A key part of continuous improvement culture is "finding the bright spots" -- looking at who has had success making changes and operating differently. Small changes can make a big difference!
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The Issue: The application process for a "Parent Plus Loan" is a two-step one: one step is completed with Student Financial Services, and the other step is done with the federal government. Out of the nearly 1000 Parent Plus Loans processed by SFS each year, over one-third of applicants weren't completing both steps, causing parent confusion, re-work by SFS staff, and in the worst case, the risk of a financial hold on student accounts.
The Improvement: Because UVA meets 100% of demonstrated need through AccessUVA, SFS required the separate application that makes Parent Plus loans a two-step process for our families, even though that isn't the case for most schools. Since we couldn't cut out a part of the process, Jessica Marvin and the SFS loan team worked on simplifying the UVA application. They also put in place a process that triggers an email reminding parents of the second step in the application process.
The Solution: The new application form is half the size of the original (from 3 pages to 1.5). Additionally, by using Docusign for their form, SFS has eliminated the need for parents to print out the form then fax or email it once it's complete. The team can also use Docusign to push their form to parents if they do the federal form first, and once parents complete the SFS form, it routes directly into the workflow.
The Benefits: A shorter, electronic form completed via Docusign is easier for parents and reduces both transmission errors and handwriting/missing signature problems. Docusign also triggers a reminder to parents to complete the second step of the process.
The Bottom Line: The Parent Plus Loan process is now simplified and it is much more likely that our families will be successful in submitting their materials the first time around!
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Big shout outs to Jessica Marvin, Iris Roberts, Wendy West, Jeannie Sampson-Giles, and Lloyd Dollins for their role in this project!
Also, putting in a plug for UVAFinance's Lean courses: This project was Jessica Marvin's Lean project, and she was coached by FOC's Danielle Hancock. Interested in getting on the Lean goodness? Check out upcoming Lean course offerings on the FOC site.
Got a bright spot to share? Email bv8h@virginia.edu
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