Case Study: Glendale Community College

December 2020

Goal

To provide comprehensive Title IV staff training.

Situation

Glendale Community College (GCC) is one of 10 institutions in the Maricopa Community Colleges system. Most student services are provided independently at each campus, though there are centrally coordinated processes for some areas. The director of financial aid at GCC, Patricia Curtis, approached Blue Icon seeking Title IV overview training for all staff across the entire Maricopa system, as well as customized training and facilitated dialogue on a range of financial aid administration topics for the staff at GCC. "Students trust us as the experts and we don't want to break that trust. This type of training highlights our passion for our work -- why we do what we do," Curtis said.

Solution

Blue Icon Advisors developed a robust training program that included an overview of financial aid, nine NASFAA U training topics, and a newly developed and customized session dedicated to customer service. Using the NASFAA U training materials allowed the staff the opportunity to test for NASFAA Credentials in the presented topics. GCC invested in NASFAA's unlimited testing voucher to maximize their resources.

This training was originally intended to be delivered on campus, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Blue Icon pivoted to training via video conference. Moving to a remote environment also allowed Blue Icon to record the training sessions for the school's continued internal use.

To reduce video conference fatigue, the sessions were broken into manageable chunks across several days and included time to discuss issues specific to GCC.

Outcome

To date, 11 GCC staff members have earned 52 credentials across 10 topics as a result of the training. Graciela Serrano, Student Services Manager, explained, "People are really starting to think differently about their work. We haven't had these conversations before. "

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