Tennessee State Report
Forrest M. Stuart, TASFAA President

WINTER 2006

Mr. Clyde Walker, president-elect of TASFAA, resigned his position at Vanderbilt University to join Education Finance Partners, Inc. Because TASFAA by-laws do not allow individuals working outside a college or university financial aid office to hold the position of president-elect, the executive board had to elect someone to replace Mr. Walker. The board elected Mrs. Janette Overton, Director of Financial Aid at Johnson Bible College in Knoxville, Tennessee.

Shortly after Mr. Walker submitted his resignation, Joanie Walker accepted a position with American Student Assistance (ASA). Again, TASFAA by-laws prohibit a person who is not a practicing financial aid administrator in an institution of higher education from serving as past president. The board elected Mr. Brent Tener of Vanderbilt to serve as past president.

The executive board approved TASFAA’s participation in “College Goal Sunday” in February 2006.

The Fall 2005 TASFAA Conference was held October 23 - 25 at the Cool Springs Marriott in Franklin, Tennessee. There were 340 registrants, 31 of whom were new aid officers and 61 who were first-time attendees. The theme was “Hot Topics in Cool Springs”.

At the fall conference, the membership approved a “zero fee” membership structure. The reasons for going to a “zero fee” membership structure are:

1. Many institutions do not pay membership fees that are not part of the conference fee.
   
   
2. Because people had to pay for TASFAA membership out of their own pockets, some who would otherwise be a member of TASFAA couldn’t become a member because of affordability.
   
   
3. Institutional membership has been discussed numerous times for numerous years so that all personnel in the financial aid office may enjoy the benefits of TASFAA membership without having to “foot the bill” themselves. The complexity of such a structure is prohibitive due to the voluntary nature of our administrative positions.
   
   
4. Since the membership can approve dues each year, it would make sense to try a new approach and eliminate membership fees, yet increase the conference fees to compensate for the loss of membership revenue. Because this can be evaluated each year, the association may reinstate membership fees if it finds that the financial burden of increased membership outpaces the annual income of the association.
   
   
5. Finally, it simply seems like the right thing to do to help our members at a time of what appears to be decreasing institutional support for professional association membership.

Virginia State Report
Brad Barnett, VASFAA President
barnetbd@jmu.edu

November 15, 2005

VASFAA committees are hard at work on their standardized goals and objectives for the year and VASFAA has reached the point of the year where much of committee work is now being seen by the membership.

The Fall VASFAA Voice Newsletter posted to the VASFAA web site has been entitled the “Leadership Development Issue.” The newsletter also contains a fabulous article written by Liza Bruce, ECMC and VASFAA Diversity Chair, telling her personal story of dealing with kidney failure, a transplant and blindness. It is a very inspirational story.

The Vendor/Sponsor Lottery for the 2005-06 year has taken place. This is VASFAA’s second year using this format, and once again the lottery process appears to be very successful. VASFAA has received record commitments from vendors/sponsors. The Board is extremely appreciative of all the support received from the vendors/sponsors.

The Secondary School Relations Committee has coordinated thirteen high school guidance counselor workshops that will take place across Virginia from November 4th to December 9th. These workshops will prepare high school guidance counselors to assist students in applying for financial aid for 2006-2007. Overall, 424 brochures were sent to high school guidance offices throughout the state inviting counselors to these workshops.

The Support Staff Training Committee has conducted two successful workshops entitled “Verification and Income Tax.” The subject was intended for staff members who provide hands-on, front-desk interaction with students and parents, along with anyone needing clarification on reviewing tax returns and verification documents.

The Experienced Aid Officer’s Committee will hold the 2005 VASFAA Fall Leadership Symposium at The Inn and Skelton Conference Center at Virginia Tech, Blacksburg on November 14th and 15th. The intent of the Symposium is to provide in-depth knowledge on current research and management issues related to financial aid. Agenda topics include self-leadership, media relations, the millennial student, state appropriations update, and enrollment management strategies.

The Training Committee has coordinated a New Aid Officer Workshop that will take place on December 1st and 2nd in Richmond, VA. VASFAA has generally conducted a full day new aid officer training in conjunction with a conference, but feedback from the membership has indicated that it is desirable to hold a separate event in the fall.

The Awareness Committee has secured twenty sites for the annual VASFAA Super Saturday event that will be held on February 4, 2006. Financial aid professionals will be on hand to assist students and parents in completing the FAFSA. The Awareness Committee has also arranged for VASFAA to have a booth at a College Expo that was held in Richmond on November 9.

The Membership Committee is continuing the 2005-06 membership drive. VASFAA ended the 2004-05 year with 453 members. Currently, the membership numbers show over 50% of renewal members and new members continue to increase.

The Conference Committee, Training Committee, and Diversity Committee are hard at work planning events for the May 2006 conference at the Virginia Beach Hilton Oceanfront Hotel Virginia Beach, VA. This will be VASFAA’s second year at this hotel.

VASFAA has partnered with the NASFAA and its Web-based training program, LearnStudentAid.org. Information about this can be found on the VASFAA web site.

The new committee planning and reporting format seems to be working well. With the new reporting format committees will update a single document each time a report is due. The reports are posted in the “About VASFAA” link on the VASFAA web site for all to view.

One of VASFAA’s goals this year is to create an in-depth “Committee Description” for each of the VASFAA committees. The majority of those descriptions have been created. Once this project has been completed these descriptions will aid in recruiting volunteers and providing more clarity for committee work, now and in the future.