This workshop will provide resources and advice for those looking to start a financial literacy program on their campus. We will discuss current research that can be used with administrators to solicit support for this initiative and the types of programming that can be included. This session has a follow-up interest session Sunday afternoon featuring task force members discussing examples from their own campuses from across the MASFAA region from various school sectors.
Any leader faces challenges and obstacles, but women leaders are faced with a range of challenges that are unique to them. Effective leaders in the financial aid profession do not come from one mold. Come to this session to hear a panel of female Chief Financial Aid Officers, from diverse backgrounds and institutions, talk about how they have worked toward overcoming obstacles and used their leadership and management styles to succeed.
We will take a look at your options for getting answers to the tough compliance questions, as well as take an inventory of the training resources available to financial aid professionals.
How can we talk about financial aid in such a way that helps students and their families actually understand it? Using strategic thought and planning, learn about the trends and tools that can guide you and your financial aid communication strategy.
To continue the discussion from the pre-conference session, this interest session will focus on implementation and best practices of financial wellness initiatives. MASFAA Financial Literacy Task Force members will discuss examples from their own campuses across the MASFAA region from various school sectors.
The role of financial aid continues to change in today's higher education landscape. As a result, financial administrators continue to be at the table more with competing priorities–and staying compliant and ethical! This presentation discuss the competing forces at play such as merit vs need, degree completion and lifetime limits, flexibility and compliance. It will be an active discussion on where and how financial aid fits in the world of enrollment management.
Colleges and universities face increased scrutiny related to student retention and persistence of students of color. This presentation will provide attendees with strategies to assist them in their plight to retain students of color on their campuses.
Featured on ABC, NBC, and Fox news affiliates, EJ Carrion is the #1 Amazon Best Selling author of Accelerate Your Success: How to Create a Future and Stand Out When College is Not Enough. This book teaches students how to market and brand themselves when everyone is going to college... Read More →
Sunday October 6, 2019 7:00pm - 8:00pm CDT
Ballroom A/B/C
Paula Luff is currently the Associate Vice President of Enrollment Services for DePaul University. She has nearly 30 years of experience as a financial aid administrator and has worked with financial aid professionals across the country while serving in state, regional and national... Read More →
Monday October 7, 2019 8:30am - 9:45am CDT
Ballroom A/B/C
We’ve all been there: a missed deadline, bills being sent without notice, not knowing when grades will post so we can run SAP. But developing an operational calendar for financial aid-related functions can help you stay on top of these things like a boss. Learn the benefits of having an operational calendar, and discuss what to include and who to involve when creating your own.
NASFAA launched its new Certified Financial Aid Administrator™ (CFAA) Program, a first-in-the-industry effort that validates the skills and knowledge of financial aid professionals at postsecondary institutions across state, regional, and national levels. Designed to complement practitioners’ on-the-job expertise, this voluntary certification is designed especially for financial aid administrators at colleges and universities across the country. Learn from a CFAA Commission Member and other MASFAA members who were among the first to earn the CFAA designation why it is important and how you can become a Certified Financial Aid Administrator™ (CFAA).
Learn more about the NASFAA Diversity Toolkit and how you might implement this in your office. Familiarize yourself with the challenges, successes and forward-thinking strategies to foster a more diverse and inclusive environment for your office and the students and families you serve.
This session intertwines first hand experiences from a social worker turned financial aid adviser. We will explore difficult student topics (financial fit, homelessness, food insecurity) and the subsequent emotions (sadness, anger, denial) we face during these challenging conversations. Beyond processing special circumstances reviews, what can we do to feel confident in assisting students who need it the most?
Do you hate public speaking, but have to do it for your career? We all know that speaking in front of an audience can be quite nerve wrecking! Not to worry! In this interactive session you will learn how to overcome obstacles and speak like a champion in front of an audience.
In this session, we will address common Subsidized Usage Limit Applies (SULA) misunderstandings, many of which can lead to errors in reporting. We’ll begin with an overview of concepts and the requirements of the 150% limit. Then we will delve into how reporting mistakes and some processing shortcuts can impact a borrower’s subsidized loan eligibility or result in a loss of subsidy. Guidance will be provided on how to configure a loan when remaining subsidized eligibility is less than 1.0 year.
If you plan to attend this federal training session, please register at https://cvent.me/kMM0EY.
Training Officer, Federal Student Aid, U.S. Department of Education
Zack Goodwin joined the Education Department training team in 2014, after serving for 20 years in higher education administration at graduate schools, liberal arts colleges, and comprehensive universities in the Midwest and New England. Most recently he acted as Harvard University’s... Read More →
Monday October 7, 2019 10:00am - 11:15am CDT
Lilac B
Associate Professor and Distinguished Professor of Servant Leadership, Viterbo University
Thomas Thibodeau is a husband, father, grandfather, and teacher from Wisconsin Rapids who has done nothing since coming to Viterbo in 1984 but inspire students and change the world. He is the Distinguished Professor of Servant leadership at Viterbo University where he has been teaching... Read More →
Monday October 7, 2019 11:30am - 12:30pm CDT
Ballroom A/B/C
Student Success is not an accident, it is a team effort! As you may know, many students face obstacles and challenges which prevent them from unlocking their full potential and can possibly inhibit their success. Your goal to guide, encourage, and support them on their path to success may benefit from a boost. Our goal at Attigo® is to offer a new generation of tools and services that can help improve persistence, turn delinquency into repayment success, and empower your students to make solid financial choices. Using our decades of experience we have built a suite of proven solutions that are easy to implement and cost-effective. Through our student debt letter – The College Cost Meter, to our financial and student wellness resources – GradReady, and our borrower outreach and contact center – Cohort Catalyst and Higher Education Support Services team, we are here to help students succeed. Join us to learn how Attigo can help drive your students to degree completion and team up with you to help your students be the champions of tomorrow!
Whether you realize it or not, you're improvising every day. To improvise is to compose and perform or deliver without previous preparation. Think back to your conversations today with friends, family, co-workers, students, more often than not, those conversations were not planned out. You spoke from your head and your heart. Improv teaches you to think on your feet, actively listen, be in the moment. This session will use improv exercises to build upon your interpersonal and communication skills to increase confidence, creativity, innovation, communication, teamwork, and leadership. It will prepare you to react and adapt in meetings, student appointments, presentations, and those times your boss "needs an answer now." You will learn the core improv foundations that include yes and, listening, support, and support (Yes, it is in there twice as support is crucial for improv).
MASFAA is championing the path for the future with the MASFAA Strategic Plan 2020-2023. This session will provide an update of the process along with a review of the five strategic goals and supporting objectives.
This session explains the connection between Student Financial Aid and Intercollegiate Athletics. Colleges and universities must have offices outside of Athletics that stay current on best practices and devote significant time and energy to the processes that keep them in compliance. These tasks deserve intentional, energetic, open-minded dedication by the individual with an intrinsic drive to understand why they are upholding the institution’s commitment to doing what the NCAA expects. Presenters from student-facing employees to directors will explain their role in the administration of Student Financial Aid for Intercollegiate Athletics.
Session participants will discuss a range of policy ideas and best practices that meet verification requirements and minimize the obstacles put in the paths of our champions of tomorrow. Bring your verification policies to share.
This session will focus on the important information your institution needs to know about the Perkins Loan Program now that the program has expired. There will be detailed discussion on requirements for reporting (FISAP and on NSLDS), assigning loans to the Department, distributing the assets from the Perkins Loan Revolving Fund, servicing your institution’s portfolio, and more.
If you plan to attend this federal training session, please register at https://cvent.me/kMM0EY.
Training Officer, Federal Student Aid, U.S. Department of Education
Zack Goodwin joined the Education Department training team in 2014, after serving for 20 years in higher education administration at graduate schools, liberal arts colleges, and comprehensive universities in the Midwest and New England. Most recently he acted as Harvard University’s... Read More →
Monday October 7, 2019 1:30pm - 2:30pm CDT
Lilac B
Whether you call it financial literacy, financial education, or something else altogether, most higher education professionals are aware of the growing trend to help students manage their money in school and beyond. While some colleges have dedicated offices and budgets to support such programs, other institutions struggle to justify investing in an initiative that may or may not yield beneficial results. This presentation provides a basis for calculating the “ROI of financial education,” and examples of institutional success through financial education initiatives.
Do you ever want to make changes in your organization, but don’t know where to start? Come to this session to learn ways to make changes within your organization and across campus. From staff meetings, processing aid, and creating or updating policies, changes can be something colleagues welcome. Whether you’re a seasoned professional, or new to the field, there is something for everyone. Of course, they’ll be time to share experiences, so don’t miss out.
Preparing students for financial success is difficult enough when they are in front of you. How do you engage them when separated by distance, time, or both? Indiana University Online has developed a model to deliver financial aid guidance to online students at all points in their academic careers. Learn how IU Online worked to identify the unique needs of its students, created collaborative partnerships for service delivery, and provides quality financial aid support. The discussion will detail how IU Online leveraged its customer relationship management software, learning management system, and website to reach its students. Whether working with distance education students or simply students at a distance, learn best practices to help your students become financial champions.
Here we will review recent updates to the Gainful Employment (GE) rules, including the rescission effective July 1, 2020. This is also an opportunity for schools who have implemented the rescission early to share and discuss best practices.
If you plan to attend this federal training session, please register at https://cvent.me/kMM0EY.
Training Officer, Federal Student Aid, U.S. Department of Education
Zack Goodwin joined the Education Department training team in 2014, after serving for 20 years in higher education administration at graduate schools, liberal arts colleges, and comprehensive universities in the Midwest and New England. Most recently he acted as Harvard University’s... Read More →
Monday October 7, 2019 3:00pm - 4:00pm CDT
Lilac B
What happens when first generation college students enter the workforce? They become first generation professionals who often struggle to successfully navigate the work world without the necessary social or experiential skills. How do we recognize their struggles and help build a bridge across the class divide?
Paula Luff is currently the Associate Vice President of Enrollment Services for DePaul University. She has nearly 30 years of experience as a financial aid administrator and has worked with financial aid professionals across the country while serving in state, regional and national... Read More →
Monday October 7, 2019 3:00pm - 4:00pm CDT
Magnolia A
It can be difficult to deal with the “clutter” of Federal Work-Study (FWS) regulations. Northwest Missouri State University began a journey to build program improvements and new initiatives to enhance the FWS student experience and “de-clutter” the program. The restructure created an overall comprehensive student experience, while creating administrative efficiencies. The first step was relocating the program from the Office of Financial Assistance to Human Resources. Along with the “remodel”, came a deep assessment of the FWS regulations. This session will discuss “housing” FWS in Human Resources, regulations and laws related to FWS, and changing the culture of FWS from “worker” to “valued employee”.
Do you have pressure on budgets to do more with less, and to leverage technology? Colleges are improving customer service, reducing burden on staff, extending office hours to 24.7.365 and reducing the cost of answering repetitive questions by implementing artificially intelligent chatbots. Learn how schools are using and customizing Ocelot’s extensive knowledge base, shared community content, and robust analytics to answer more up-front questions and increase student satisfaction. Experience our Spanish bot, trained using US Department of Education Spanish language guidelines, helping parents with questions like: “¿Puedo obtener ayuda de emergencia para mi hijo?”
How does Emotional Intelligence help individuals rise to be champions? Daniel Goleman defines Emotional Intelligence as the capacity to recognize our own feelings and those of others as well as the ability to manage emotions effectively in ourselves and our relationships. This session will deepen your understanding of Emotional Intelligence and its impact to you in improving student outcomes by: demonstrating a strategy for increased self-awareness and self-management, identifying behaviors to enhance social awareness and relationship management, and understanding how Emotional Intelligence can improve success in your roles in the education setting.
This panel session will highlight programming resources, popular financial literacy topics and workshops developed by members of the Task Force. It will also introduce MASFAA members to a new repository of presentations collected by the task force that they can utilize back on their own campuses.
One of the best ways to champion our students is to advocate for the financial aid resources that will assist them in their educational pursuits. The MASFAA Advocacy and Legislative Issues Committee has created a toolkit that provides even the most timid financial aid professional with resources to make a difference. Come learn how you can help build the programs that will not only champion our students and profession, but create champion financial aid programs for tomorrow.
The federal requirements to protect student financial aid information are found in both the Program Participation Agreement (PPA) and the Student Aid Internet Gateway (SAIG) Enrollment Agreement. These regulations commit institutions to securely maintaining and processing financial aid information. This includes adherence to the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA). In this presentation, Ohio University will share the financial aid office efforts in GLBA compliance and data security.
In this session, we will discuss the programmatic aspects and implementation of the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program, updates to the Department’s processes, and the recently enacted Temporary Expanded PSLF opportunity created by the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2018.
If you plan to attend this federal training session, please register at https://cvent.me/kMM0EY.
Training Officer, Federal Student Aid, U.S. Department of Education
Zack Goodwin joined the Education Department training team in 2014, after serving for 20 years in higher education administration at graduate schools, liberal arts colleges, and comprehensive universities in the Midwest and New England. Most recently he acted as Harvard University’s... Read More →
Tuesday October 8, 2019 9:15am - 10:30am CDT
Lilac B
Assistant Director Policy Liaison and Implementation, Federal Student Aid, U.S. Department of Education
Craig Munier has worked in student financial aid on college campuses since 1982 and in higher education administration since 1976. Mr. Munier is a past National Chair of the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA), past National Chair of the Coalition... Read More →
Tuesday October 8, 2019 11:00am - 12:15pm CDT
Ballroom A/B/C
Attend this session to see a live demonstration of Oracle’s Student Financial Planning (SFP) application. SFP is a cloud based Software as a Service (SaaS) solution that enables advanced and highly automated administration of financial aid. You will learn how your institution can provide superior service to students while gaining efficiency in the key financial aid processes such as packaging, verification processing and R2T4 automation. SFP will allow your financial aid staff to spend more time on student recruiting, student success, student counseling, and other higher value activities. We will also discuss how SFP’s delivered integration will allow it to easily work with your institution’s student information systems.
Do you have a burning policy question, but hate to ask it in a large group? Come join us at this smaller open forum with your Fed. Not only will your questions get answered, but your colleagues in the room will benefit from hearing it!
If you plan to attend this federal training session, please register at https://cvent.me/kMM0EY.
Training Officer, Federal Student Aid, U.S. Department of Education
Zack Goodwin joined the Education Department training team in 2014, after serving for 20 years in higher education administration at graduate schools, liberal arts colleges, and comprehensive universities in the Midwest and New England. Most recently he acted as Harvard University’s... Read More →
Tuesday October 8, 2019 1:45pm - 2:45pm CDT
Lilac B
Majoring in Money, a national study from Sallie Mae, researches how college students, ages 18-24, are managing their finances and using credit. The report examines the methods students use to pay for purchases, their knowledge and use of credit, and their money management skills. Published in 2019, the survey findings show that the majority of students are handling their money responsibly and are looking for opportunities to improve their financial knowledge. Hear from your school colleagues about their students’ financial behaviors and the financial literacy initiatives they’ve put in place to help educate students on personal finance topics.
The Modernizing Title IV Aid to Encourage and Accommodate Innovation in Higher Education task force examined innovative postsecondary learning models and the ways the laws and regulations governing Title IV aid administration pose potential barriers to innovation. Building off the work of NASFAA’s Innovative Learning Models task force in 2015, this group worked to both refine existing recommendations and develop new recommendations for the Higher Education Act (HEA) reauthorization to allow for greater flexibility for innovation in higher education. Recommendations focus on practical solutions to ease administrative burden while maintaining an adequate framework for accountability.
We all strive to be the best we can be at our jobs and in our industry yet we are sometimes hesitant to take on a leadership role or responsibilities. Come hear from a panel of great MASFAA leaders and get advice on what you need to know to take the next step to leading yourself and others to greatness. Panelists will share their experience in becoming the leader they are today and share tips, advice and insight on what you need to know to unleash the leader in yourself.
Ever wonder what other campuses are doing to support at-risk youth? The Assisting At-Risk Youth Task Force has compiled best practices from members of MASFAA and will share what folks are doing. Take some time to hear about what others are doing and brainstorm what your campus could do, too.
NASFAA leaders want to hear from you! Join MASFAA members and NASFAA leaders for a listening session. Share feedback and suggestions ranging from public policy to training to association efficiencies to help champion the future of our field.
Paula Luff is currently the Associate Vice President of Enrollment Services for DePaul University. She has nearly 30 years of experience as a financial aid administrator and has worked with financial aid professionals across the country while serving in state, regional and national... Read More →
Justin Draeger is President and CEO of the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators. He serves as the primary voice of NASFAA and as the liaison between the association members, the U.S. Congress, federal agencies and the media. Most of Justin’s career has been... Read More →
Tuesday October 8, 2019 3:15pm - 4:15pm CDT
Lilac A
This session will take the user on a tour of the COD website and demonstrate functionality available for the successful processing of federal student aid. We will also introduce the user to additional functionality within the Batch menu, Services menu, and review the plethora of data and reports available within the Person menu. NSLDS Professional Access overview will include a review of website features, including loan and grant history, enrollment reporting, transfer monitoring, and reports.
Want to discuss financial aid strategy? How about using financial aid as an enrollment tool? Maybe financial aid modeling or how to analyze financial aid data to make strategic decisions for spending at your school? What about net tuition revenue and discount rate? Join this panel as we talk about the important role financial aid plays on a successful enrollment management team. Come prepared to share ideas and join the discussion.
This session explores regulatory compliance surrounding consortium agreement processing. It will also provide procedural best practices from an institutional perspective. Bring your school’s P&P and see how it measures up!
If you plan to attend this federal training session, please register at https://cvent.me/kMM0EY.
Training Officer, Federal Student Aid, U.S. Department of Education
Zack Goodwin joined the Education Department training team in 2014, after serving for 20 years in higher education administration at graduate schools, liberal arts colleges, and comprehensive universities in the Midwest and New England. Most recently he acted as Harvard University’s... Read More →
One of the more difficult conversations to have in the workplace is with an underperforming employee. When staff hit a stumbling block and work below expectations, it can take away from other managerial responsibilities. It’s important that everyone on the team recognizes and strives to do their very best. When all staff are working in tandem, they are more effective and happier in their roles. This session will help you coach underperforming employees. We’ll share how to work with staff to help them enhance their performance through identifying areas for improvement, setting goals, and following through.
Training Officer, Federal Student Aid, U.S. Department of Education
Zack Goodwin joined the Education Department training team in 2014, after serving for 20 years in higher education administration at graduate schools, liberal arts colleges, and comprehensive universities in the Midwest and New England. Most recently he acted as Harvard University’s... Read More →
Assistant Director Policy Liaison and Implementation, Federal Student Aid, U.S. Department of Education
Craig Munier has worked in student financial aid on college campuses since 1982 and in higher education administration since 1976. Mr. Munier is a past National Chair of the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA), past National Chair of the Coalition... Read More →
Justin Draeger is President and CEO of the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators. He serves as the primary voice of NASFAA and as the liaison between the association members, the U.S. Congress, federal agencies and the media. Most of Justin’s career has been... Read More →
Tuesday October 8, 2019 4:30pm - 5:15pm CDT
Ballroom A/B/C
Justin Draeger is President and CEO of the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators. He serves as the primary voice of NASFAA and as the liaison between the association members, the U.S. Congress, federal agencies and the media. Most of Justin’s career has been... Read More →
Wednesday October 9, 2019 9:00am - 10:30am CDT
Ballroom A/B/C
