant referencing and updates. This is

the fastest and most economical way to ensure that data in the training module remains current

and up-to-date.

Work Breakdown Structure

The following Work Breakdown Structure (Appendix A) will review the project scope

and subdivide the major aspects of the work into smaller, more manageable tasks (Cox, 2010).

The minimum requirements for this project are to include at least five major (level 1) task groups

that break down into no fewer than 30 main and supportive (level 2 and level 3) tasks.

Documented Actions

Task one (Level 1). Financial aid advisors (FAAs) are required to know which

documents are necessary to move forward with tuition assistance (TA) approval and registration.

These documents are provided to the Admissions Counselor from the student and then forwarded

on to the FAA to be verified. Many times the wrong document is submitted so FAAs need to be

aware of which documents are needed. In order to meet this task it is necessary to meet with

Admissions Counselors (Level 2 task) to go over the TA requirements for each branch of the


military: Dan Stack, Army; Laura Stein, Navy/Marines; Stephanie LeBlanc, Coast Guard; Mike

Reid, National Guard; Tom Noonhan, Retired/Honorable discharge/Disabled Veteran. In

addition, meetings with previous military financial aid advisors (Level 2 task) to determine

which military websites can and cannot be used to verify the correct documents are being

submitted.

Task two (Level 1). A flow chart will be created in order to allow FAAs to follow a

student’s opportunity from inquiry to registration. It will be necessary to review and process

incoming documents in order to determine which form of payment is being used (TA voucher,

cash pay, FAFSA, tuition reimbursement through GoArmyEd). Once the payment type is

determined the process for checks and balances must be established. Jenzabar Bills (the billing

system Post University uses) must be checked to see if the enrolling student already has a

balance owed at the school. Level 2 and supporting tasks have been created to have Tom

Kavanagh (Team Lead) and Cheryl Wilde (Assistant Director) create a flow chart, welcome

email and student survey that will provide a clear process to be followed by all FAAs.

Task three (Level 1). A training module will be required to educate all participating

FAAs on the new process which will also include accurate information and documents, as well

as resources to refer to when questions arise. A compatible program or application is required

for easy development of the training module (Main task – Level 2). Supporting tasks needed to

complete the main level task include recruiting Rebecca Zinser in the Instructional Design

department at Post University to create a fun and interactive training module that includes all of

the information collected in the first two Level 1 tasks. She will also be asked, as a supporting

task, to create and put together a training packet that will include copies of all the required


documents and vouchers for each military branch. FAAs will keep these packets at their desks

for future reference and guidance.

Task four (Level 1). Once the training module has been created, it is up to the Assistant

Director, Cheryl Wilde, the Associate Director, Mike Greer, and the Director, Bob Andruk to

ensure that all FAAs have access to this training. Cheryl Wilde will be assigned the task of

breaking up the FAAs into three, manageable groups (Level 2 task). Smaller groups will allow

for fast, effective training sessions while still leaving coverage for normal work related duties

within the department. Invitations to each training session will be distributed via Microsoft

Outlook (Level 2 task) and will require a confirmation reply from each participating FAA.

Task 5 (Level 1). Since it will be extremely difficult to anticipate every single scenario

and uncovered situation, there is a need to establish a way in which FAAs can ask questions, or

seek answers to things that may come up that were not in the training. Therefore, the IT

department at Post University, headed by Sanjeev and Mike Bocchino, will create an FAQ wiki

sheet that can be accessed via the F: drive. A contact person will be designated to keep

information up-to-date and accurate based on any new situations or government procedural

changes. In addition, a task (Level 3) has been established that will have Mike Greer, Cheryl

Wilde and Bob Andruk create a survey that will be completed by all FAAs after completing the

training module. This will help determine if there are any shortfalls or missed information that

should be added to future training sessions with new hires in the Financial Aid office.

Project Responsibilities (Appendix A)

Cox (2010) discusses the importance of distributing project information to stakeholders

and keeping them informed throughout the process. This includes making stakeholders aware of

project team members, their responsibilities, the planned schedule and how it affects the budget


and other components of the project. In order to keep the project on schedule and minimize

budget overages a spreadsheet is needed to define specific tasks and responsibilities which have

been assigned to each project team member. This should help alleviate any miscommunications

and reduce confusion while also holding each member accountable for his or her specific tasks.

Stakeholder Analysis (Appendix B)

The process of identifying stakeholders and the interests they represent in regards to the

project, as well as the power they possess in inhibiting or supporting the project’s progress is

known as stakeholder management (Stakeholder Assessment and Management, 2017). The

stakeholders for this project hold a critical role and make a significant impact, so a stakeholder

analysis will be an effective tool in ensuring that all groups have an understanding of the

perspectives and concerns of the project. Trust and credibility are key factors throughout the

process, therefore analysing and presenting data to stakeholders is critical to maintain value in

the project.

Communication Plan (Appendix C)

Communication should be effective and is always an essential part of a project (Cox,

2010). It has already been determined that communication is a major weakness within this

particular project plan, so it was determined that a communication plan was necessary. There is

a process established that will help to ensure that the project information is collected and

retrieved in a timely and appropriate manor. This plan includes information regarding the who,

what, when and where of the project so that everyone involved knows exactly what is expected

of them and when.


Conclusion

In conclusion, this Instructional Design Project Plan has revealed a problem/opportunity

within the current process and procedures currently used in the Office of Student Finance by

Financial Aid Advisors. Upon completion, this project plan will provide a flow chart process for

FAAs to follow, collect and distribute all documentation forms that should be used by each

branch of the military, adequately train all FAAs and financial aid personnel on the standard

process and best practices, as well as provide a centralized, accessible database for continuous,

real-time updates to this process. The return on investment this project will bring will far

outweigh the low cost of $1,150 and 32 man-hours to complete it. Instead, of the haphazard

free-for-all there is currently, there will be a structured, easy-to-follow process which will save

time and money wasted on misinformation.

There is no guarantee that any project plan will run perfectly, however, proper planning

and communication can help to eliminate surprises and complications that can slow down or add

cost to a project. It is important to ensure that all stakeholders and team members communicate

and understand their roles so that they can help to maintain the required timeline for completion

of the project.


References

Cox, D. (2010). Project Management Skills for Instructional Designers: A Practical Guide. Bloomington: IUniverse.

Post University. (2014, September 6). Retrieved from Peterson's College Search: http://www.petersons.com/college-search/post-university-000_10000680.aspx

Stakeholder Assessment and Management. (2017). Retrieved from MITRE: https://www.mitre.org/publications/systems-engineering-guide/enterprise-engineering/transformation-planning-and-organizational-change/stakeholder--assessment-and-management

Tuition Assistance and Benefits. (2016). Retrieved from Post University - Military: http://post.edu/military/tuition-and-aid/tuition-assistance


As part of the requirements for this Part 3 submission, a page has been created in the Personal

Learning Environment site and can be viewed at this web address:

https://myschoolshed.wordpress.com/instructional-design-final-project-plan-edu627/

https://myschoolshed.wordpress.com/instructional-design-final-project-plan-edu627/


Appendix A

Defining Project Responsibilities

PERSONNEL

Military Admissions

Military Financial

Aid

Post University

IT Dept

Enrolling Financial

Aid

Instructional Design

Dept

Office of

Student Finance

TASKS/ACTIVITIES

Get Army GAE/TA requirements and documentation needed for submission

Dan

Stack

Get Navy/Marines requirements and documentation needed for submission

Laura

Stein

Get Coast Guard requirements and documentation needed for submission

Stephani

LeBlanc

Get Retired military requirements and documentation needed for submission

Tom

Noonha

nGet National Guard and Reservists TA information and documentation needed for submission

Mike

Reid

Determine which websites are needed to verify admissions documents submitted

Amanda

Tiscia

Confirm password access for all FAAs Sanjeev


Differentiate which documents are required for which branch of military

Kim

Guerret

teDemonstrate where to find the information on the website to compare to the documents submitted in order to verify they match.

Amanda

Tiscia

Verify ITE is completely filled out with appropriate payment method (TA, Cash pay, FA, TR)

Tom

Kavanau

ghConfirm TA voucher is approved or denied Tom

Kavanau

ghConfirm GAE website shows registration of the correct class showing on the ITE and has been approved

Tom

Kavanau

ghCheck Jenzabar Bills for back balance and check off the TP approval box in CRM

Cheryl

Wilde

Set task in CRM as follows: MOD>TA Type Requested>Yes or No> Name of class registering for

Cheryl

Wilde


Create welcome email to be sent to new enrolling students that explains the remaining steps based on the specific need of the student and their military affiliation

Cheryl

Wilde

create a process flow chart that provides a visual map of what should be done and when

Cheryl

Wilde

Create a survey that allows students to provide information about the process and offer any suggestions for improvement

Cheryl

Wilde

Using the chosen application, create a fun and interactive training module that includes all othe information collected

Rebecca

Zeiser

Put together a training packet that includes all TA documents, flow chart, and step-by-step process for FAAs to keep handy at their work stations

Rebecca

Zeiser

Break FAAs up into three groups to make for smaller training sessions while still having staff available for daily tasks.

Cheryl

Wilde

Send outlook invites to designated training module session (there will be three)

Cheryl

Wilde


establish an FAQ wiki sheet online that can be accessed through the F:drive and shared and updated as needed

Sanjeev

and

Mike

Bocchin

oestablish a point of contact that can be used to monitor and update the FAQ as needed based on new scenarios that arise

Sanjeev

and

Mike

Bocchin

oCreate a survey for FAAs to complete after the training to determine the success and best practices of the training module as well as anything that can be improved or updated

Mike

Greer

and

Bob

Andru

k


Appendix B

Stakeholder Analysis

The purpose of stakeholder analysis is to inform the project manager and sponsor who should contribute to the project, where barriers might be, and the actions that need to be taken prior to detailed project planning.

Stakeholder Their interest or requirement from the project

What the project needs from them

Perceived attitudes and/or risks

Actions to take

Dan Stack(Director of Military Admissions)

A smoother transition from enrolment to registration

Information and communication between Admissions and Financial Aid

Lack of availability as the acting Director or Military admissions

Schedule short, frequent meetings through outlook

Cheryl Wilde(Assistant Director of Enrolling Fin Aid)

Less time spent fixing exception report errors and fielding questions from FAAs

Cooperation with retrieving information and providing access to password protected databases as needed

Very detail oriented, needs to know the why and the how

Keep open communication and constant updates

Matt Vining(Assistant Director of Returning Fin Aid)

More complete files being turned over to his subordinates from the enrolling FAAs

Patience and openness to new processes

Not always open to change and new processes, very numbers oriented

Keep communication open and provide analysis updates often

Mike Greer(Associate Director of Fin Aid)

Better metrics for enrolling students, fewer exception report errors to facilitate and monitor

Cooperation with retrieving information and providing access to password protected databases as needed, keep subordinates involved

Very numbers based, has difficulty seeing value in change and training

Keep communication open and provide analysis updates often


Scott Allen(Chief Financial Officer)

Cost effective training that limits costly mistakes

Approval of budget affiliated with the project plan

Unknown at this time

Provide budget plan and cost analysis

Don Mroz(President)

A smoother and more positive student experience that is more in line with the new desired culture at Post University

Support and approval to meet accreditation guidelines

Unknown at this time

Provide communication regarding budget, timeframe and expected outcomes of the project

Sharon Sweeney(Vice President of Student Finance)

A more productive work flow process with higher productivity rates, better efficiency and higher metric achievements

Approval of compliance standards and requirements regarding privacy of military financial information

Very reluctant to share information across widespread areas

Constant communication and updates regarding information verification


Appendix C

Military Financial Aid Process Communication PlanProject Manager: Jeanne Penta

This communication plan describes our strategy for keeping the project’s stakeholders sufficiently informed to avoid any disappointment regarding cost, schedule, or quality goals.

Stakeholder Information needs Frequency Medium Response

Dan Stack His role in the project plan

Timeframe allowed for his tasks

What information is requested from him

Daily at first, then weekly to keep him updated

1. Outlook meetings

2. email

Cheryl Wilde Her role in the project plan

Timeframe allowed for her tasks

What is required for all tasks assigned to her

Daily 1. Email (Daily)2. Outlook

meetings (weekly)

Matt Vining Status updates on the progress of the plan

When the project is ready to roll out

What to expect once the plan is completed

Weekly Email only

Mike Greer His role in the project plan

Timeframe allowed for his tasks

What is required for all tasks assigned to him

The progress of the project

Daily 1. Email (daily)2. Outlook

meetings (weekly)


Any problems or delays

Any changes in cost/budget

Scott Allen Project plan introduction

Budget plans Any budget

changes throughout the project

Weekly Email only

Don Mroz Project plan introduction

Budget plans Projected

outcomes Benefits to the

university Updates to

schedule and budget as the project progresses

Weekly or even daily if required during changes in project plan

1. Email daily or weekly as needed

2. Regularly scheduled Outlook meetings (weekly is probably not required)

Sharon Sweeney

Project plan introduction

Budget plans Projected

outcomes Benefits to the

university Updates to

schedule and budget as the project progresses

Weekly 1. Email (daily)2. Outlook

meetings (weekly)

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