Florida Resident Access Grant (FRAG)

Changes as a result of the 2009 Florida Legislature Session. The following are the key points that you should know about:

FRAG: The 0910 annual FRAG award will be $2,529 ($1,265 for fall and $1,264 for winter). This is a reduction of $308 from the 0809 annual award.

Per Dr. Brown:

The OSFA has developed the following action plan and would appreciate assistance from your staff in reminding students of the urgency to submit a completed and signed State Aid Application along with the required legible residency documentation.

ESS has implemented the following action plan.

• We have communicated the residency requirement to all students who received Florida state aid in Fall 2008 or who are eligible to receive Florida state aid in Winter 2009. The communication included the new state regulation requiring NSU to collect proof of residency, a link to the new 2008-2009 State Aid Application that includes a list of the documentation that is acceptable for proof of residency, and the contact number for the financial aid office. To date, a total of 744 students have submitted proof of residency.
• Students who have submitted incomplete documentation for proof of residency have been notified via letter and telephone.
• A reminder communication has been sent to students who have not completed the requirement. The reminder includes instructions on completing the application, submission options (drop-off to the OSS, mail, or fax), a statement that students will not receive their Winter 2009 disbursement of state aid until the requirement is met, and a link to the 2008-2009 State Aid Application. This will be a daily reminder.
• We have established a FRAG Hotline (866-775-3575) to assist students who may have questions about the new requirement. The Hotline is available between 6 a.m. and 12:30 a.m., Monday through Friday, and between 8:30 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.
• We have updated the call “’hold” greeting message to include information about the new requirement for Florida undergraduate students.
• We have posted the reminder communication on the NSU website and on WebSTAR. We are also working to include some of this information on the eBill statement and on SharkLink.
• We have developed colored fliers that have been delivered to Undergraduate Admissions, Advising Centers, residence halls, the HPD information desk, the University Center, the SECs, and the library.
• We are monitoring the receipt of documents daily and will ensure that state aid disbursements are made as soon as the systems are updated (after disbursements begin today, Monday, January 12).

Student should contact the financial aid hotline if they should have any questions.

All students who receive FRAG will have until the end of January to provide documentation proving their Florida residency. If a student is expecting a disbursement of aid on Monday, the documentation is due today. If the documentation is not received by today, those students will have their aid disbursed later, after the documentation has been received.

Please note that dependent students must provide their parents’ license (or other appropriate documentation), not their own. If they submit their own license at the OSS, there is a chance no one will “stop” them to verify. Therefore, it is likely the student will think he/she is in compliance when he/she is not.