As the years come and go with changes to federal Financial Aid from gainful employment to prior prior year, CAFAA brings on a more exciting and welcomed change. Since 1967 CAFAA has been at the forefront in serving the needs of financial aid professionals here...
How many times have you had the conversation? You’re sitting across from a student discussing their aid package and all they want to talk about is the aid they’re not getting. It’s frustrating for both parties. As an administrator all you can do is play...
Being asked to volunteer may often seem like a trick to get you to do the job that no one else has signed up for, or for many of us the phrase “congratulations, you’re being voluntold” is all too familiar. You might think, sure it...
Whew! I am one tired gal. Trying to stay on top of new regulations, old regulations, reporting deadlines, corrections to this and corrections to that can make one wonder if employment in the field of financial aid is really worth it. Within the past several...
We all know the feeling – working in Financial Aid can feel like you’re in a castle on a small island with its own strange language, gated behind stacks of paperwork and a moat of federal regulations. Secret passwords made up of esoteric jargon and...
Working together with other offices on campus is very beneficial as we can communicate any changes, issues/concerns, new programs, deadline dates, etc that we see coming down the pike So many times, little changes on either end can impact the other side without either of...
Thanks to Jill Robertson’s timely blog post from last month, I know that every one of you stayed calm, cool and relaxed through the hectic start of a new year. No one failed to breathe, we all leaned on a colleague (likely more than said...
Ahh, the sound of frolicking students, the sight of crying mothers and the smell of burgers on the grill for the afternoon bar-b-que in the quad…screech…then we come back to our reality. The sound of panicked students who thought they did their FAFSA, the sight...
I finally did it. This past March, I presented at a national conference. Never have I been so stressed. Never have I felt this nervous but never have I felt more proud than after this experience. If you want to grow your abilities, you must...
The best leadership book I have read is “Leadership Land Mines; 8 management catastrophes and how to avoid them” by Marty Clarke. In my opinion, anyone interested in leadership should read this book. It’s not about leadership theories; it’s practical applications with real stories as...