NASFAA CONFERENCE RECAP

NASFAA CONFERENCE RECAP

SUBMITTED BY KATIE HARRISON, 2013-2014 SCASFAA PRESIDENT

Good morning, SCASFAA!

On behalf of the South Carolina financial aid professionals who attended the 2013 NASFAA Conference, I am writing to provide a conference recap.  NASFAA President and CEO, Justin Draeger, and 2012-2013 NASFAA Chair, Ron Day (former SCASFAA member), welcomed the attendees to the conference, followed by an inspirational address from Dr. Freeman Hrabowski, President of University of Maryland, Baltimore County.  Dr.  Hrabowski was named one of the Top 100 most influential people in the world by Time Magazine in 2012, and it didn’t take long to see why. He engaged the audience with an enthusiastic energy and an incredible personal story of success.  He challenged the group to remember the nobility of our profession as he stated that we have been given the unique opportunity to “touch eternity through the students we serve.”  If you would like to see a video of Dr. Hrabowski sharing his thoughts and ideas, please visit http://www.ted.com/talks/freeman_hrabowski_4_pillars_of_college_success_in_science.html.

During the NASFAA update, Justin Draeger announced that in the last six months, there have been over 1,200 newspaper, radio, or television interviews conducted in which the reporters have relied on financial aid administrators throughout the country to provide information and commentary.  He then reiterated NASFAA’s commitment to proactive policy stances in several areas as he introduced a number of NASFAA task force chairs that have completed work over the past year.  The attendees heard from the chairs of the Reauthorization Task Force, Award Notification Task Force, and the Reimagining Aid Design and Delivery Task Force.  Clemson University’s own Chuck Knepfle addressed NASFAA members concerning the work of the Student Loan Indebtedness Task Force, which he chaired.  Thank you, Chuck, for your important work and for positively representing SCASFAA in this role!

NASFAA offered concurrent sessions covering such a wide variety of topics that it was often difficult to decide which one to attend!  I can’t speak for the other attendees, but I was fortunate enough to be in sessions with great presenters, and I learned quite a bit.  One of my favorite sessions was “Media Training for Financial Aid Professionals.”  Did you know that you should always address a reporter in the same way when he or she initially contacts you? Never feel pressured to answer their questions right away; instead, ask them “When is your deadline?” and “What’s your angle?”  Then politely get their information and tell them you will be in touch with them within a specified amount of time, depending on their deadline.  Don’t forget to follow up when you say you will!  Otherwise, you may be faced with an embarrassing situation having to do with the phrase, “refused to comment.”  Use that time to gather your facts and thoughts and to prepare a statement on the topic.  The presenter of the session taught attendees “circular communication” strategies to effectively handle the media.  That is – acknowledge the question, transition into a positive message you actually want to portray, then deliver that message.  For example, if asked about how sequestration impacts aid packages, one response could be, “Our office acknowledges that there may possibly be reductions to certain aid programs, but our primary concern is that we remain committed to providing comprehensive aid packages to all eligible students.”  Or how about the question, “What is your office going to do about these student loan interest rates?”  Your response could be, “While Congress continues to debate student loan interest rates, our office continues to package students’ financial aid awards in a timely manner and we ensure that our students are well-informed of their rights and responsibilities.”  Isn’t this what politicians do all the time?  Yes, it is!  Some other pointers were to never go “off the record” with a reporter because there is no such thing, and generally, you should never add anything at the end of an interview if a reporter asks.  Just say, “No, you have covered this issue well.  I appreciate your questions and please let me know if you need any additional information.” 

I won’t take too much of your time recapping all the other sessions I attended, but I was able to hear from many experts regarding grassroots legislative advocacy, financial aid fraud and abuse, conducting effective meetings, being prepared for disasters, as well as a systems update from FSA, just to name a few. 

I would like to thank SCASFAA for allowing me to represent our Association at the NASFAA conference.  It was truly an honor and a blessing to attend on behalf of our state association.  If you have any questions about the NASFAA conference, please feel free to contact me (scasfaapresident@gmail.com) or any of the other financial aid professionals from South Carolina who attended the conference.  The following is a list of registered South Carolina attendees:

Central Carolina Technical College:

Tiffany Wilson

Charleston Southern University:

Teri Karges

Claflin University:

Terria Williams

Clemson University:

Chuck Knepfle

Clinton Junior College:

Pam White

Columbia College:

Donna Quick

Furman University:

Andrea McMillian (Byrd)

Anne Smith

Forrest Stuart

Midlands Technical College:

Cheryl Lindsey

Angela Williams

Orangeburg-Calhoun Technical College:

Chris Dooley

Southern Wesleyan University:

Jeff Dennis

Tri-County Technical College

Sarah Dowd

USC Regional Campuses:

Rosalind Kinlaw

USC Upstate:

Allison Sullivan

Voorhees College:

April Gyamfi

Gus Kitchen

Cynthia Thompson