September to October 2019
To upload the school's policies and procedures into the NASFAA P&P Builder.
Boston College has comprehensive policies and procedures and requested assistance getting those documents into NASFAA's P&P Builder. Using the P&P Builder allows Boston College to receive notices to make future updates and remain in compliance with federal student aid rules. Training was also requested for staff to learn how to navigate, manage, and update their policies and procedures in the tool.
Boston College provided Blue Icon with 71 files containing current policies and procedures (P&P). While there were many existing documents, they were housed in multiple locations. As the consultant uploaded the P&Ps into the corresponding sections of the P&P Builder, the consultant also inserted comments into the school's original documents identifying where the information was uploaded so the school could easily locate the information. Cross-references were added, per the school's request, when P&Ps were used in different sections of the manual.
After receiving the initial documents, Blue Icon Advisors met with Boston College and encouraged the school to review and identify other existing P&Ps to incorporate more documents into the project. Uploading of the initially-provided documents resulted in incomplete sections and some sections had no policies or procedures. As Mary McGrananhan, director of financial aid, explained, 'We didn't fully realize what could go into a policies and procedures manual." By identifying missing areas of policies and procedures, we expanded the scope of documents collected and included in the P&P Builder, which provided a more comprehensive manual that represents current practices. 'We relied on Blue Icon to guide us through this process," said Bernie Pekala, Director of Student Financial Strategies & Enrollment Analytics. He added, 'Their team did everything we asked for."
We will check back with the school in a few months to see if the staff have enjoyed working in the P&P Builder now that the process of moving their policies and procedures is complete.
Are your policies and procedures in compliance with the federal rules and regulations? Do you wish your policies and procedures were all in one location? Do you need a custom solution? Complete this no obligation online form to start the conversation with Blue Icon Advisors.
Publication Date: 12/17/2019