When NASFAA’s in our Backyard

Ah Ha! Moments:

 Financial Aid & NASFAA

It’s a nice reminder to hear out loud that financial aid administrators have many things in common – like integrity, hard work, and our desire to serve others. As our President/CEO, Justin Draeger, ends his time at NASFAA, he’s had a great impact on our industry and profession and was an amazing advocate for our students and us. While many other schools deal with similar issues, we’re in a space where we don’t have to deal with a lot of issues that other sectors (community colleges, private, proprietary) have to work through regularly, like dealing with fraudulent activity and maintaining administrative capability. The new Financial Value Transparency (FVT) and Gainful Employment (GE) reporting requirements came up a lot and it was unanimous that the community was requesting additional time to meet the reporting requirements (July 2025).  NASFAA also sent a letter to ED requesting the delays due to the added burden.

FAFSA & Eligibility

We’ll need to be prepared for another bumpy year and set our expectations appropriately. The Department of Education (ED) says they’re committed to having the 2025-26 FAFSA available by October 1, 2024 – but they aren’t ready to say that all required functionality will be available at that same time. Not many institutions are using Federal Pell Grant-eligibility as an indicator for their campus, need-based funds. “Pellionaires” is the new term being tossed about. Do we need to update our promise programs, like Bucky’s Pell Pathway or BANNER? Would we ever consider using the CSS/Profile? 

Scholarship Challenges

Having been a part of the National Scholarship Providers Association for years, Scholarship Displacement is the #1 topic our membership is interested in. I went to a presentation on this topic and was surprised that it was new information to many financial aid professionals (both new and seasoned). My takeaway was never take for granted what you think may be “common knowledge”. As it continues to be a challenge for all school types, how do we have transparency in our processes and communications related to scholarship displacement? As someone that’s at least been tangentially involved with the impacts of the Supreme Court cases on scholarships, it was super informative to have the details and steps forward presented by a former litigator and staff member from UNC Chapel Hill.

Great Sessions

Some may have already known this, but in one of the sessions I went to somebody mentioned how not only are some students depositing at more than one school, but they’re also attending multiple orientations! This blew my mind and now I’m even more curious what our summer melt will look like this year. In a session called “Building Resilient Teams During Turbulent Times,” this quote stuck out, “Leadership is not a position or title. It is action and example.” – Cory Booker. The session also started with a poem created with ChatGPT that connected our work to how we’re all feeling. Though I didn’t expect to learn anything new from a session on Cost of Attendance, it sparked an idea that caused me to immediately reach out to Bonniejean to brainstorm more.

DJ Shawna (former UW basketball player and DJ for the Milwaukee Bucks) Stole the Show:

She knew how to capture moments in song – like when she played “Under Pressure” by Queen when the COO of Federal Student Aid, Richard Cordray took the stage. Of course I had to approach her to give our U-Rah-Rah support and it turns out, she’s super interested in ways she can support our mission by using her platform to reach more students. I’ll be in touch with her manager 😉

NASFAA picked a fabulous city to host:

NASFAA President & CEO, Justin Draeger

The President/CEO riding in on a Harley was an instant classic. The Harley Davidson Museum event was the best NASFAA reception I’ve attended. I’ve never seen a better attended NASFAA event – even with the unexpected hot and humid temps! The state of Wisconsin had the most attendees, followed next by California and Texas. And it showed – our WASFAA Happy Hour was well attended and a special chance for Wisconsinites to get some extra in person time together. We even let a few outsider join us.

WASFAA Happy Hour

We don’t have to admit it to the MKE locals, but even an NYC native thinks Milwaukee is a pretty cool city and loved and appreciated getting to spend time there.

Spending time together outside of the office is extra special:

CC is a blast and knows how to get a party jumpin’ Karla’s sessions were a huge hit and folks heard all sorts of buzz afterwards. The one on “Bringing Trauma-Informed Practices to the Financial Aid Office” was much appreciated and even got a shout out in another session – we could all do so much more to make our environments more welcoming to those that have experienced significant trauma. John Whitt and Katy were surprised to be in a presentation’s photo highlighting their great advocacy work here in Wisconsin (WI Senate Bill 380, WI Financial Modernization Bill).

OSFA Members at NASFAA