2012 Cash for College Workshop Registration:

Frequently Asked Questions

• What is the Cash for College Workshop series?
• What are Cash for College Regional Coordinating Organizations?
• Who can register to host a workshop?
• What are the requirements to host a workshop?
• How do I register to conduct a workshop?
• Is there a deadline to register my 2012 workshop?
• When does the workshop series begin?
• What is the Web-based Student Exit Tool?
• What is the FAFSA Completion Pilot Program?
• How do I join the CA Student Aid Commission's Electronic Mailing List?
• Is California Cash for College on Facebook?
• Where do I order materials?
• How long will it take my materials to reach my school, campus or organization?
• Where can I get workshop tools such as presentations and other forms?
• What is the Cash for College Scholarship?
• How do students qualify for a Cash for College scholarship?
• What qualifies a workshop to offer a Cash for College scholarship?
• Who can I contact if I have more questions?

What is the Cash for College Workshop series?
California Cash for College is a partnership effort which brings together high schools, community college and university financial aid experts and community organizations to offer low-income and first-generation college-bound high school seniors and families hands-on help completing the FAFSA and other forms to apply for financial aid. Multi-lingual workshops are held each year starting in January through the March 2 Cal Grant application deadline at sites throughout the state. Many workshop sites also offer assistance for students who may not qualify for state or federal financial aid, volunteer assistance with tax forms and help researching private scholarships and other financial aid options.

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What are Cash for College Regional Coordinating Organizations?
Six regions in the state have established broad regional coalitions to plan, promote, coordinate and in many areas conduct Cash for College workshops. Regional Coordinating Organizations, or RCOs, include community organizations, college access organizations and higher eductation campuses. Each RCO coordinates planning and workshop activities to include all stakeholders locally, to ensure resources are maximized and duplication of effort is avoided. If your area is not within these coverage areas, the statewide Cash for College office will be your point of contact, at cashforcollege@csac.ca.gov

Current regional coverage areas and corresponding contacts include:

• Far North State: Butte, Del Norte, Glenn, Humboldt, Lassen, Modoc, Plumas, Shasta, Siskiyou, Tehama, and Trinity Counties. Please contact Buffy Tanner, ETS/College Options, ektanner@ucdavis.edu
• Capitol Area: Sacramento and Yolo Counties. Please contact Monica Roberts, Sacramento Cal-SOAP/ Cash for College Coalition, mroberts@scoe.net
• East Bay Area: Alameda and Contra Costa Counties. Please contact Cynthia Gonzalez, East Bay Cal-SOAP/Cash for College Coalition, cynthia@eastbayconsortium.org
• South San Joaquin Valley: Kern County. Please contact Oscar Luna, Kern County Cash for College Coalition, osluna@kem.org
• Los Angeles: Los Angeles County. Please contact Alma Salazar, Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce, asalazar@lachamber.com
• San Diego: San Diego and Imperial Counties. Please contact Linda Doughty, San Diego Cal-SOAP Consortium, ldoughty@ucsd.edu

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Who can register to host a workshop?
College and university campuses, high schools, Regional Coordinating Organizations, government and community organizations can offer workshops.

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What are the requirements to host a workshop?
Cash for College is a partnership effort of high schools, colleges/universities, or community groups and the State of California. Cash for College offers a range of tools and support to Cash for College organizers to plan for, promote and conduct a FAFSA financial aid workshop. Cash for College also asks workshop organizers for assistance in outreach and evaluation to make the workshop and scholarship program successful. Below is a list of what Cash for College workshop organizers are offered and what is asked as part of the partnership.

What we offer workshop organizers:

• $1,000 incentive scholarships to be offered at qualifying 2012 Cash for College workshops, to encourage high school seniors to apply for federal and state aid. More information on the 2012 scholarship program is available at www.calgrants.org. Workshop organizers are provided an opportunity to announce recipients in late May or early June, 2012, when recipient selection is complete and available. To help notify recipients, organizers are provided template scholarship award notification letters and lists of recipient names at their Cash for College secure online account.
• Access to the secure CCFC Workshop Management system, at www.calgrants.org, to register your workshop, create user accounts, order workshop materials, access student web-based workshop survey results, access student contact information for financial aid follow-up purposes, request site support funds, and receive rosters of scholarship recipients and scholarship materials.
• Financial Aid Power Point presentations that provide a step-by-step guide on completing the FAFSA on the Web Worksheet. Presentations will be downloadable from the Tools Page under For Organizers at www.calgrants.org.
• Access to individual student exit survey data within each organization account for student follow-up assistance. For each workshop site that uses the CCFC web-based exit survey tool, workshop data is available at the time of the workshop(s) and beyond the March 2 deadline.
• A collection of customizable planning tools (i.e. sign in sheets, templates, scholarship recognition letters, and student surveys) to help coordinate and implement a successful workshop. These tools can be found on the Resources page in your organization's account.
• Coordination of local, regional and statewide marketing efforts to increase participant attendance;
• Access to available marketing resources through the online materials ordering process;
• Access to specialized trainings, resources or support (i.e. using the CCFC Workshop Management System, volunteer financial aid training, launching the web-based survey tool, web-based check-out tool, AB540, the California Dream Act of 2011, presentation materials and guidebooks)
• Access to coalitions of Cash for College RCOs, where applicable, to help direct students and parents to your workshop. Click here for a list of Regional Coordinating Organizations.
• Site support in the amount of $300 is offered to the school or organization conducting the workshop. Sites must return 25 or more student evaluations to apply for site support funds. These funds are meant to help defray the costs of the workshops, including, but not limited to, materials, janitorial service, community site space rental or other needs to conduct the workshop.

What we ask of workshop organizers:

• Use the Cash for College Workshop Management System to register workshops and other tasks associated with holding a workshop. Workshop registration will close by December 21, 2011. Any request to register new workshops after December 21 will need to be requested in writing to the statewide office at cashforcollege@csac.ca.gov for review.
• Complete the California Cash for College Outreach Action Plan prior to registering your workshop.
• Prioritize workshop offerings to low-income populations and first-generation college-bound students.
• Use the California Cash for College posters, flyers, Facebook fan page, and other tools for student, parent, school and community outreach.
• Provide students and their parents/guardians line-by-line assistance on the FAFSA and direct students to verify their Cal Grant GPA during the months of January and February and up to the March 2nd Cal Grant deadline. Provide California Dream Act information to students who may be eligible.
• Participate in the continuing FAFSA completion initiative to encourage California high school sites to establish secure WebGrants accounts through the California Student Aid Commission. Using WebGrants school accounts, the Commission will provide FAFSA completion rosters to high school sites during the 2012 Cal Grant application window. At a minimum, your organization will ask and encourage your high school Cash for College sites to join the Commission's online e-mail list to receive communications about establishing or renewing secure WebGrants school accounts.
• Aggressively promote the California Cash for College scholarship prior to your workshop(s).
• Assist statewide CCFC with informing scholarship recipients when scholarships are announced in late May or early June, 2012. Rosters, letter templates and FAQs are provided in organization accounts.
• Offer additional language support at workshops, specific to local needs.
• Offer available Internet-connected computers at workshop.
• Use attendance sign-in sheets at workshops and return copies to your regional or statewide office.
• At each workshop, provide participant access to the web-based Cash for College exit survey, or the official 2012 paper-based exit survey. If your site uses prior-year exit surveys, this will cause a delay in scholarship processing. Any paper-based surveys need to be gathered at the time of the workshop and return to the statewide or regional office no later than Friday, March 9, 2012. Web-based exit surveys are securely submitted online at the time of the workshop and do not require any further processing.
• Following the March 2 deadline, using the online tool provided at the Cash for College site, apply for site support funds, provide a summary of student and parent attendance and other relevant workshop information to help evaluate the workshop series.

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How do I register to conduct a workshop?
Visit the Cash for College Registration Site to create your online account.

1. Read through and accept the online Partnership Agreement,
2. Create your outreach plan,
3. Request your dates, locations and time of workshops, and
4. Order materials after you have requested a workshop.

We will confirm your registration and activate your dates and times for the online listing so that students and parents can locate workshops nearest to them. Activation may take a few days or up to a week, depending on the volume of requests received. You will receive an email from us confirming when your workshops are activated and posted online. Our goal is to confirm and activate all workshops for the online listing prior to the December 21st deadline.

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Is there a deadline to register my 2012 workshop?
Yes, the deadline to register your 2012 Cash for College workshop is Wednesday December 21, 2011.

We are providing a two (2) month registration window to allow organizers enough time to plan and prepare for a successful workshop.

If the December deadline is approached and you need additional time to secure a location or confirm a workshop time, please contact the statewide office at cashforcollege@csac.ca.gov. Any requests that are made after the registration deadline will likely not be accepted.

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When does the workshop series begin?
The 2012 Cash for College workshop series begins in January and up to the March 2 Cal Grant deadline.

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What is the Web-based Student Exit Survey Tool?
Each year, Cash for College students are asked to complete an exit survey at the end of the workshop to help evaluate progress in helping students successfully apply for as much financial aid as possible. The exit survey is also a high school senior’s entry form into the scholarship program. For workshops that offer Internet-connected computers, using the web-based exit survey is highly encouraged.

Sites that use the web-based exit survey will have access to student contact information to follow up with students on their FAFSA application status. A web-based exit survey also increases the quality of survey data so that Cal Grant application and awards for Cash for College participants can be tracked. If you are interested to learn more about the web-based feature, please contact the statewide Cash for College coordinator at cashforcollege@csac.ca.gov.

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What is the FAFSA Completion Program?
The California Student Aid Commission is providing high school sites with a current WebGrants school account FAFSA completion rosters. For the a second year, high school sites will have access to the FAFSA completion status of all high school seniors. It is our goal that all high schools have access to this valuable information. At a minimum, Cash for College workshop organizers will ask and encourage high school Cash for College sites to join the Commission’s online e-mail list to receive training information to establish or renew secure WebGrants school accounts.

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How do I join the CA Student Aid Commission’s Electronic Mailing list?
To sign up for the CSAC List Services go to the CSAC List-Serv Subscription Services page at www.csac.ca.gov/subscription.asp. The choices are "Professional information" or "Public information." Workshop organizers please select "Professional."

• Enter the following Username and password:
  Username: students
  Password (case sensitive): 1SEC2001
• Next, type in your email address, and choose the list you want to join.
  • "College Financial Aid Administrators (CAA) - Professionals (Operations Memos, Alerts and Policy Bulletins)."
  • “High School Professionals (HSP) - (GPA Verification Forms and Guidelines)”
• Click "Submit."

After you submit the request, you will receive an email from the CSAC Help Desk confirming that a request for subscription from your email address was received and if that is correct you should reply to the email. After you reply to the email, you will be subscribed and will start receiving updates, memos, etc.

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Is California Cash for College on Facebook?
Yes. “Like” our “Cash for College California” fan page at www.facebook.com/Cash.for.College.California, and encourage your students to do so. We post year-round workshop and financial aid information.

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Where do I order materials?
When you’ve logged into your account and request your workshop, you can click on the Orders link to place your workshop materials orders. Materials will be shipped to you from the CSAC warehouse.

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How long will it take my materials to reach my school, campus or organization?
Please note, we are handling shipping differently this year. We will not be asking for a “need by” date.

We will ship approved orders 6 to 8 weeks from the start of your first workshop. If your first workshop is being held in mid January, your materials will be shipped in mid-November. A Ship Date will be provided on your order, which is saved to your account. Please allow two days for orders shipped to southern California, and one day for northern California orders. Orders going to more remote areas may take an additional day for delivery.

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Where can I get workshop tools such as presentations and other forms?
Presentation materials can be accessed at the Cash for College Organizer page. Also, there will be additional resources in your organization account. If you cannot locate the current materials on the website, please do not use outdated materials. Please do not hesitate to contact the regional or statewide office to obtain updated information at cashforcollege@csac.ca.gov.

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What is the Cash for College Scholarship?
The Cash for College Scholarship is a $1,000 incentive scholarship to assist students in applying for as much state and federal financial aid as possible. Learn more about scholarships here.

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How do students qualify for a Cash for College scholarship?
High school seniors who attend a Cash for College workshop, complete a student exit survey, and complete and send the required 2012-13 FAFSA and 2012-13 Cal Grant GPA Verification forms by the March 2 Cal Grant deadline, could qualify for a scholarship. High school seniors who are eligible for in-state tuition may also qualify for this scholarship. After the March 2 deadline, recipients will be randomly selected to receive a scholarship. Awards will be announced in late May or early June of 2012. To claim the scholarship, recipients must enroll in Fall 2012 and pursue an Associates or Bachelors degree path at an accredited 2-year or 4-year public or private degree granting institution in the nation.

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What qualifies a workshop to offer a Cash for College scholarship?
A workshop must be registered prior to the workshop date. Student exit surveys (either web or paper-based) must be collected at the workshop and returned to the regional or statewide office as soon as possible following each workshop. For sites using the web-based exit surveys are electronically submitted to the Cash for College website as soon as the student completes the survey.

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Who can I contact if I have more questions?
You can contact your Cash for College Regional Coordinating Organization described in the above FAQs. If you are not working within those coverage areas, or have general questions, please send an email message to the statewide coordinator, Despina Costopoulos, at cashforcollege@csac.ca.gov.

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