KHEAA - Counselor Connection - Volxxvi

Kentucky Higher Education Assistance Authority P.O. Box 798 Frankfort, KY 40602-0798 Tel: 800.928.8926 kheaa.com publications@kheaa.com

Counselor Connection

Volume XXVI, No. 9 April 2017

Scholarship targets students in high-demand fields Applications for the Work Ready Kentucky Scholarship are now available from KHEAA. The scholarship helps Kentuckians who have not yet earned an associate’s degree pay for training that leads to a certificate in a high-demand workforce field.

For the 2017-18 academic year, the workforce fields are construction, health care, advanced manufacturing, transportation/logistics, and business services/information technology.

found at fafsa.gov. They must also submit a Work Ready Kentucky Scholarship application. It can be found by signing in at kheaa.com, or creating a MyKHEAA account if they don’t already have one and clicking on the “Apply Online for Scholarships” link.

Recipients must be Kentucky residents, be U.S. citizens or permanent residents and have a high school diploma or GED.

For more information, including a list of approved programs and participating schools, visit KHEAA’s website or contact WRKS Program Coordinator Danny McGaughey at 800.928.8926, ext. 67391, or dmcgaughey@kheaa.com.

For 2017-18, the maximum award is estimated to be about $3,900.

To apply, students must submit the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), which can be

With this edition: Online Resources flyer.

KHEAA publishes the Counselor Connection to share information about student financial aid, college preparation and college planning.

Comments and suggestions are always welcome.

Please send them to publications@kheaa.com.

Follow us on “Like” us on Facebook to get financial aid, scholarship and money tips! www.bit.ly/KHEAAfacebook

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Counselor Connection April 2017

Students, counselors should check KEES accounts for accuracy Kentucky high school students and their counselors should check the personal information in students’ KEES accounts to make sure it is accurate. That includes their name, address, date of birth and Social Security number.

Yearly GPAs and exam scores should also be checked. If students or counselors find something that needs to be changed, they should contact the district’s KEES coordinator, who will make the necessary changes.

Go Higher Grant helps adults earn college credit

Since students earn KEES money based on yearly GPA and exam scores, all information must be correct so students receive accurate and timely awards in college.

Adult Kentuckians who are interested in taking college classes may be eligible for a Go Higher Grant.

To check their KEES accounts, students must use the “Sign In” button on the kheaa.com home page to set up and access their MyKHEAA account.

The maximum award amount is $1,000.

For more information about KEES, please contact KEES Program Coordinator Sara Wooden at 800.928.8926, ext. 67397, or swooden@kheaa.com.

Recipients must be at least 24 years old and be enrolled less than half-time at a participating Kentucky college. They must show financial need and must be U.S. citizens, nationals or permanent residents. They must also be working on their first undergraduate degree.

To apply, students must submit the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), which can be found at fafsa.gov. They must also submit a Go Higher Grant application. It can be found on kheaa.com by clicking on the “Paying for College” tab, choosing “KHEAA-Administered Programs” and clicking on the link to the grant.

For more information about the Go Higher Grant, please contact State Grants Coordinator Sheila Roe at 800.928.8926, ext. 67393, or sroe@kheaa.com.

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Counselor Connection

April 2017

KEES training dates set Registration is now open for four Kentucky Educational Excellence Scholarship (KEES) training sessions this month.

The dates and times are: • Tuesday, April 18, 1:30 p.m. Eastern • Thursday, April 20, 9:30 a.m. Eastern • Tuesday, April 25, 9:30 a.m. Eastern • Wednesday, April 26, 1:30 p.m. Eastern

State grants awarded for 2017-18

Topics include: review of regulations related to the KEES program, KEES eligibility criteria and award amounts, early graduation considerations, treatment of dual credit coursework, submission of student records and year-end files and KEES compliance reviews.

KHEAA has completed awarding state grants for the 2017-18 school year. Awards were based on the date a student first submitted the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), financial need and other criteria.

College Access Program grants and Kentucky Tuition Grants were awarded on a first-come, firstserved basis to all eligible students who completed the FAFSA through February 14. Students who completed the FAFSA after February 14 did not receive awards because funds were exhausted.

The live sessions are delivered via GoToWebinar, a web-based tool that lets participants take the training from their offices. Participants can receive EILA credit for the training.

Registration instructions: To register, email kees@kheaa.com with the subject, “KEES training.” Include your name, title, and high school or district name in the body of the message. If interested in receiving EILA credit, please include this request in your registration email. KHEAA will send confirmation once your registration is received.

KHEAA sent students instructions on how to view their state grant awards and denials through their MyKHEAA accounts.

Participating Kentucky colleges listed by students on the FAFSA were also notified of awards and denials made by KHEAA. Each college determines a student’s final eligibility. Financial aid award notifications sent by colleges should include state grant award information as well.

Contact KEES Program Coordinator Sara Wooden at 800.928.8926, ext. 67397, or swooden@ kheaa.com with questions about the training or registration.

For more information about the CAP and KTG programs, visit kheaa.com or contact State Grants Coordinator Sheila Roe at 800.928.8926, ext.

67393, or sroe@kheaa.com.

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Counselor Connection April 2017

Changes coming for Dual Credit Scholarship Program

A list of participating colleges for 2017-18 will be available on KHEAA’s website in late April. For questions or more information about the program, school districts should contact Director of Student Aid Services Becky Gilpatrick at rgilpatrick@ kheaa.com or 800.928.8926, ext. 67394.

The state legislature recently passed a bill related to the Dual Credit Scholarship Program, which was introduced in the 2016-17 academic year by executive order of Governor Bevin. HB 206 modifies eligibility, payment, and processing for the program beginning with the 2017-2018 academic year.

Make college more affordable by saving on intangible costs

Under the new program, the scholarship will be available to Kentucky residents who are juniors or seniors attending a Kentucky public or non-public high school. KHEAA will award scholarships to students based on available funding, with priority given to seniors. Students are limited to receiving the award for a total of two (2) successfully completed courses during their high school career.

Awards received in 2016-17 will not count against this total, meaning all students will begin the 201718 program with a clean slate with respect to the award limit.

When it comes to comparing the costs of various colleges, remember that on the broadest level, costs can be tangible or intangible.

Tangible costs include tuition and fees and room and board.

Intangible costs include everything else: textbooks and supplies; computers; and personal items, such as shampoo, clothes, entertainment, laundry, and other expenses.

Students can save money by controlling the costs of their lifestyle. That doesn’t mean skimping on shampoo, soap, food and doing their laundry. But they can cut costs by finding sales, using coupons or looking for buy one, get one free deals.

The role of high schools and flow of funding will be different as well. High schools will provide application information to KHEAA and will continue to provide required college success counseling to students. However, KHEAA no longer will be sending funds to school districts. Colleges will report dual credit enrollment information each semester to KHEAA and will receive scholarship funds for students directly from KHEAA.

They can also save quite a bit of money by cutting back on treats such as entertainment and dining out.

Doing those things less often will make them even more special when they do treat themselves.

The Dual Credit Scholarship award amount will remain at one-third of the per credit hour tuition rate charged by KCTCS. Participating colleges may charge no more than this rate for all dual credit coursework, regardless of a student’s receipt of the Dual Credit Scholarship. No additional tuition or fees may be charged to students beyond the discounted rate.

Remember: The less they spend on the intangibles, the less they’ll have to take out in student loans.

That means that after they graduate they can afford more of the things they enjoy.

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Counselor Connection

April 2017

Deadline for KHEAA essay contest approaching

CPE limits 2017-18 tuition increases to 3 to 5 percent The Council on Postsecondary Education has set 2017-18 tuition and mandatory fee ceilings for resident undergraduate students at the state’s public universities and colleges.

A rising junior at one of Kentucky’s public or private high schools will win a $500 scholarship and a photo shoot at his or her school through the Promote Your School scholarship contest, sponsored by KHEAA.

The ceilings are: • 3 percent for Western Kentucky University.

• 4 percent for the University of Kentucky and Northern Kentucky University.

The school must participate in the Kentucky Educational Excellence Scholarship (KEES) program to be eligible.

• 5 percent for Eastern Kentucky University, Kentucky State University, Morehead State University and Murray State University.

To enter, the student must submit an essay no more than 200 words long and cannot mention the student’s name, school, county or community. The essay topic must be shown at the top of the page.

The student’s name, address and high school must be listed at the bottom of the essay. The student must be a junior during the 2017–2018 school year.

For essay topics and additional information, visit kheaa.com/website/contest/intro.

The ceiling for the Kentucky Community and Technical College System was set at $6 per credit hour, a 3.9 percent increase.

A ceiling was not set for the University of Louisville since the university’s board of trustees has already voted not to increase tuition next year.

Schools can submit tuition and fee rates for graduate, professional and online courses to CPE for action at its June 16 meeting.

Photos from the winning school will be used in KHEAA publications and on KHEAA websites.

To enter, mail your essay to KHEAA Publications, P.O. Box 798, Frankfort, KY 40602. You may also email your essay to publications@kheaa.com or fax it to 502.696.7574. The winner will be chosen by a committee of KHEAA employees. The deadline for submissions is May 31.

Students from schools that have been featured the past five years are not eligible for this year’s contest.

Those schools are Daviess County, Lexington STEAM Academy, Somerset Christian, J. Graham Brown and Sacred Heart.

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Counselor Connection April 2017

Scholarship opportunities Kaufman & Stigger, PLLC: Alberta C. Kaufman Scholarship Eligibility: Must be a Kentucky resident, be a graduating high school senior or currently enrolled student at a 2- or 4-year college or university, have at least a 3.0 GPA, plan to pursue a postsecondary degree after graduation and submit an essay telling about someone who influenced your life in a positive manner and how that will have an impact on your future.

Award: $500; nonrenewable Deadline: May 9 Contact: Linda Brumleve, Kaufman & Stigger, PLLC, 7513 New La Grange Road, Louisville, KY 40222, 502.458.5555, getthetiger.com/scholarship/, scholarship@kstrial.com

Cut costs by taking more classes each semester

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Taking more classes each semester may help students cut the cost of college. That’s important if they’ll need student loans to help pay for their education.

Meinhart Smith and Manning PLLC: Improving Louisville Scholarship Eligibility: Must be a U.S. citizen or be authorized to work in the United States; be accepted and will attend a 4-year university in the fall; have at least a 3.0 GPA; be a resident of Louisville Metro or surrounding area; submit an application, 1- to 3-page typed essay, copy of high school transcript, copy of acceptance letter from an accredited university, proof of legal residency in the U.S.; and demonstrate involvement in the Louisville community.

Award: $1,000 Number: 1 Deadline: August 1 Contact: bluegrassjustice.com/scholarship/, bluegrassjustice@gmail.com

A full-time load for undergraduate students is usually 12 credit hours per semester. Associate’s degrees usually require 60 credit hours to finish, bachelor’s degrees 120 hours. At 12 hours each semester, students will need five semesters to finish an associate’s degree and 10 semesters to finish a bachelor’s degree.

But if they take 15 hours per semester, they can finish an associate’s degree in four semesters and a bachelor’s degree in eight semesters. Most colleges don’t charge more for 15 hours than they do for 12 hours. That might save students thousands of dollars in tuition and fees.

When students plan their schedules, they should think about taking that extra class each semester.

The sooner they earn their degree, the sooner they can start job hunting.

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Here are some free online resources to help you on the way to college. actstudent.org – The ACT college entrance exam site bigfuture.collegeboard.org – The College Board college planning site

online resources

cappex.com – College exploration collegeboard.org – The College Board collegegreenlight.com – College search and application process ed.gov – U.S. Department of Education fafsa.ed.gov – FAFSA on the Web fastweb.com – College scholarship search fsaid.ed.gov – FAFSA Federal Student Aid ID getschooled.com – High school graduation resources imfirst.org – Resources for first-generation college students kentuckyguard.com – Military tuition assistance kheaa.com – Career exploration, college preparation, financial aid processes and estimating tools kheslc.com – Kentucky student loans and borrower services KnowHow2Transfer.org – Transfer process, institutional transfer policies, degree program requirements, transfer scholarships and transfer contact information kygoestocollege.com – Kentucky College Application Month kysaves.com – Kentucky Education Savings Plan Trust (KESPT) kyvc.org – Kentucky Virtual Campus kyvc4k12.org – Kentucky Virtual Campus for K-12 students mappingyourfuture.org – Mapping Your Future march2success.com – ACT prep studentaid.ed.gov – Federal student aid programs thinkcollege.net – Resources for students with disabilities

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