| DCLPublicationDate: 1/1/98 DCLID: GEN-98-4 AwardYear: Summary: This letter announces the staffing of the Institutional improvement Specialist for each Case Management Team in the Institutional Participation and Oversight Service, the functions that the Specialists perform, and their names and addresses. JANUARY 1998 GEN-98-4 SUMMARY: This letter announces the staffing of the Institutional Improvement Specialist for each Case Management Team in the Institutional Participation and Oversight Service, the functions that the Specialists perform, and their names and addresses. Dear Colleague: The Institutional Participation and Oversight Service is the administrative unit within the Department of Education responsible for oversight of the institutions which participate in Title IV Student Financial Assistance Programs (SFAP). The Service completed a reorganization in 1996 which involved assigning the responsibility for most oversight functions to ten regional Case Management Teams. A Dear Colleague letter (GEN-97-5) describing the changes in the Service was mailed to all institutions in June, 1997. In addition to improving organizational effectiveness, the purpose of the changes was to position the Service to extend the range of technical assistance available to institutions participating in Title IV programs. To this end, the Service has developed the position of Institutional Improvement Specialist. We are pleased to announce that this position is staffed in each of the Case Management Teams and that the targeted technical assistance they offer is available now to institutions. The Specialist is responsible for implementing the compliance improvement function in the Case Management Team, just as others on the team are responsible for the functions of eligibility/recertification, audit resolution, financial statement analysis, and program review. The Specialist, utilizing Department resources, improves compliance by offering targeted technical assistance and presentations on Service-related policies and procedures. The technical assistance can be offered to groups of institutions sharing a common need or to individual institutions -- either directly by the Specialist or by referral to other SFAP resources. This technical assistance may be offered over the phone, in writing, at the regional office, at a workshop, or on site at the institution. In all instances the Specialist will coordinate with appropriate offices within SFAP to develop a technical assistance strategy that builds on and does not duplicate other available resources and that meets the need defined by the Case Management Team. Institutions may also request technical assistance. This new position gives the Service the opportunity to improve customer service, and to further enhance ongoing technical assistance with the Case Management Teams. The Specialist expands the technical assistance and customer service beyond that provided to the Quality Assurance schools by the Quality Assurance Program team. Please note that this new position is in addition to the Training Officers in each region. The Training Officers will continue to address the national training needs of the financial aid community. Likewise, those institutions participating in the Direct Loan Program should continue to use the technical assistance resources provided by the Direct Loan Client Account Managers. Working cooperatively, the Institutional Improvement Specialists, the Training Officers, and the Client Account Managers will provide technical assistance that draws on their collective resources. A list of the Area Case Director and the Institutional Improvement Specialist for each team is enclosed. Requests for presentations or workshops -- whether they be on compliance issues or Service-related policy and procedures -- should be made by writing to the Area Case Director serving your area. In your request, please include the topic(s) that you would like addressed, and any other pertinent information that you would like to be considered. Every effort will be made to accommodate requests for such presentations; however the Service must make decisions based on existing staff and budget resources. Please feel free to contact the Specialist serving your area if you would like to discuss the targeted technical assistance services that we can offer. We are confident that the staffing of this new position, along with the restructuring of IPOS, will result in better service to institutions. Sincerely, Marianne R. Phelps Director, Institutional Participation and Oversight Service Jeanne VanVlandren Deputy Director, Institutional Participation and Oversight Service Enclosure: IPOS Case Management Team Contacts: Area Case Directors and Institutional Improvement Specialists Attachment |