• Students are no longer able to apply for CARES II funding. However, students can still apply for Emergency Grants. 
• Incoming Fall 2021 freshmen students will be subject to pre-COVID merit scholarship renewal requirements.
• Financial Aid is still developing a policy for continuing students. However, those students will not be required to meet their original merit scholarship 30-60-90 credit hour benchmarks. A different credit hour benchmark will be created for continuing students, and we hope to see that new policy before the start of the Fall 2021 semester.
• The Student Service Center (SSC) and Welcome Center have often been used interchangeably in the past. The SSC has decided to switch to only using the name Welcome Center when referencing their building and the services available there.

Things to mention to students in your appointments:

• Remind students that N grades can affect a student’s ability to meet Standard Academic Progress (SAP) by lowering their pace.
• Students need to complete FASFA verification as soon as possible to prevent a delay in financial aid disbursement. They can view their verification requirements in Academica under the Financial Aid tab. Please continue making an effort to mention this in your appointments. Students that need help completing their FASFA forms can register for a FASFA Friday event with the Financial Aid Office.
• The new SSC phone system is use and it allows students to elect to have a representative call them back when they are available. Students will need to stay on the line for a minimum of 6 minutes before getting an option to set up a call back appointment.
• Students that receive federal financial aid loans may apply unused 2020-2021 aid in the Spring/Summer semester. Students that receive Pell grants may be awarded a grant for the Spring/Summer semester if they were a full-time student in the Fall and Winter semesters. Students should be directed to Financial Aid to discuss their financial aid situation for the Spring/Summer semester, but they can also view Spring/Summer Financial Aid info here: https://wayne.edu/financial-aid/applying/spring-summer.
• The Wayne State University Student Service Center Express (SSCX) Program is an interactive virtual presentation geared towards getting students ready for the Fall semester. Students attending these events will get important information about general financial aid, billing, registration, and important academic calendar dates. Students can learn about SSCX and register for date here: https://wayne.edu/studentservice/bulletin
   

Ryan Ferrante (ak8629@wayne.edu), Elizabeth Hill (ay9449@wayne.edu), and Desmond Mack (ef2085@wayne.edu) are the advisor representatives on the committee. Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions about how students and advisors interact with the SSC or if you have ideas about how to improve the student experience working with advisors and the SSC.