MSURSD Catalog Reference Documents

The office of Federal Student Aid (FSA), within the U.S. Department of Education, has designated the Minority-Serving and Under Resourced Schools Division (MSURSD) as the entity to provide special support and assistance to identified institutions that are currently participating in the Title IV Federal Student Aid Programs. MSURSD is housed in FSA’s Customer Experience Office/School Experience Group. Prior to fall 2010, the group was known as Special Initiatives Services.

Federal Student Aid began emphasizing the significant role that minority-serving institutions play in educating our citizenry in the early 1990s. As a result, the Special Initiatives Services team was formed to act as a liaison with Historically Black Colleges and Universities during the initial implementation of the Direct Loan Program. Over the years, this effort has expanded to include Tribal Colleges, Hispanic Serving, Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian-Serving, and Predominantly Black Institutions. The team now works with over 700 postsecondary institutions across the country.

MSURSD provides technical assistance, on-campus site visits, specialized staff training, and internal assessments relating to:

  • Fiscal Operations Report and Application to Participate in Campus Based Programs (FISAP)

  • Verification

  • Fund Reconciliation

  • Return of Title IV Funds (R2T4)

  • Audit Resolutions

  • Policy Procedures Manual

  • Loan Default Rates

  • Common Origination and Disbursement (COD)

  • G5 Reporting (formerly GAPS - Grant Administration Payment System)

MSURSD has also established an IFAP page to provide ongoing access to select reference materials related to Title IV compliance and other administrative initiatives for its client institutions.

The MSURSD page is divided into six categories, and each category contains links to the latest, most relevant training and resources available for minority serving and under resourced schools.

The Financial Literacy Program Development materials provide targeted insight to schools on how to conceive, develop and manage financial literacy programs for their students. The Summary eLearning Course provides quick general knowledge related to establishing financial literacy programs and specific guidance on how to utilize the more detailed Staff and Trainer Workshop Modules and Toolkit sections that follow. The eLearning course also provides a briefing of the overall broader content and navigation of the MSURSD Knowledge Center page.

The Compliance materials provide some essential knowledge to help schools remain compliant with standard Federal Title IV regulations. These referenced items are a noted sample of a broader set of compliance related materials that can be found within the Knowledge Center.

Note: There are modules under this category that require a userid and password to access the FSA E-Training site. The modules with this requirement are noted on the next screen.

The Default Management and Prevention materials provide guidance on how to maintain student loan default rates commensurate with Federal regulatory guidelines at-for your institutions. These referenced items are a noted sample of a broader set of Default Management and Prevention related materials that can be found within the Knowledge Center.

The Financial Aid Basics materials provide useful insight on standard financial aid practices that facilitate institutions remaining in overall good standing in managing Federal Student Aid Programs. These referenced items are a noted sample of a broader set of Financial Aid Basics related materials that can be found within the Knowledge Center.

Note: There are modules under this category that require a userid and password to access the FSA E-Training site. The modules with this requirement are noted on the next screen.

The Financial Literacy General Content materials provide a wide assortment of financial literacy oriented documents, courses, etc. from various governmental and private sector sources that are primarily targeted to students and other end-users. These referenced items are a noted sample of a broader set of Financial Literacy related materials that can be found within the Knowledge Center.

The Hot Topics and Information materials provide select subject matter resources that MSURSD considers to be particularly informative to its schools. In addition, this section will also feature MSURSD seasonal newsletters and articles of choice.

Published: 03/28/2021