Hello again, HVB-ga.
With this answer, I will direct you to the bible of eligibility
requirements for schools wishing to participate in the federal student
aid (FSA) program. I have summarized and extracted information below,
but please be reminded that the researchers here (myself included) are
by no means FSA experts. While I am confident in the information I am
providing, I urge you to examine the report yourself, and to consider
engaging the services of a professional with experience in this area
before making any final decisions.
That said, if you need any additional information or clarification
beyond what I've posted here, please let me know through a Request for
Clarification and I'll be happy to assist you further.
In a nutshell, my reading of the rules is this:
--vocational schools are eligible to participate
--they must have been in operation at least two years
--they need to be accredited by a recognized national (or sometimes,
state) institution
--they must grant a degree or certificate, and meet certain other
requirements
----------
Also, I want to add that the comment you made above, about no film
schools being qualified, may not be the case. I did a quick search,
and found the following two schools (there may well be others) that
are fully qualified with respect to federal student aid:
THE AMERICAN FILM INSTITUTE in California, and
THE SCHOOL FOR FILM AND TELEVISION in New York
----------
The U.S. Department of Education publishes a report called "FSA
Handbook: Institutional and Program Eligibility", a very detailed,
383-page document providing guidance to schools that wish to
participate in the FSA program. The document is on their website at:
http://ifap.ed.gov/sfahandbooks/0304FSAHbkVol2.html
"The purpose of this publication is to describe how a school becomes
eligible to participate in the Federal Student Aid (FSA) programs and
to explain the administrative and fiscal requirements of FSA program
participation."
Three types of institutions are eligible to participate, including
vocational schools:
"The institutional eligibility regulations define three types of
eligible
institutions
--institutions of higher education
--proprietary institutions of higher education
--postsecondary vocational institutions.
----------
----------
To be eligible, all institutions must adhere to the following
requirements:
--Legal Authorization by the state where the institution offers
postsecondary education to provide a postsecondary education program.
To qualify as an eligible institution under any of the three
institutional definitions, a school must be legally authorized by the
state in which it offers an educational program to provide the
program. The state’s legal authorization may be provided by the
licensing board or educational agency. In some cases, the school’s
charter is its legal authorization. In other cases, a school is
considered
to be legally authorized if state law does not require it to have a
license
or other formal approval.
--Accreditation by a nationally recognized accrediting agency or has
met the alternative requirements, if applicable. [NOTE FROM
PAFALAFA-GA: see last sentence of this section (within asteriske)--
there are exceptions for vocational schools]
Generally, an institution must be accredited or preaccredited by a
nationally recognized accrediting agency or association (both
referred to here as agencies) to be eligible...The Department
periodically publishes a list of recognized accrediting bodies...The
list can be found on the Department’s Web site at:
http://ifap.ed.gov/IFAPWebApp/index.jsp
The law provides two statutory alternatives to accreditation. First, a
nonprofit institution may be preaccredited by an agency or association
that has been approved by the Department to grant such
preaccreditation. ***Secondly, unaccredited public postsecondary
vocational educational institutions may be eligible for FSA program
funds if accredited by a state agency that the Department determines
to be a reliable authority.***
--Admission as a regular student offered only to individuals with a
high school diploma or its recognized equivalent, home-schooled
students, or individuals beyond the age of compulsory school
attendance in the state where the institution is located.
----------
----------
Program offered: must provide training for gainful employment in a
recognized occupation, and must meet the criteria of at least one
category below.
(1) Provides at least a 15-week (instructional time) undergraduate
program of 600 clock hours, 16 semester or trimester hours, or 24
quarter hours. May admit students without an associate degree or
equivalent.
(2) Provides at least a 10-week (instructional time) program of 300
clock
hours, 8 semester or trimester hours, or 12 quarter hours. Must be a
graduate/professional program, or must admit only students with an
associate degree or equivalent.
(3) Provides at least a 10-week (instructional time) undergraduate
program of 300-599 clock hours. Must admit at least some students
who do not have an associate degree or equivalent, and must meet
specific qualitative standards. Note: These programs are eligible only
for FFEL and Direct Loan participation.
Two-Year Rule (applicable to proprietary and postsecondary vocational
institutions) -- Legally authorized to give (and continuously has been
giving) the same postsecondary instruction for at least two
consecutive
years.
Special rule (applicable to proprietary institutions) -- Derives no
more
than 90% of its revenues from FSA funds.
----------
That's the gist of the eligibility requirements, to the best of my
extraction and summarizing ability.
If a school meets the above standards, it is eligible to participate
in the FSA program, but is not yet included in the program until the
school meets additional detailed requirements that pertain to
financial management and administrative capabilities -- in other
words, the school needs to convince the Department of Education that
it knows how to manage its books, administer the grant, loan and work
study programs, and so forth.
The bulk of the 368 pages in the above report is devoted to detailing
these requirements in chapters with names like: Financial
Responsibility, Recordkeeping and Disclosure, Cash Management, Program
Integrity, and so forth. I have not summarized this information here,
as most of it is not of immediate concern to a start-up school, and
most of the information defies summary, anyway.
But just to give you a feel, the "Cash Management" chapter has
sub-headings that include:
Maintaining and accounting for funds
Bank account notification requirements, Interest-bearing or investment
Exceptions, Federal Perkins Loan Program participants, Accounting
requirements
Disbursing funds
Definition of disbursed, Exceptions, Disbursement by crediting
Time frames to disburse loan funds or return them
Time frames for disbursing FFEL funds received from lender
Time frame for returning undisbursed FFEL loan funds. Proration
returned FFEL funds, Allowable charges, Disbursing FSA funds
Disbursement by payment period
Early disbursements
Late disbursements
FSA credit balances
Holding credit balances
Prior-year charges
Required school notifications
Opportunity for loan cancellation
Required Student Authorizations
Using electronic processes for authorizations and notifications
Electronic notices and authorizations, The Electronic Signatures
and National Commerce Act
Excess cash
...and so on. I'm sure you get the picture. It is a highly detailed
section of the report that will be of concern AFTER a school has
passed the initial eligibility stage and AFTER it has been in
operation at least two years.
----------
Once again, just post a Request for Clarification if I can help you
further with any of this. |
Request for Answer Clarification by
highvoltageblond-ga
on
03 May 2003 10:08 PDT
Thank you for your research.
In response to the comment you posted.... My school will be located in
Hawaii, thus specific HI related information is of enormous interest
-- ESPECIALLY -- as it relates to the rules that permit vocational
schools that are *not accredited* to participate in financial aid
programs if they are otherwise certified by a state education
department or similar body.
Thanks!
|
Clarification of Answer by
pafalafa-ga
on
03 May 2003 15:46 PDT
Thanks for the additional information....knowing the state will help
focus our research efforts.
From what I can see, the state of Hawaii does not, itself, certify or
otherwise accredit the postsecondary schools in the state -- there is
no indication on Hawaii's Dept of Education web site that it does
this, and no evidence of any schools that are somehow accredited by
the state of Hawaii. However, I want to make a few phone calls on
Monday to see if I can get a human being on the phone who is
knowledgable on this subject -- I'll let you know if I learn anything
more that what I've posted already.
In the mean time, I do want to make you aware of this site from the
Hawaii Dept of Education on sources of funding to college students --
it may be of use to you:
http://doe.k12.hi.us/bulletin15/
Scholarships and Financial Aid
Available to High School Graduates in the State of Hawai'i
----------
As always...best of luck.
|
Request for Answer Clarification by
highvoltageblond-ga
on
03 May 2003 18:50 PDT
THANK YOU!
|
Clarification of Answer by
pafalafa-ga
on
03 May 2003 19:11 PDT
Happy to be of service, and like I said, if I learn anything new
during the week, I'll post a follow-up comment.
As your project matures, if there is anything else we can help you
with, just let us know with a new question or two, and we're at your
service.
Good luck.
pafalafa-ga
|
Request for Answer Clarification by
highvoltageblond-ga
on
03 May 2003 21:16 PDT
Hi Pafalafa! Would you be interested in researching the below
question? If so, how do I go about requesting you when I post the new
question?
QUESTION:
What are the top 10 corporations as far as annual expenditures on:
1) Executive Retreats, Corporate VIP Vacations / VIP Business Meetings
that are held "away from home" at exclusive resort locales? (For
instance a Wall Street Firm that flies it's VIP's and Executives to
Hawaii for a week.)
2) How much was spent in totality by each corporation or organization
PER GROUP for the "away from home" retreat, corporate VIP vacation /
VIP business meetings?
3) How much was spent PER PERSON by each corporation for the "away
from home" retreat, corporate VIP vacation / VIP business meetings?
4) How many VIP's and Executives attended each of the "away from home"
retreats / VIP vacations / business meetings?
5) Was there anything unique that was featured/offered at each? For
instance - was there a golf tournament with Tiger Woods? Guitar
lessons with Pat Metheny? If so, what was the "unique/featured"
person or item. And how much was spent acquiring them?
6) What type of daily activities and programs were offered at each?
7) What types of evening events took place at each?
8) Who were the guest speakers? What did they cost?
9) What was the entertainment? What did it cost?
10) How many days did each of the executive retreats, corporate VIP
vacations / business meetings last?
11) Where was each of the executive retreats, corporate VIP vacations
/ business meetings held?
12) Who was responsible for the executive retreats, corporate VIP
vacations / business meetings for each of the corporations?
|
Clarification of Answer by
pafalafa-ga
on
04 May 2003 10:13 PDT
Hello yet again, and thanks so much for the generous rating. Even
though I am a (*ahem!*) mature, responsible adult, I still get a kick
out of my "gold stars" now and again.
As for your questions:
--many customers have posted questions at Google Answers, and have
requested (both in the TITLE and the TEXT of the question) that a
specific researcher answer it. This is accepted practice, so feel
free to specify any researcher in your next question (or even multiple
researchers on a first come, first serve basis). Be aware, however,
that if the researcher you ask for can't answer you question for any
reason, then it will probably go unattended for quite some time.
--as for your specific question on Executive Retreats, much as I'd
like to, I'm not sure I could do a satisfactory job on it -- you've
asked for a great many quantitative details on expenses and attendees,
and I just don't think I'd be able to get access to that sort of
information.
You may want to consider breaking up your question into several
discrete questions, just as you did with your vocational schools
question(s).
Hope this helps, and hope to see you back here at GA soon.
pafalafa-ga
|
Request for Answer Clarification by
highvoltageblond-ga
on
04 May 2003 13:25 PDT
Several other researches have made the same comment/suggestion....
However, I must admit that I find (due to the type of information
requested) the suggestion to be a bit baffling....
Perhaps I'm mistaken, but it seems to me that once someone is
researching, and has accessed, one portion of my question, for a given
corporation's VIP retreat/vacaion/biz meeting, they will also have
accessed most of (if not all) the other pertinent information.
Would they not?
Thus I do not see how asking 6 different researchers, to answer 6
different questions, all pertaining to the same corporation's VIP
retreat/vacaion/biz meeting is efficient.
Perhaps someone would explain this to me, as maybe I'm mistaken and/or
missing something??? I will freely admit I'm not a professional
researcher and I'm not closed to the idea, I simply don't understand
the rationale behind it.
That said, I'm going to post the above response, as a comment to the
others who suggested I break up my question, as perhaps their point of
view will prove helpful in my assessment.
|
Clarification of Answer by
pafalafa-ga
on
04 May 2003 13:48 PDT
HVB-ga,
I see that you've posted a new set of questions. Hopefully, my
instincts will prove wrong, and one of the researchers here will be
able to provide you exactly what you need.
But since you asked, the reason I suspect it will be difficult to find
all the info you are seeking, is that the companies/institutions you
are asking about are generally very selective in what information they
make publicly available.
They'll release just enough detail to get people excited about their
events -- a few of the big name attendees, for instance. They want to
generate buzz, but have no interest in revealing costs, attendence
lists, etc.
You may remember the hoopla over the New Year's "Renaissance Weekends"
attended by President Clinton and many other dignitaries. There are
hundreds of articles that mention it, but try to come up with any real
nuts-and-bolts details, and you'll likely go away empty-handed.
Anyhow, that's just my take on the situation. Let's see how things go
with your new questions.
Best of luck.
pafalafa-ga
|
Clarification of Answer by
pafalafa-ga
on
08 May 2003 12:23 PDT
Hello again,
Saw your note on the "Education" question, and posted a comment
there...I'm repeating it here, just to maximize your chance of getting
it.
---------------
Saw you note...good luck with the Princetonite. Here's what I had,
just so it doesn't go to waste.
pafalafa-ga
------------------
Allison R. Chwerchak
Manager, Corporate Events
Dr Pepper/Seven Up, Inc.
Plano, TX 75024
Phone: (1) 972-673-7541
Fax: (1) 972-673-7783
Email: allison_chwerchak@dpsu.com
Sherri L. Wiseman, CMP
Conference Manager
Pacific Life
Newport Beach, CA 92660
Phone: (1) 949-219-3937
Fax: (1) 949-718-5456
Email: sherri.wiseman@pacificlife.com
Nancy L. Bracalento, CMP
Marketing Communications Manager
Sprint
Dallas, TX 75240
Phone: (1) 972-405-5178
Fax: (1) 972-405-5891
Email: nancy.bracalento@mail.sprint.com
URL: www.mcil.sprint.com
Remy Cregut
Executive Vice President Marketing & Development
LSO International
Sophia Antipolis Cedex 06906
FRANCE
Phone: (33) 4 92385590
Fax: (33) 4 92385595
Email: remy.cregut@lso-intl.com
URL: www.lso-intl.com
Our Company enjoys a solid reputation in the organisation of special
events throughout Europe and overseas.
Our common goal is to help you create the best event ever at the most
competitive conditions. "LSO Customers are not hard to please, they
are easily satisfied with the best".
Kate Moher
Director Performance & Recognition
UnitedHealthcare
Edina, MN 55436
Phone: (1) 952-992-5604
Fax: (1) 952-992-7208
Email: kmoher@uhc.com
Laura A. Sayegh
Vice President of Event Marketing & Incentives
Fox Cable Networks
New York, NY 10036
Phone: (1) 212-822-8693
Fax: (1) 212-822-8695
Email: lsayegh@foxsports.net
Richard P. Sheldon, Jr.
Manager
IBM Corporation
Somers, NY 10589
Phone: (1) 914 766-1045
Fax: (1) 914 766-7170
Email: r1sheldo@us.ibm.com
URL: www.ibm.com
Soni Strang, CMP
Group Marketing Manager
Sun Microsystems Computer Co.
Menlo Park, CA 94025
Phone: (1) 650-786-0247, X80247
Fax: (1) 650-786-8391
Email: soni.strang@sun.com
Sherri L. Wiseman, CMP
Conference Manager
Pacific Life
Newport Beach, CA 92660
Phone: (1) 949-219-3937
Fax: (1) 949-718-5456
Email: sherri.wiseman@pacificlife.com
Marilouise Berdow
Incentive Programs
American Express
Ocean City, NJ 08226
Phone: (1) 609-398-2557
Fax: (1) 609-398-6780
Email: marilouise.b.berdow@aexp.com
James F. Germain
President
USA Hosts Corporate
Las Vegas, NV 89119
Phone: (1) 702-798-0000
Fax: (1) 702-798-5396
Email: jimg@usahosts.com
URL: www.usahosts.com
Hawaii link: http://www.usahosts.com/destination_services/hawaii.shtml
USA Hosts is the leading destination management company in North
America, providing destination services, convention housing, business
services and management services for special events and group travel.
To learn more about USA Hosts, please click on the service bar at the
top of this page, or the information bar at the left.
Kim Abrahamson
President
Island Incentives, Inc.
Maui, HI 96793
Phone: (1) 808-243-9899
Fax: (1) 808-243-9877
Email: kim@islandincentives.com
URL: www.islandincentives.com
Pretty impressive client list:
http://www.islandincentives.com/index4.html
Island Incentives, which was founded in 1989 by Kim Abrahamson,
continues to operate under her dynamic leadership. Island Incentives:
Operates exceptional programs on all of the Hawaiian Islands
Specializes in Incentive Travel
Realized a gross annual revenue of $4.5 million dollars in 2001
Employs 20 full-time and 60-80 seasonal staff members
Kathy Clarke
President
Kathy Clarke Meetings & Incentives
Kamuela, HI 96743-2245
Phone: (1) 808-661-1029
Fax: (1) 808-661-3094
Email: kathy@kcmihawaii.com
URL: www.kcmihawaii.com
A Destination Management Company with 20 years of experience,
specializing in incentive and meeting programs on Maui, Kaua‘i and the
Big Island of Hawaii. KCMI works closely with the meeting planner,
hotel and local suppliers to ensure that a total program is planned to
the last interlocking detail and managed flawlessly on site.
Patrick Kilbride
Executive Vice President
21st Century Group, Inc.
Kihei, HI 96753
Phone: (1) 808-875-6920
Fax: (1) 808-875-6949
Email: patrick@21stcenturygroup.com
URL: www.21stcenturygroup.com
21st Century Group is a hotel site selection company specializing in
Hawaii hotels on all islands including, Maui, Kauai, Lanai, Oahu
(Waikiki & Honolulu) and the big island of Hawaii. We offer site
planning assistance for meetings and incentives on all Hawaiian
Islands. Familiar with all Hawaiian hotels, resorts and cruise lines,
our primary role is to assist meeting planners, travel companies and
other group buyers secure rates and dates at Hawaii's leading
properties.
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