University of Alaska Fairbanks
PAE-10: Affordability and Access Programs

UAF TRiO Programs will be celebrated TRiO Day on Feb. 20, 2011 with a banquet honoring high-achieving students in the Wood Center Ballroom. TRiO programs help first-generation, low-income and disabled students complete four-year degrees. TRiO programs at UAF include Upward Bound, which provides an early college experience, and Student Support Services, which offers tutoring, mentoring, social and cultural engagement, and access to educational resources. http://www.uafcornerstone.com/?p=556

Submitting a completed application, along with necessary documents, begins the process of determining who will get federal aid. An analysis of your ability to pay is compared with UAF's standard expense budget. If the amount of money available is less than total college expenses, you have a financial need and are eligible for aid.

The financial aid office sponsors the 'I'm Going to College' program each year for students from local Title I elementary and middle schools.

http://www.uaf.edu/finaid/types/scholarships/ Approximately 20% of UAF's privately-funded scholarship have a "financial need" requirement or preference.

The financial aid office sponsors College Goal Sunday to help parents and students become familiar with federal aid programs and complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. The Admissions and Orientation offices have a parent component to their campus tours, inside/out program and new student orientation.

http://www.uaf.edu/finaid/forms/ UAF offers the full range of federal student aid including Pell grants, Supplemental Education Opportunity Grant (SEOG) subsidized and unsubsidized federal student loans, and federal parent loans. We also administer state grants, state and alternative loans to interested students and process scholarship awards from outside agencies such as Native corporations, community service groups, and honor societies. The University of Alaska Foundation administered approximately 380 privately-funded scholarships for UAF students.

I'm Going to College I'm Going to College at UAF is sponsored by NELA (Northwestern Education Load Association), ACPE (Alaska Commission on Postsecondary Education), University of Alaska College Savings Plan, and the UAF Financial Aid Office. 5th and 6th graders from local elementary schools receive activity books that prepare them for college life. After they have completed the workbook, students are brought on campus to experience at day in college. UAF staff, students and faculty volunteer to teach 45 minute hands-on classes for the elementary school students. Classes vary from Chemistry and Geo-caching to foreign languages and music. Lunch is served at Lola Tilly Commons with the student athletes and the day ends with a tour of the UAF Campus. The students receive T-shirts and backpacks as part of their day at UAF. The UAF Main Campus has hosted over 2,450 elementary school students as part of the IGTC program! In the fall of 2010, an IGTC event was held at the UAF Community and Technical College. I Know I Can I Know I Can is sponsored by the University of Alaska, UA College Savings Plan and the Alaska Commission on Postsecondary Education. The program is designed for 2nd graders in local elementary schools. UAF staff, alumni and student athletes visit classrooms and read the book "I Know I Can," which is a story about animal characters deciding what they want to be when they grow up. The volunteers discuss their own educational and work experiences. The students receive a postcard and draw themselves in their desired profession. The postcards are collected and mailed back to the students at the end of the 6th grade. Each elementary school student also receives a copy of the book. Finan¢ial $ense Program Students graduating from college in Alaska have an average of $28,000 in student loan debt. The UAF Financial Aid Office has created a financial literacy program to help reduce that number. The Finan¢ial $ense Program started during the fall semester of 2008. Workshops are held once a week while classes are in session. Topics have included: Budgeting Your Money, Understanding Credit, Determining Your Money Personality and Financial Aid 101. Additional topics are added each semester. On February 1, 2010, the Financial Aid Office sponsored the first annual Finan¢ial $ense Day. The day consisted of 15 financial literacy workshops taught by UAF staff and members of the Fairbanks community, a financial resource fair and staffed computer lab hours for assistance with scholarship applications and federal financial aid forms. The event was open to UAF students, local high school students and the Fairbanks community. The workshop topics for the day included: Student Loan Repayment, Writing a Scholarship Essay, Debt Management, Cost of Credit, Basic Investing Information and Tax Filing Basics. Over 175 people participated in Finan¢ial $ense Day. The program continued on February 1 in 2011 and an event is scheduled for 2012. During the first two years of the event, over 540 people attended a workshop offered for Finan¢ial $ense Day. College Goal Sunday College Goal Sunday is sponsored by a Lumina Foundation grant and the Coalition of Alaskans Supporting Higher Education (CASHE). The event provides on-site expert assistance for completing the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid). Staff from the Financial Aid Office, as well as other UAF volunteers are available for line-by-line assistance of the federal form and for basic questions. The first College Goal Sunday took place in 2005 in 7 Alaskan communities. In 2010, the event was offered in 26 communities across the state. College Goal Sunday is open to any incoming college student, regardless of where they plan to attend college and is usually held the Sunday before or after Super Bowl Sunday. Workshops The Financial Aid Office hosts workshops throughout the year as part of the Finan¢ial $ense Program. We also attend each local high school’s events, including Senior Night, Financial Aid Night, NCAA workshops and Freshman Parent Night. We offer presentations for college and high school students during the school day at the invitation of teachers. You may also see a representative from the Financial Aid Office at various events and fairs in the Fairbanks area. We end each spring with a workshop geared towards graduating high school seniors and parents entitled "Financial Aid: What You Need to Know Now." This workshop focuses on any changed that may have occurred since the high school nights earlier in the year, as well as how to follow up with financial aid awards.