About

Who We Are

FA Solutions is not only a dependable and responsive financial aid servicer, we also think and behave like a genuine partner of our schools. We’re highly experienced, but also friendly, passionate, and motivated by the work we do, while fully understanding the importance of the role that we play.

Many of our team members have held senior leadership positions in financial aid departments in all types of post-secondary institutions with an average of 20 plus years of experience. They know first-hand the benefits of partnering with a financial aid provider that is as invested in the process as the school. Our staff understands and embraces that our mission is to keep your students moving smoothly through the financial aid process.

What We Believe

We don’t settle for mediocrity and neither should you. Just as a school needs to be selective when they choose a new servicing partner, at FA Solutions, we use the same amount of care when selecting partners; we insist on a good cultural fit.

With over 8 years in business and partnering with close to 100 higher education institutions, we offer an extremely competitive file processing turnaround of 48 – 72 hours for most standard applications and a bit longer for students that have been selected for verification. Our staff has experience with the most popular platforms including CampusVue®, Powerfaids®, PeopleSoft®, Regent 8, Empower, and the Ellucian® Suite of products.

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Our Team

Meet some of the FA Solutions team.

Brenda Wright

Chief Operating Officer

Brenda is the Founder and Chief Operating Officer at FA Solutions LLC. She is a well-respected industry expert in financial aid operations who has more than 20 years of experience in executive roles at major colleges and universities. Brenda is responsible for leading the overall operations strategy and oversight of Financial Aid Processing, Technology, Consulting, Audit, and the Student Experience Center.

Just prior to forming FA Solutions LLC, Brenda was COO at University Financial Aid Solutions. She also served as the Assistant Vice President of Student Financial Services at Saint Leo University, and the Director of Student Financial Services at the State University of New York at Albany. Brenda’s core strengths in Financial Aid include compliance, process automation, and leadership.

Brenda holds bachelor’s degree in both Accounting as well as Economics from Mansfield University (NY) and a master’s degree in Management from St. John Fisher College (NY).

Brenda loves training for and running marathons. She is also a foodie at heart and enjoys both cooking in and dining out. Brenda loves to vacation including cruising, the beach, and Napa Valley.

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Bridget McGuire

Bridget McGuire

Vice President of Operations

Bridget is Vice President, Financial Aid Operations at FA Solutions LLC. In her role, Bridget ensures the teams deliver a quality, accurate financial aid solution including processing and customer service. She works with the internal and external teams to determine and document efficient solutions.

Previously, Bridget served as VP of Financial Aid at 3 large institutions for 20 years, managing the day to day financial processes for multi-site/state locations. Bridget had worked in financial aid since graduating from college.  She is versed in a variety of financial aid delivery systems along with various funding sources and structures for awarding. “I enjoy taking the complicated financial aid process and making it easy to understand for schools and students.” says, Bridget

Bridget holds the master’s degree in Enrolment Management from Capella University.

Bridget enjoys spending time with family, binge watching Netflix and occasionally reading a good mystery/ thriller book.

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Frequently Asked Questions

If your questions are not answered here, please contact us.

Yes. We are available for both on-site and remote assistance on a short or long-term basis. When FA Solutions was first established one of our goals was to offer complete redundancy of coverage in the event of a natural disaster. To do this, we invested heavily in cloud based technology to allow for remote staffing, while also allowing our employees to travel to unaffected areas so that work could be performed and service to students could continue with limited, or no interruption. Over the years this set-up has been heavily tested and fully operational, and we continue to provide uninterrupted service through the COVID-19 crisis.

Absolutely. Everyone deserves the right to be cost-sensitive and receive good value for resources spent, and we keep this in mind as we customize our servicing solutions to fit the needs of each school that we work with. FA Solutions’ goal is to provide high level, quality services that add value to your institution. Our entire team is fully committed to delivering excellent service with superior results.

Our service costs are assessed monthly and are based upon the number of students served. We can provide a detailed and customized proposal based upon the projected programs in which your institution participates and the number of projected students to be processed can be supplied.

Most services can be on boarded within 15 to 30 business days and some as little as 10 depending upon the services needed.

FA Solutions’ provides interim staffing from counselor to director level during busy processing and enrollment periods, for replacement staffing, and to fill vacancies resulting from staff turnover or medical or maternity leaves. Our experienced financial aid professionals provide support remotely for certain functions, processes, or full positions. Remote staffing saves institutions a significant amount of financial resources by not having to charge for travel, lodging, meals, and other miscellaneous expenses normally incurred when interim staffing is required to be done on site at the institution itself. However, on-site interim staffing solutions are also available.

Our staffing solutions are offered at a cost that is typically more favorable than hiring equally qualified and talented employees in-house or outsourcing to other third-party consulting firms.

Yes. FA Solutions offers a customizable remote verification service that follows all Department of Education policies and procedures and ensures that the school’s methods, policies and procedures align with federal regulations. Our Verification Specialists can handle part or all of the verification process and will make updates in your school-base system. They review documents for completion and 100% accuracy, and our internal audit team adds assists by conducting secondary reviews of a percentage of verifications. Our Verification Specialists also provide real time support by phone and live chat for any questions that your staff may have.

Our Student Experience Center (SEC) team of professional Financial Aid Advisers and Enrollment Specialists can advise your students on how to complete the verification process. They can also provide extra support by reaching out to students to remind them to submit missing documents. The SEC is available as an added service.

Yes. FA Solutions offers a comprehensive Financial Aid Department Regulatory and Operational Assessment; this proactive evaluation identifies potential regulatory liabilities and the cause(s) of processing inefficiencies. Our team of compliance professionals will conduct an in-depth review of financial aid files, policies and procedures, reports and records, identifying possible issues of noncompliance in all areas, such as budgets, file verification, awards, return of Title IV funds, disbursements, consumer information requirements, dependency overrides and other professional judgment decisions.

Following this review, we will provide a written improvement plan that includes recommendations for specific corrective actions based on best practices to reduce compliance risks, improve file processing and workflow, as well as streamline operational efficiencies. We can also be engaged to assist with implementing the plan.

We recommend that institutions request the assessment well in advance of any serious concerns to allow ample time to make any adjustments or corrections needed prior to a request from the Department of Education for an official audit.

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Have any questions? Give us a call.

  • 1-727-300-6336

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