An overview of the options and opportunities postsecondary institutions should consider when developing plans for student aid automation is provided. The role of automation in the financial aid office, interfaces with institutional and external systems, alternative approaches to automation, and the need for an institutional strategy for automation…

The INFAMOUS financial aid data system which has five participants--registrar, undergraduate admissions, graduate admissions, academic information reporting, and financial aid--is described. Sample letters to financial aid applicants are included. (MLW)

The College Scholarship Service guide to implementing financial aid data processing systems is presented, based on conferences that promoted information exchange between data processing and financial aid administrators. The following topics are addressed: long-range planning, the rationale and organizational basis for financial aid, specific…