Virtual Trainings
August
The Great “Unpausing” of Student Loans
VASFAA and the DC Association of Student Aid Administrators invites you to join us August 8th at 11:00 am to learn more about the resumption of student loan repayments in our webinar called: “The Great Unpausing of Student Loans.”
This webinar is intended to create awareness and potential roadmaps for financial aid administrators and their administrations to mitigate the negative impact of student loan repayments resuming. Like our institutions, other parties such as Federal Student Aid (FSA) and their servicer partners are limited in their resources and their ability to envisage this once in a lifetime challenge.
Learn from a panel of experts and your colleagues about what steps you can take to avoid a sharp rise in your default rate, maintain a good student and family experience, and prepare your administration for all contingencies. As good stewards of the nation’s financial aid eco-system--- this webinar is a must even during a busy August season!
September
Recharge
Thursday, September 7 at 10AM
Presenter: Cynthia Duncan
Have you noticed that you get enough sleep, but you're still not feeling rested? Sleep and rest are not the same thing, and sleep doesn't provide all of the different kinds of rest we need. Explore the resources from this campaign during a CommonHealth presentation.
VASFAA Representative: Debra Johnson
Dev Partner: Kevin Holman, CollegeAve
Review the Recording, Slides & Resources Here
Filling out the FAFSA for Homeless and Foster Youth
Wednesday, September 13 at 10AM
Presenter: Jillian Sitjar
SchoolHouse Connection is a national organization working to overcome homelessness through education from prenatal to postsecondary. This session will provide an overview of the FAFSA provisions for homeless and foster youth from the FAFSA Simplification Act, strategies to implement, resources available for financial aid administrators, and general best practices for helping support students experiencing homelessness.
VASFAA Representative: Loretta Jones
Dev Partner: Kathleen Roebuck, Monogram
October
Overview of Changes for the 2024-2025 Financial Aid Cycle
Monday, October 16 at 10AM
Presenter: Robert Weinerman
We’ve been hearing about, studying, Zooming, and worrying about the impact of the FUTURE Act and the FAFSA Simplification Act for months now – and now it’s actually happening. Let’s take a broad overview of the two acts and how they are changing the way we will process federal applications going forward. We’ll review the key changes made by the two acts, including the move from the Expected Family Contribution (EFC) to the Student Aid Index (SAI), changes to Pell Grant eligibility, and the impact of the transition from the IRS DRT to the FUTURE Act Direct Data Exchange (FADDX). We’ll look at how the FADDX will impact V1 verification. And we’ll review changes in the tax code and the use of tax returns as we move to tax year 2022 as the base year for 2024-2025.
This agenda is tentative and may change, depending on the timing of guidance from the Department of Education.
VASFAA Representative: Andrew Quinn
Dev Partner: Patty Peterson, Citizens Bank
November
Not Just Another Hand Calc
Wednesday, November 8 at 10AM
Presenter: Robert Weinerman
I know and I get it – the FAFSA Processing System (FPS) will deliver ISIRs with the Student Aid Index (SAI) already calculated, and you don’t think you need to do a hand calculation of the SAI. But this session is a little different. We will use the formulas from the SAI Guide to hand calculate an SAI or two, including calculating Pell eligibilities – but our purpose is to see how changes in some of the data elements impact the SAI. Your institutions will be inviting students to submit appeals, and you’ll have more of them to do. A solid understanding of how the data elements in the FAFSA are used in the SAI formula, and how changes to a data element (AGI, income earned from work, parent or student assets, etc.) will change the SAI and student’s aid eligibility, is essential. You’ll learn how to predict whether an adjustment to a FAFSA data element will make enough of a change in the SAI to make a difference in the aid a student might receive.
VASFAA Representative: TBA
Dev Partner: Brad Scaggs
December
Wheel of Life
Wednesday, December 6 at 2PM
Presenter: Bonnie Carb, Financial Aid Advisor at Laurel Ridge Community College & Leadership Coach
Discover your true satisfaction in your personal and your Financial Aid professional life. Learn how you can take steps forward in an authentic way that aligns with who you are and what you value. Contemplate how to empower and make a difference for yourself both personally and professionally. Begin to create goals and structures as steppingstones towards fulfillment.
Please note that this is a “Safe Space” class and will not be recorded in order for attendees to feel safe in sharing private information with Webinar attendees. The slide deck will be shared with attendees and is not for public use.
Level Up Virginia: VASA Application
Tuesday, December 12 at 2PM
Presenter: Tierney Jackson
Level Up Virginia Events are co-sponsored by the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV), the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE), Educational Credit Management Corporation (ECMC) and GEAR UP Virginia.
Join Tierney Jackson, SCHEV for a webinar on the VASA application. The VASA application is completely free, secure and grants access only to state financial aid opportunities. It provides an alternative pathway for these students to apply for state-level financial assistance. So, if you’re in one of these categories and need financial aid for your education, the VASA application is an excellent option.
Proper Use of FAFSA Tax Information
Thursday, December 14 at 10AM
Presenter: Robert Weinerman
Starting with the 2024-2025 academic year and the implementation of the FUTURE Act Direct Data Exchange (FADDX) between the IRS and the FAFSA, most of the tax information you’ll be handling will be considered “Controlled, Unclassified Information” (CUI) and “Personal Tax Information” (PTI). Information classified as CUI (Controlled Unclassified Information) and PTI (Personal Tax Information) must be treated in specific, and more strict ways that differ from the treatment of other information in the student’s application. In this session, we will review the proper use and protection or PTI, the proper use and protection of other FAFSA data, and the difference between tax information provided via the FADDX and manually by the application or other FAFSA contributor.
VASFAA Representative: TBA
Dev Partner: TBA
January
How to Give Your Best Virtually
Wednesday, January 24 at 10AM
Presenter: Kathleen Roebuck
We have been meeting virtually now for a few years. We have hopefully mastered the mute button! Many schools, businesses, and individuals are still choosing virtual meetings over in-person meetings for a variety of reasons. Let’s spend time reviewing the things we can control during virtual meetings to make sure we are giving all attendees our very best. From things to think about before the meeting starts, to best practices during and after the meeting.
VASFAA Representative: TBA
Dev Partner: Carrie Stone, Inceptia
February
2024-2025 V1 Verification, Presented by Robert Weinerman
Wednesday, February 7 at 10AM
Presenter: Robert Weinerman
In our final tax training webinar of the 2024-2025 cycle, we’ll take a deep dive into V1 Verification in 2024-2025, including a look at where 2024-2025 tax information appears on the 2022 tax returns, and documentation requirements for all selected students. And since Verification of non-filers requires a determination of whether or not the non-filer is required to file a tax return, we’ll look at what you’ll need to do after determining a non-filers sources of income. And since this is the last of the formal tax trainings of the cycle, we’ll save plenty of time for questions.
VASFAA Representative: TBA
Dev Partner: TBA
May
Averting Danger: Combatting Fraud in Higher Education
Thursday, May 16 at 10AM
Presenter: Panel
We are witnessing a disturbing surge in fraudulent activities in higher education and financial aid. Financial aid administrators have a fiduciary responsibility to report suspected fraud. The objectives of this session are to raise awareness of the startling sophistication of fraud, discuss credit industry mitigants, and campus-wide best practices for deterrence. Just as Title IV administration is a campus-wide initiative, so is the detection and reporting of fraud.
The session will highlight an integrated strategy for fraud prevention that includes multiple campus offices as well as external partners such as OIG, credit agencies and lenders. Attendees will gain an understanding of different types of fraud and the methods used by fraudsters, emergence of synthetic fraud that involves creating a new identity by combining real and fake information, latest technologies and strategies used to detect and prevent fraud.
Finally, the session will also provide a forum for networking and knowledge sharing among industry professionals and subject matter experts. Join us for this informative and engaging session on combatting fraud.
VASFAA Representative: TBA
Dev Partner: TBA