This year’s educational tracks are:
- Track 1: Facing Economic Challenges – New for 2009, this track will focus on the difficult economic environment financial aid administrators are working in and how to make the best of it.
- Track 2: Financial Aid Practices – This track focuses on best practices in financial aid offices. Featured sessions include making the most of new military benefits and reviewing federal tax returns.
- Track 3: Borrower Education – Look for sessions that you can use to help students make wise borrowing decisions. Loan repayment and public service loan forgiveness will be hot topics.
- Track 4: Professional Development and Effective Communication – Learn new ways of interacting and communicating with students, parents and colleagues – online, in person and in print. Don't miss these core sessions which will help you motivate others, communications better, handle difficult situations with aplomb and much more.
This year, Access Group’s Graduate and Professional Financial Aid conference will feature more than 15 informative sessions spread across four areas of concentration, or tracks. The sessions in each track have been developed with an eye toward this year’s theme – Exploring the New World of Financial Aid.
General Session - What does the future hold for the student loan industry?
Find out more about the forces affecting the student loan industry today from a variety of perspectives, where we’re headed, and what it will mean for you and your students.
Speakers
- John Dean, Washington Partners, LLC and Special Counsel to the Consumer Bankers Association
- Richard George, Chief Executive Officer and President, Great Lakes Higher Education Corporation
- Dr. Samuel Kipp, President EdFund
Concurrent Sessions
As always, our concurrent sessions help you make the most of your training dollars. Topics are still being developed, but here’s a sneak preview of those being planned. Check back soon – our concurrent session list is updated as topics and speakers are confirmed!
Concurrent sessions include…
Track 3: “Accepted…yes. Financially Prepared …maybe!” Communicating Financial Literacy to Students BEFORE they get to Campus.
Your students are “packaged” and their financial aid awards have been sent, but what can you be doing to prepare them financially before they get to campus? We all want the same thing – for students to make the most of their academic careers without worrying about their finances. Encouraging them to do all they can to get their financial houses in order is just the first step. Join us for this interactive session and learn from your colleagues about the programs they have developed to present financial literacy to their incoming students.
Track 1: Awarding Institutional Aid in Difficult Economic Times
Maintaining institutional funding for students when endowments are plummeting is a challenging feat. Reducing funding risks attrition, and maintaining or increasing funding risks a university’s pocketbook. By leveraging various classes of endowment funds and university operating funds, Pace University has developed an innovative plan to maintain funding for current students and scripted an effective communication plan for incoming students, as well as a plan for current students seeking renewal of existing institutional funds. We rolled up our sleeves, communicated with our students and parents in a positive and pro-active way. Come hear what is working for us at Pace!
Track 1: The Effect of the Economic Crisis on Professional Judgment Issues
How have schools been proactive in letting students know they can work with them on financial issues during these tough economic times? How do you recognize students who are struggling – financially, or with other issues? This session will look at trends in advising and counseling students, and investigate when to begin outreach efforts to other offices, such as the student affairs offices. If FAAs get involved, what constitutes a FERPA violation?
Track 3: Exploring the New World of Loan Repayment
It’s a new world when it comes to repaying federal student loans. Borrowers now have five repayment options. And with this added flexibility comes more complexity. Choosing the option that’s right is not just about understanding the options, it’s also about identifying financial goals and determining what is affordable. Said another way, it’s about managing cash flow in both the short- and long-term. This interactive session will focus on strategies and tools that can help students pick the repayment plan that’s right for them in an ever-changing economic/financial climate.
Track 2: Implications of FAFSA Simplification and Graduate/Professional Students
The Department of Education, in consultation with the Treasury Department, is considering ways to simplify the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. Proposals include simplifying the need analysis formula and using IRS tax data to pre-populate some questions on the FAFSA. The proposals have attracted support from Congress and the general public but they involve tradeoffs that concern some aid officers. This session will address plans to simplify the FAFSA and give special attention to the potential implications for graduate/professional financial aid.
Track 4: I Can’t Help It—I Was Born This Way!
Explore the “human factor” in the workplace! Although we can change patterns and behaviors, we cannot change our basic personalities—or the talents we bring to the table. Do you really know yourself? You will learn how to work with your strengths and bolster your weaknesses.
Track 1: The Impact of New Credit Card Legislation on Students
Credit card use has been a part of college student life for many years. Now, aid officers need to understand that recent credit card legislation intended to restrict student access to credit cards will ultimately affect students in graduate and professional schools, who often rely on credit cards to pay for expenses such as exam fees, job interviews, and residency applications, that aren’t covered by financial aid. Some students also use credit cards to finance basic living expenses while in school. This session will explain the legislation and its impact on students, as well as discuss strategies aid officers can use to help graduate/professional students with more limited access to credit achieve their career goals.
Track 2: The Integrated Admissions/Financial Aid Office
This session will provide an overview of the advantages and challenges associated with having real “Admissions and Financial Aid” advisors.” Participants will gain insight into how admissions and financial aid must work together to provide optimal outcomes, and will provide financial aid workers a real glimpse into law school admissions.
Track 3: It’s Never Too Early....How Advisors Can Help!
Do you think students are asking their academic advisors about financing their graduate or professional education? You bet they are! These advisors can be a great resource for educating students long before they apply to your school. This session is targeted to admissions and financial aid staff who want to explore ways to build a relationship with these advisors and offer tools and resources to help them address those financial matters.
Track 2: Military Benefits
Veterans who have already taken advantage of existing education benefits now have additional opportunities available to them. Students who have used ROTC benefits for their undergraduate education and have served beyond their initial service requirements are now offered additional education benefits, including monthly stipends, matching funds for scholarships and grants, and more. This session will review the new benefits available to veterans that will likely be used at the graduate/professional level, and discuss how these changes will impact the FAA office.
Track 3: PSLF and Health Professions Graduates
And…
PSLF and Law Graduates
How will the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program of the College Cost Reduction and Access Act affect health profession graduates and law school graduates? These sessions create a series of hypothetical examples detailing how Income-Based Repayment and Public Service Loan Forgiveness will play out over time for borrowers choosing various career paths. Issues examined will include job changes from private practice to public service, salary fluctuations and debt levels.
Track 3: Reviewing Federal Tax Returns
Learn how to read, understand and use personal tax returns in the financial aid process. Improve the accuracy and timeliness of your awards and increase student and parent satisfaction and retention. You’ll learn about the intricacies of the 1040 and 1040A forms, what items need to be verified and the difference between verification and conflicting information. The session will also cover what constitutes conflicting information, and when professional judgment should be used.
Track 1: Robbing Peter to Pay Pell
This session examines how the interest rates graduate-level students are assessed on their federal loans "pay" for increased Pell Grants for undergraduate students. The first part of the session is devoted to the presentation of information and the second part to discussion with session attendees.
Track 4: What Do You Say And How Do You Say It?
When faced with a difficult service challenge with a student or parent, the first few seconds and your first few words often determines your success or failure. You can become more effective in responding to challenging situations when you are equipped with exceptional listening and communication skills. This highly interactive program answers the question "What Do You Say?" when faced with these difficult scenarios in your financial aid office. The financial aid professional will learn the key words and phrases needed to handle tough customer service moments with ease and confidence, as well as specific techniques you can use to become a more effective communicator with students, parents, and colleagues.
Track 4: Writing E-Newsletters That Work
Your e-newsletter may be your most reliable tool for communication with students and colleagues. But when your readers are inundated, how do you create a newsletter that stands out, one they are eager to receive? This presentation will invite you to explore different types of e-newsletters and help you decide what to publish and how to meet your goals. You’ll learn how to define your e-newsletter; know why you publish it and how it differs from the other ways you communicate; how to develop a content formula; how to choose a publishing format; how to measure success; and how to handle the back issues.
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