Tuesday, June 19, 2018

Advanced Opportunities Updates


Dear Colleagues,


I hope all of you are enjoying the beginning of your summer and taking much-deserved down time. This email contains some important updates related to Advanced Opportunities. 

Support Team

Please note that email address for our support team have changed to the following:
·         Stephanie Childress: schildress@sde.idaho.gov
·         Kasi Beorchia: kbeorchia@sde.idaho.gov

We are also hiring a third contractor to service Idaho regions 3 and 4.  The job is a contracting position for 7-10 hours per week. Here is a link to the job posting. Applications are due July 20th, 2018.  

AO Portal

·         MAKE UP Payments: If there are any make-up payment for FY18, they MUST be in the portal by June 30th.  The SDE is not able to pay for any courses that are not reported by June 30th.  This deadline caught many folks by surprise last year, please go through your data and payments to ensure that none of your students/courses were missed.  This is a statutory deadline and our team is not able to provide leniency in this area. Costs associated with courses that are not reported in the portal will be billed directly to the student, or in some cases, may become the responsibility of the school district.   
·         FY19 dates can be found in the document attached. Summer data needs to be entered into the portal by June 30th, giving providers the month of July to verify enrollment.  Summer courses must be submitted to the SDE by August 17th.

 

Certificate of Residency
·         For those of you who live outside of a community-college taxing district, the rumor is true: students who use Fast Forward funds no longer need to fill out the certificate of residency form.  The funds will be sent directly to the community college. It is important that the county of the student is reported accurately in order for this to be done properly.
·         If a student pays for a college course via other means (i.e., out-of-pocket, another scholarship) the student will need to fill out a COR.

Advanced Opportunities Events
·         The Advanced Opportunities Conference is October 14th-16th. We are partnering with GEAR UP West this year. You have the option of attending the full 2 ½ day conference which included AO content and also give you access all information related to advising, college and career readiness, etc. Or you can choose to come to just a one-day event (October 16th) for a fraction of the cost to get the express version of Advanced Opportunities issues.  Click here to register. Early bird pricing is available until July  14th.
·          Advanced Opportunities portal trainings will be held in August. Several of these events will be done in collaboration with the ISEE roadshow. The training schedule will be differentiated depending on your level of comfort in the portal. Please mark your calendars, and if you have a new employee coming onboard, please make sure they attend this event:
o   Region 1- Coeur d’Alene, August 21st
o   Region 2- Lewiston, August 20th
o   Region 3- Boise, August 7th
o   Region 4- Twin Falls, August 9th
o   Region 5- Pocatello, August 17th
o   Region 6- Rigby, August 8th
Thank you for all of your hard work in supporting Idaho students. Enjoy your summer and take time to enjoy your family and loved ones.

Warmly,

 
Tina