We are excited to announce that throughout the 2015 year the MASFAP Professional Development committee will be offering six, one-day drive-in training opportunities for members to get credentialed in a variety of CORE financial aid topics. Participants will learn from MASFAP experts using NASFAA CORE training materials. Upon completion of the training participants will be eligible to apply for NASFAA credentialing. Topics are listed below, some dates have been set and others are yet to be determined.

Credentialing #1: Verification and Packaging – April 1st REGISTATION NOW OPEN!

MASFAP Friends

When someone says, “So what DO you do as a Financial Aid Director?”……… Do you ever find yourself struggling for an accurate response that they can comprehend!?!?! I’ve been working in Financial Aid most of my adult life and that question has come up far more than once or twice. I always have to ponder… do I tell them about my craziness of never enough time, never enough resources and the ever constant changing regulations, not to mention trying to interpret them??? OR do I just tell them that I help students get money for college and achieve their dream of a college degree. Usually the latter wins out and they get the smile on my face with the shimmer in my heart of what I do REALLY does matter!!!

We have been trying to send you a lot of information via the listserv, but the MASFAP listserv isn’t working! There are new events for you to register for www.masfap.org.

MASFAP Missouri Hill Day will be February 17 from 8 am to 2 pm in Jefferson City. Don’t miss this event – we will meet with representatives, attend committee hearings, and represent MASFAP in Jefferson City at the Capitol.

This message is posted on behalf of Zach Greenlee, Chair, Legislative Committee

Registration for MASFAP’s Missouri Hill Day is now live, so go online to register today! On the MASFAP homepage under training opportunities is a link to register for the Hill Day, as well as other professional development events scheduled for February. www.masfap.org

This message is posted on behalf of Crystal Bruntz and Chelsey Giles, 2015 MASFAP Professional Development Committee Co-Chairs

We are pleased to announce registration is now available for U.S. Department of Education focused training for Registrars and Business Officers. U.S Department of Education trainer Zack Goodwin will be joining us on February 25th and 26th to discuss important topics on which we work with our colleagues in both the Registrar and Business Offices on a regular basis. Topics include 150% Subsidized Usage Loan limitations, Enrollment Reporting, Special Programs, R2T4, Withdraws, Academic Calendars, Certificate Programs, Modules, Satisfactory Academic Progress, Cash Management, Title IV Credit Balances, Prior Year Charges, Early and Late Disbursements, Title IV Rules and Regulations miscellanea. Registration is free for all MASFAP members and lunch will be provided.

Last week, ED has released a draft framework for the implementation of a new college ratings system. Here are a few suggestions from Zach Greenlee, MASFAP’s Legislative Chair, of what you can do regarding this topic:

1. Read the MASFAA blog post: http://www.masfaa-moments.blogspot.com. This post has some great links to catch up on new articles and commentaries.
2. Bookmark the ed.gov/collegeratings page to follow future updates, as well as have quick access to submitting comments.
3. Get this topic on the agenda for your next executive council meetings and have copies of the printable fact sheet available to share.
4. Send a short summary to key stakeholders at your institution soon to begin the conversation.
5. Finally, submit comments on the draft by February, and share those thoughts with your associations. MASFAA will be going to DC at the end of February and MASFAP’s views need to be represented! Comments on the framework are due by February 17, 2015, and can be submitted on ED’s site or by emailing [email protected].

Happy Holidays MASFAP!

Happy Monday! Back to the real world after spending three days together at MASFAP last week…what an amazing conference! Respond to this post and tell us your favorite part(s) of last week’s conference so we can reminisce!

2 THOUGHTS ON “SHARE YOUR CONFERENCE FAVORITES!”
Crystal BruntzCrystal Bruntz on November 11, 2014 at 9:05 am said:
Sooooooo much fun! It was awesome to see the work of so many people come together and put on one heck of a conference! I LOVED the painting and LOVED the shopping spree for the Idiots Club!!! Can’t wait to see what MASFAP has in store for next year!

OK MASFAP – we are up to 230 people registered for the MASFAP Fall Conference! Let’s get out and register if you haven’t yet! Remember that after this conference, the next MASFAP is not until November 2015. REGISTER TODAY at http://www.masfap.org/docs/conferences/site/index.html

1 THOUGHT ON “230 ATTENDEES AND WE STILL NEED YOU TO REGISTER!”
jstnchsbrwn on October 28, 2014 at 8:37 am said:
See you all soon!

Just a shout out to the MASFAP Blog to see if anybody read the October edition of the MASFAP Monitor, which I posted Tuesday, 10/14/14 on the listserv…What articles did you enjoy? Blog back by commenting!

1 THOUGHT ON “PLEASE RESPOND – NEW MASFAP MONITOR SENT!”
[email protected]@ccis.edu on October 15, 2014 at 11:50 am said:
I love the idea of passing out college information for Halloween! This might become my new tradition. Early awareness brochures to the parents and candy to the kids. John Brandt, you might have been kidding but this made my day!

Who is happy it’s Friday? Tell us about your crazy week! Also, don’t forget to register for the fall conference at www.masfap.org. If the Director pays and attends then any and all from that institution can come for free! Check out the informative sessions by viewing the program agenda at http://www.masfap.org/docs/conferences/site/program.html. We want record-breaking attendance for the conference!

1 THOUGHT ON “TGIF”
JBarnes on October 5, 2014 at 10:36 am said:
It has been a crazy week, but it ended with a great MASFAP Banner FAMS training on Thursday, an amazing PPA session with Lisa Hoskins on Friday and Fred P. Pestello, Ph.D was inaugurated as SLU’s 33rd president. Happy Weekend everyone!

Kim Becking, the keynote speaker for our upcoming Fall MASFAP Conference wrote an article that was recently highlighted on Maria Shriver’s website: http://mariashriver.com/blog/2014/09/how-i-learned-to-be-alone-without-feeling-lonely-divorced-moms/. Register for the conference at www.masfap.org – this conference includes an exciting keynote speaker, great sessions, and priceless networking!

Did anyone use the Constitution Day video provided to MASFAP members by the Civic Education Committee? Please reply with a comment on how your school celebrated Constitution Day!

3 THOUGHTS ON “HAPPY CONSTITUTION DAY MASFAP!!”
GenaGena on September 19, 2014 at 8:37 am said:
Missouri S&T focused on the idea that the Constitution has evolved and that it represents ever-expanding rights of both citizens and non-citizens. A senior in petroleum engineering read the Preamble to the Constitution and speaker Craig Stevenson, director of federal relations for the University of Missouri System discussed the UM System’s role in harnessing Missouri talent in Washington, D.C. via its Congressional Fellows program. Participants in the Congressional Fellows program discussed their experiences. A good time was had by all! Constitution Day!

Exciting news – I just heard our friend Ginny Burns will be doing regional trainings across the state speaking on the topic of Customer Service! Be on lookout for more information from SLAP, FANG, KC RAP and OAKFAP!

Join your colleagues November 5th -7th for what is sure to be an adventure at the Fall MASFAP Conference. Register at www.masfap.org!

Earlier this month the Program committee met for the first time. In the room, and on teleconference were a number of people for whom I have a great deal of respect, and who have accomplished a great deal, both in their professional careers and within MASFAP. A number of them were directors, and many of them have served on the executive board, previously or currently. As the meeting time came and went, it suddenly dawned on me: as the Vice-President, this meeting was going to start when I started it! We had a productive day, discussing themes, special guests, charities, activities and so on. At no point did I ever have the feeling that I was “in charge”, which is partly my personality, but partly due to the passion and creativity of the people who consistently devote their time to the betterment of the financial aid community in Missouri. Knowing that is the case makes me realize just how important my job as Vice-President is. I don’t have to be the person who comes up with every idea, I just need to be the person to coordinate all the ideas that are already there in order for us to make the conference the very best that it can be. With all of those people along my side, and knowing the opportunity I’ve been given this year, I’m sure that we will have a terrific time this December at the Lake.

 

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