City College of San Francisco - California Competes

THEME IV
appropriate, College funds have been reallocated as necessary to fulfill some Financial Aid Office goals.
Financial Aid has been allocated some necessary positions (three academic counselors, four classified staff)
despite the very tight budget situation at the College, reflecting the high institutional priority given
to this area.
A worthwhile expense was incurred when Financial Aid was moved from a crowded, tucked-away bungalow
into a spacious, remodeled, and more centrally located area in Cloud Hall. That dramatic change had
a noticeable impact on staff morale, as well as serving to make Financial Aid more visible, convenient, and
accessible to students. Additionally, the Department opened up a Financial Aid Resource Center next door,
where students now use computers and other resources to research scholarships or file their FAFSA 5 online,
alone or with assistance.
A key strategy the College undertook in improving access and services to students and enabling their
continued learning, has been to encourage qualified students to apply for Board of Governors’ Fee
Waivers. As a result, many more students are applying for BOG waivers than did so before.
Results. Altogether, the number of students receiving aid is up 20.5 percent between February 2003 and
March 2004—rising 33 percent from 2002 to 2004. Besides improved morale, outreach, recruitment,
and marketing efforts were all factors in this increase. Employees and students alike have been surveyed
on their satisfaction with the Financial Aid Office. In the College Performance Indicators report for 2004,
the Employee Satisfaction Rates data show the following: on a scale of 1-4 (poor-excellent) Financial Aid
Services was rated 2.987 by faculty, staff, and administration in Spring 2004, up a full quarter point (0.25),
a significant improvement from Fall 2000. Students also acknowledged improvement. In the online
Student Opinion Survey of credit students in various student categories, Financial Aid was rated from
2.57-2.79 on a scale from 1-4, with 4 being the highest. While the student rating leaves room for
improvement, these numbers show improvement from the situation before the re-organization.
Today, City College of San Francisco remains strongly committed to continuing to remove barriers and
demystifying financial aid for many potential CCSF students. While improvements in morale are cited by
administration as very noteworthy, the rebuilding of trust on the part of both students and employees
continues to be an ongoing effort and, according to its Dean, is never taken for granted by the Financial
Aid Department. In terms of streamlining departmental processes, document imaging—a necessary technology
to increase efficiency and effectiveness—is in the Request for Proposal stage as of Spring 2005.
Finally, a challenge for the Department is meeting the informational needs of students who are not at the
main campus; however, Financial Aid personnel do spend four to eight hours weekly at each of the principal
neighborhood campuses.
Evaluation. Many of the improvements have already been documented in the End-of-Year and Mid-Year
Assessment Reports, since the NAFSAA recommendations were absorbed into various elements of the
College Planning and Budgeting System, as noted above. In the future, the Chancellor has said he
would like to see another NAFSAA audit done in conjunction with the Office's Program Review cycle.
Architecture Department—Getting Our House in Order First. The Architecture Department case revolves
around a series of improvements to increase student success and promote positive learning
outcomes. It is an excellent example of how a CCSF department has used the institutional review
system to help it focus on a plan of improvement. The Architecture Department Chair described
how all this came about.
5 Free Application for Federal Student Aid, the standardized financial aid application form.
302 CITY COLLEGE OF SAN FRANCISCO