BLOG

Why Taking a Few Minutes To Complete A Survey is Important By Matthew Kearney

How many times have you thought to yourself, I wonder what other people are going to do?  Well the research committee is here to answer those questions.  While often not the most glamorous of committees, it is certainly imperative to the success of the association.  Without knowing what our membership wants, the executive board has a difficult time planning professional development opportunities.  We want to work for you, and this is one avenue we have to ensure we are meeting your expectations.  So while filling out a survey isn’t the most fun thing you can do, it is really important.  The next time you get an email asking for a few minutes of your time to answer some questions, it’s your opportunity to have a voice in the direction our association takes.  If you ever have any questions you’d like answered, please let me know.  I’m happy to take suggestions on what we can look into more in depth and see what options we have to find out more.

survey

Read More

Had fun at SLAP, next up FANG By Angela Karlin

MASFAP President Angela Karlin

Last week was a bit crazy…the auditors on campus and SAP processing for the end of the semester to name a few items! Thanks Mya for the blog on reducing stress…this is something I can relate to, especially this time of year.

Hopefully you all had a chance to read the May MASFAP Communication regarding the benefit for MASFAP members to attend MASFAA. The MASFAA Conference will be October 2-5 in Kansas City. I am so excited about this opportunity for MASFAP members to attend MASFAA this year in our home state! I hope this announcement is timely and you are able to budget for both MASFAA and of course MASFAP this year. MASFAP is a little later this year to accommodate both awesome conferences in our state – MASFAP is December 12-14 at the Lake! In looking at my own institution’s budget, you really cannot beat the training we can get this year so close to home. I think there is also an opportunity to room together to save on costs at MASFAA.

Read More

Tips to reduce stress by Mya Walker Lawrence

stress

In the midst of packaging session, completing verification and preparing for summer audits, most financial aid offices are entering into one of their busiest seasons. If you are feeling overwhelmed, check out these tips that I have complied to help you relieve stress during this period.

Read More

Powerlifting: My Stress Antidote By Jamie Davis

JamieDavis

Every weekday morning I wake up at 4:30 AM, pick up my best friend and drive over to our local YMCA and we train our bodies to sometimes the point of exhaustion, and I absolutely love it! As unappealing as waking up at 4:30 AM sounds; it’s exactly how I cope and deal with stress. Being able to jump start my day with doing something I have grown to be so passionate about is so good for my soul. I love to lift, and I love to lift heavy. I started working out as a way to deal with the day to day grind. It was then I quickly realized that I am not a huge fan of running. When I was in high school and even throughout college, I considered myself an athlete and I was a farm girl, so I always felt strong. When family and kids came along, I kind of lost sight of that. About six months ago, I just stumbled into the world of powerlifting, which is funny, as that was how I got my start in financial aid.

Read More

Reducing the Burden By Kathy Elsea

Good morning MASFAP and TGIF,fafsa verif

I wanted to make sure you didn’t miss the April 5, 2016 Dear Colleague Letter GEN-16-07:  2017-2018 Award Year:  FAFSA Information to be Verified and Acceptable Documentation. 

Read More

Hill Day Happened Today! Check out some pics!

A proud day for MASFAP – a day full of meetings with key staff, a presentation to the Committee on Higher Education, talking about MASFAP to a lot of people… MASFAP’s Hill Day was a success! A summary of the day to come in the MASFAP Monitor, but for now here are a few pictures taken today!

 

Read More

Ready to Challenge! By CortneyJo Sandidge

The MASFAP Money Challenge – College Edition is now available!  After a successful year of piloting our new financial literacy program for college students, it is ready for all!  The toolkit with all documents necessary to run an awesome MASFAP Money Challenge (MMC) workshop will be available for download on MASFAP.org for MASFAP members by the end of the first week of April.  The MMC comes just in time to end the Spring 2016 semester with prepping your graduating seniors for life after college.  The MMC is designed for college students to practice budgeting for their first year after college.  They will be given a career based off their major, a beginning salary and several options to choose from such as housing, transportation, food, entertainment, repayment plans for student loans, etc.  As the Early Awareness Committee learned, it is a great way to get students thinking about financial responsibility in a different and fun way. 

 If you are interested in scheduling an event on your campus before this semester ends, a host instruction guide will be available in the toolkit to get you started!  The MASFAP Money Challenge is also a great way to build partnerships with other constituents on campus.  Connect with your other colleagues and plan a fun event!  The Early Awareness Committee will also be available to assist as needed!

Read More

Experience MASFAP Hill Day By Valerie Moersch

 (L to R: Frederick staffer, Valerie Moersch (S&T), Tracy Wilson (S&T), Rep. Keith Frederick)

MASFAP Hill Day 2015
(L to R: Frederick staffer, Valerie Moersch (S&T), Tracy Wilson (S&T), Rep. Keith Frederick)

Behind the enormous bronze doors that had an eventful journey to Missouri from Brooklyn, the business of the Show-Me State unfolds during each legislative session.  Few Missourians know that the bronze doors actually went missing during World War I when the U.S. War Department had the authority to stop any train, unload the cargo, and reload it with U.S. Army supplies.  Thus began a search for the missing doors.  It wasn’t until a year later that they arrived in Jefferson City by train, completely unannounced, and no one ever learned where they had spent that year.  Today, those huge doors welcome visitors atop the Capitol’s front steps.  The question of which is the front and back of the Capitol is another story altogether!  On the inside, we can admire the breathtaking murals or be intrigued by the fascinating Whisper Gallery high in the dome; the Missouri State Capitol is a stunning structure, deemed the most elegant of the 50 states.  Most importantly, however, it is where the laws and business of our great state takes shape.

Read More

Making a Difference by Jennifer Haynes

making a difference

Ever heard of food insecurity and/or housing insecurity?

Read More

Credentialing Sessions Announced By Crystal Bruntz

Zack1

We’ve already started off 2016 off with a bang! On Tuesday, March 1st and Wednesday, March 2nd Zack Goodwin from the US Department of Education joined us in Columbia, MO to speak with our Registrar and Business Office colleagues on the many regulations that have a hand, finger or entire foot in financial aid.  The turnout and reviews were great, and attendees left these events with a lot of answers and some questions to take back to their institutions.

Read More

Engage, Educate and Advocate by Mya Walker Lawrence

we want you

With need-based aid programs in the forefront of our state legislature, MASFAP can be a voice for the students that we serve. On April 5th, 2016, MASFAP members will gather in Jefferson City at the Capitol for MASAP’s Missouri Hill Day, where our focus will be to engage, educate and advocate!

Read More

January MASFAP Board Meeting

MASFAP Board Mtg Jan 2016

The 2016 MASFAP Board met today! Great meeting and a full day of learning about the MASFAP history, the board responsibilities, reviewing the MASFAP mission, and much more.

New Year – New Blogs by Melissa Findley

Good afternoon MASFAP!

We will soon be ramping up our blogging again in 2016 as another form of MASFAP communication! So, in thinking about the MASFAP Blog I wanted to pose a question to all of you who have joined the blog: What do you like about the blog and/or how can we better utilize it?

Read More

ONE MONTH FROM TODAY! By Kim Howe

Fall is here and so starts the conference circuit for financial aid and higher education professionals. Be sure to plan to attend the best one – the MASFAP Conference! What a nice, local chance to get yourself and staff out of the office to learn and meet other professionals within the state. The MASFAP Conference, which is November 9th-11th, will be on the lovely premises of the Lodge of Four Seasons in Lake of the Ozarks.  The Lodge announced in January that it will be going through some property renovations as well as lodging and space updates. In early summer I saw some of the changes first hand, it is exciting and beautiful to see the renovations coming along.

Before I was MASFAP’s site chair, I hadn’t really realized all that our colleagues do to provide the excellent conference and special events throughout the year. The people who have led and are leading this association go above and beyond the call of duty as volunteers. I feel I can truly advocate for this association and all the benefits it provides because of what I see. Also, I’m forever indebted to those who guided me from the “rookie” stages of my career to those who continue to allow me to be a recipient of their knowledge and their experiences.  So before you decide to only follow Twitter, just log on to a webinar, only read articles instead of attending events in-person, I suggest you rethink what you are missing! Take it from a 15-year professional “rookie” who continues to grow and learn as this industry continues to grow and give, you don’t want to miss “IT”.   

Read More

A Brave New World in 2017-18 By Zach Greenlee

Paradigm shift (noun) – a fundamental change in approach or underlying assumptions.

What better characterizes the changes to the FAFSA that are little more than a year away? President Obama, today, announced two crucial changes to the FAFSA process that not only changes the approach students have to the college search process, but also drastically changes the approach schools and governments will have to awarding students. The underlying assumptions I have about government’s willingness to make meaningful simplifications to applying for aid are out the window. What are these changes that are so earth shattering to the world of college financial aid?

Read More

We’re Getting Fancy Folks… By Kristen Gibbs

Starting in June of 2015, MASFAP has started taking advantage of online bill pay options through our bank. We started off experimenting with reimbursements for expenses to members to see if the process would work well, and it has. We are able to use these online options for paying venders and for reimbursing individuals for organizational expenses.

So what does this mean for the organization? There are lots of benefits! It has reduced the costs associated with paying bills. We no longer have to pay for stamps, envelopes, and paper checks, and online bill pay is free! It reduces time requirements for budget and finance committee members by taking just seconds to set up a payee, and once the payee information is entered into bill pay, it is easy to make payment. No one has to make time to write out several checks, which means we are able to make payments timelier. And finally, we have reduced some of our financial risk. No one is carting around a large binder with lots of checks at risk of being lost or stolen.

Read More

Breathe. Notice. Enjoy! By CortneyJo Sandidge

Ever gotten up early on a Saturday morning with an errand to run and found yourself in your parking spot at work? Ha! Well, maybe you haven’t made it all the way to work, but you were close when you remembered it was Saturday. What helped you to remember was the commute seemed quicker than normal as the streets had less traffic and you were beating your normal time. Finally when it dawned on you it was Saturday, you cracked up, shook your head, turned your car around and headed toward your original destination. Yep, this can happen sometimes, we get so used to our daily routine that we are on auto pilot, and we find ourselves just driving.

The work we do every day in Financial Aid is important! We are meeting with students and their families, answering phone calls, responding to e-mails, working reports, training, prepping for a presentation, etc. There may even be times when we stay late just to finish it all or get to a good stopping point. And yes, on these days we may feel it’s a lot, but at the end of the day, we know it is all worth it. Yes, our students are worth it. But guess what? You are too!

Read More

Techno Talk By Bridgette Betz

Greetings MASFAPians!

I hope your first week or two of classes are going well and that the lines are short! I have been knocking on wood all week because our first week seems to be relatively smooth.

Read More

Because You Work in Financial Aid By Kathy Elsea

Have you been yelled at today? Have you brought anyone to tears? But have you also been thanked by someone? If yes, then you must be working in a financial aid office and it is the beginning of the school year!

I just wanted to send my MASFAP colleagues a note to make sure you know that others are feeling the same way you are this week. We are in this together, and hope you have had minimal yelling, few tears and many thank yous in your office today.

Read More

Stock Market Tips = Financial Aid Tips By John Brandt

Greetings MASFAP.

I recently read some stock market volatility tips, and I realized that these same tips can also be tips for financial aid professionals.

Read More