Each year, SCASFAA
sends its President-Elect to the NASFAA Leadership Conference in Washington,
DC. I am happy to report that I was able
to attend this very important and informative event on March 8th-11th. NASFAA describes the event as “providing intensive preparation for NASFAA members in
association leadership positions” in areas such as “understanding legal,
financial, and management issues…,” and “advocating effectively for student aid
issues with elected representatives…,” while “exchanging ideas with state and
regional association” leaders.
This conference was
filled with in depth instruction and professional and experienced presenters,
from whom a great deal of personal experience was shared. I joined numerous NASFAA members from various
states, universities and associations from across the country. I connected with other Financial Aid
Directors and Association Presidents from North Dakota, Nebraska, Wisconsin,
Tennessee, Virginia, Alabama, and many other states from around the country.
Our conference began
with a presentation by Dr. Michela Perrone, President of MMP
Associates, on the legal and fiduciary duties of the association’s
executive board members. She instructed
us on the governance functions of the board, how a board develops its mission
statement and the need for strategic plans.
She explained the four categories of oversight; professional services,
fiscal responsibilities, chair functions, and legal compliance. For each she provided detailed explanations, expectations,
and examples. Finally she described the
three legal duties of all board members: Care, Loyalty and Obedience.
We were then given a
presentation on the expectations of leadership by Michelle Trame, Sr. Associate
Director at University of Illinois at Urbanan-Champaign, Cristi Millard,
Director at Salt Lake Community College, and Jo Ann Ross, Director at West
Virginia State University. They spoke on
their own personal leadership experiences, and gave a long list of
characteristics that make an effective leader, such as “Trust people and honor
the best they have to offer” and “Be adaptable, stay creative, and look to
improve”. Then Billie Joe Hamilton,
Director at University of Southern Florid, and Susan Murphy, Associate Dean at
University of San Francisco, gave us a presentation on Ethical Leadership. They guided us on how to make ethical
decisions and discussed the NASFAA Ethics Task Force proposals. After this Clantha McCurdy, Sr. Deputy
Commissioner at Massachusetts Department of Higher Educaiton, and Cristi
Millard gave advise on Public Speaking, such as knowing your audience and the responsibility
and accountability of speaking for others, such as an Association. That was followed by an excellent
presentation on how to facilitate a meeting and how to lead a meeting, given by
Ron Day, Director, and Sarah Baumhoff, Associate Director at Kennesaw State
University.
Our first day ended
with a lengthy discussion by Justin Draegar, NASFAA President, and Megan McClean,
NASFAA’s policy expert. They went over
NASFAA’s recommendations for changes in reauthorization, such as “Prior Prior
Year Data” and expanding the IRS and DOE data exchange. They also went through
a summary of the President’s proposed budget, the effects of sequestration, and
the major issues we are and will be facing in the year to come. They ended the presentation with a
demonstrative role play of how to address a legislator or legislative aid when
visiting Capitol Hill.
Our second day began
with a lengthy discussion on developing and maintaining a strategic plan,
presented by Taina Savoit, Director at McNeese State University, and Jim
Brooks, Director at University of Oregon.
They explained how a Long Range Plan helps you keep your professional
activities and policies and procedures in line with your bylaws and Mission
Statement. Bylaws must fit the mission
statement, policies and procedures must suit the bylaws, and a Long Range Plan will
assure all are done according to the future goals of the association. This was followed by discussions with Richard
Heath, Director at Anne Arundel Community College, and Susan Murphy, Associate
Dean at the University of San Francisco, on how to civilly conduct the business
of a meeting. They discussed methods for
avoiding conflicts, clearing up misunderstandings, and resolving conflict.
After this the group
was able to separate into small groups for three 30 minute sessions. I attended
the a presentation on Leadership Pipeline –an initiative to create leaders
within organizations through mentoring and training tracks. I found some of the ideas useful for our own
organization and may see about incorporating them in the year to come. I then attend a session on By-Laws, Policies
& Procedures and transitions, which provided me a great deal of in-depth
understanding of using our governing documents to organize and direct the
activities of the association, where to find areas that need improvement, and
some additional legal requirements that should be considered. Finally I attended a session on Legislative
Affairs for States, which discussed how to work with state legislators and
agencies to be an informed and productive participant in the legislative and
regulatory process. In each of these
sessions I found some recommendations that could be effective to implement
within SCASFAA.
Our
second day was concluded with two major events.
First, we received a detailed analysis of the legislative and political
trends within the legislative and executive branches of the Federal government
by Bill McIntuff, Partner of Public Opinion Strategies. This very insightful presentation helped us
understand the influences and ideologies driving legislative decision making on
the Hill. It also was a statistical
evaluation of public opinion on the value of Higher Education, especially
amongst Millennials. The conclusion I attained
from this presentation is that the major focus of the coming reauthorization will
be on reducing student debt while allowing more students to attain a higher
education at a cost that is more in line with their earning potentials. This comes as no surprise, but when we
consider legislation that goes into effect from reauthorization will be in
place for five or more years, we must be a voice of reason in maintaining
effective student aid programs and not reducing the availability of college to
students from lower income brackets. The
second important event was the Legislative Symposium, which was a two-way
conversation with legislative aides for members of the House and Senate who sit
upon Higher Education committees. This
gave us an opportunity to hear what both sides are discussing, believe is possible
or believe is impossible for the upcoming reauthorization. They were seriously interested in our
concerns on student borrowing levels, our lack of control in student borrowing,
and how our cohort default rates penalized current students for the financial
difficulties of prior students. There
was serious discussion about simplifying the financial aid process, be it
through reducing regulation or combining existing aid programs. There was some disagreement on how to find
resources to expand existing programs to meet the President’s proposals. Apparently there really isn’t a magic-money-tree
hidden somewhere in D.C.
On the third day I had
the opportunity to go to Capitol Hill and meet with some legislative aides. I first met with Moutray McLaren of
Congressman Mick Mulvaney’s Office. Mick
Mulvaney is the representative for District 5 (from the edge of Greenville to
I-95 and surrounding Columbia while not including Columbia). There are at least 8 colleges, technical
colleges, and universities within his district.
Mr. McLaren is fairly new to the job but was seriously interested in our
views on reauthorization and the continued support of Federal Student Aid. I want to thank Stephanie Miller,
President-Elect of Alabama’s Association for attending with me. I then was able to meet with Scott Graber
and Jessica-Phillips Tyson in Senator Lindsey Graham’s Office. Despite a busy day meeting with the owner and
operators of the Pest-Control Industry they took an exceptional amount of time
to listen to some of NASFAA’s discussion points and how our state is affected
by changes in federal legislation. I
explained that SC students borrow over 1.2 Billion in Federal Student Loans
annually and as fees, interest rates, debt levels and defaults rise it has a
severely negative impact upon economy of our state. I left each office with a statistical break
down of financial aid, higher education enrollment, and debt levels of South
Carolina compared to the national averages. In the case of Congressman Mick
Mulvaney this included information specific to District 5 and USC
Lancaster. I have a meeting on the 20th
with Phillip Grand of Senator Lindsey Graham’s Office to get more specific and
open up future lines of communications through this next legislative
cycle.
I appreciate SCASFAA
allowing me to attend this important event.
I believe I have attained invaluable knowledge that will help me serve
you as President and hope to make the best use of the advice I have
received. I hope the connections I am
forming with our legislators will be fruitful and I encourage our members to be
active in advocating for Student Financial Aid.
Remember, we can advocate for financial aid without lobbying for any particular
bill or special interest group.
I want to remind us of our
goals as Student Financial Aid Administrators.
We are here to counsel students on two fronts; to find the best and most
cost-effective financial path to a college education with the lowest possible debt-to
income-ratio upon graduation, and to attain the education and career the
student dreams of. If we continue to actively
support low interest rate loans, expansion of the Pell Grant, and maintaining
state support of higher education, we can make these two goals align and
achieve a stronger financial future for the state of South Carolina.
Thank you,
Kenneth Cole
President-Elect
SCASFAA
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