Departmental Correspondence

Financial Aid Services (FAS) requires an annual User Access Review for the secure web portals used to transmit information between institutions and the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB). The three main financial aid portals include: Higher Education Loan Management System (HelmNet), Coordinating Board Pass (CBPASS) and MOVEit DMZ.

This is a friendly reminder of upcoming deadline dates that occur during the November and December months:

 • State-Funded Campus-Based Programs

• B-On-Time (BOT) Reallocation

• Top Ten (Top 10%) Percent

• FY 2018 Financial Aid Database Certification  

• User Access Portal Review

Frequently Asked Questions Now Available on the Student Financial Aid Programs Webpage! November 1, 2018 A Little History From 2011-2015, the Grants and Special Programs team (now called Financial Aid Services) regularly published a compilation of questions and answers to provide guidance to the institutions participating in the state’s financial aid programs. The THECB Q&A’s, as they were known, were posted on our website in a PDF format. Over the years, changes to statute, rules, and program administration have made some of the answers within the documents outdated. In March 2018, the documents were removed after the announcement of a complete redesign of the Q&A’s. Feedback from the financial aid community requesting the return of the Q&A’s has prompted FAS to move in a new direction, with a more standard structure that is easily accessible and provides a simplified directory online. Student Financial Aid Programs is excited to announce the launch of a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) webpage! 

Financial Aid Services has identified two errors in the 2018-19 Texas B-On-Time (BOT) and Texas Opportunity Educational Grant (TEOG) Program Guidelines that were posted on the Student Financial Aid Programs webpage on August 22, 2018.

The B-On-Time (BOT) Counseling Completion Report has been restored and is now available through the Higher Education Loan Management (HelmNet) portal under the Allocation Lookup link.

The 2019-20 TASFA (English and Spanish version) is now available on the College For All Texans website and Student Financial Aid Programs Information webpage located under Program Resources.

Videos for SB 887 Webinars are Posted Online

The FY 2018 TEG Engagement Guide is available on the Student Financial Aid Programs Information Webpage under Program Resources.

Financial Aid Database (FAD) – Reporting Cycle Three Available – FY 2018
The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board is accepting files on August 31, 2018 for the FY 2018 (2017-18) FAD Reporting Cycle Three.

The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) has scheduled a webinar with uAspire and Sam Houston State University to assist institutions with implementation of Senate Bill (SB) 887. This webinar will provide guidance on how to effectively communicate information presented in student debt letters required by SB 887.

The Office of Student Financial Aid Programs (SFAP) would like to provide institutions with a few updates and resources that can be used throughout the upcoming year.

This memo is to make you aware of a planned system maintenance beginning at 8:00 p.m. CST, August 10, 2018 to 8:00 p.m. CST, August 12, 2018.

The Texas B-On-Time (BOT) Loan Counseling Module located on the HHloan website is experiencing technical difficulties. We are working to resolve these issues and will provide additional guidance as more information becomes available.

The Texas B-On-Time (BOT) Loan Counseling Module located on the HHloans website was experiencing technical difficulties, but is now available to student borrowers.

The Office of Student Financial Aid Programs is requesting information to gauge how the TASFA is being collected at both public and private/independent institutions of higher education. Please complete the enclosed survey by August 2, 2018.

On July 9, 2018, the 10-day allocation data review materials for the TCWS
Mentorship program were issued to institutions. Institutions were invited to
confirm that the “TCWS Mentorship Preliminary Allocation Calculation Data”
accurately reflected the data submitted to the Texas Higher Education
Coordinating Board (THECB). Institutions were allowed 10 days to review
the data. That period ended at the close of business on July 23, 2018.

Enclosed is the 2018-19 application for the Educational Aide Exemption (EAE) program. Participating institutions can begin distributing copies to eligible students and the application is also posted on the College for All Texans website under the EAE page.

The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) announces the 10-day allocation data review for the 2018-19 TCWS program at public and private/independent institutions.