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Executive Board, Conference Committee, Local Arrangements, Pre-Con Staff, Invited Guests

Executive Board, Conference Committee, Director's Summit Attendees, FAAC Attendees

Executive Board, Conference Committee, FAAC & Director's Summit Attendees for Sunday

Color Guard: Independence High School Color Guard

National Anthem Singer: Jack Richardson, UNC Charlotte Senior, Vocal Performance Major

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We are excited to have Aaron Lacey of Thompson Coburn, LLP., as the keynote speaker for the 2026 SASFAA Annual Conference. Aaron is a nationally known attorney who specializes in higher education law and regulations. Check out his professional biography at the Thompson Coburn website. Aaron will kick off our conference with a general session packed with information on current legal and regulatory issues in higher education and financial aid. You will not want to miss it! 

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Student financial aid data touches nearly every corner of campus—but strict federal rules govern how that information can be used and shared. In this session, we’ll break down the laws behind financial aid data use, including FERPA, the Higher Education Act, and IRS rules, and clarify what counts as FAFSA data versus Federal Tax Information. Using real examples and the NASFAA Data Sharing Decision Tree, we’ll explore what’s allowed, what’s not, and how to stay compliant while supporting students effectively.

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Professional judgment is one of the most valuable—and challenging—tools in a financial aid administrator’s role. Join Dana Kelly, NASFAA’s Vice President of Professional Development and Institutional Compliance, for a practical discussion on balancing compassion with compliance. Learn current best practices, documentation standards, and real-world approaches to applying PJ effectively, ensuring equitable outcomes and sound institutional policy decisions.

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Learn the tools and resources to utilize in your day-to-day functions as a new Financial Aid Administrator. During this session we will discuss and share a list of tools to help you succeed on the job. 

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Nothing that we do in Financial Aid happens in a vacuum. We both impact and are impacted by the work of other people, teams, and departments. To build bridges between departments is to recognize our interconnectedness, embrace it, and utilize it to achieve our mission to provide students with access to life-changing education. In this session we will explore four “bridges” to successful partnership across our campuses: sharing knowledge, common purpose, trust, and effective communication. We will highlight some barriers to bridge-building, give strategies to overcome those barriers and strengthen collaboration, and provide examples of successful bridge-building. Participants should emerge from this session with motivation, ideas, and some concrete next steps to building and repairing bridges with other departments at their institutions.

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NASFAA National Chair Annual Update

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The financial aid profession is no stranger to high-stakes, high-stress moments. Few stories capture the essence of leading under pressure better than Apollo 13 (1970)—the real-life mission that turned from lunar exploration to a fight for survival after an oxygen tank exploded en route to the Moon. As astronauts and NASA ground control worked together against impossible odds, their teamwork and leadership became a timeless model for navigating crisis.  In this interactive session, we’ll draw powerful lessons from Apollo 13 and apply them to the financial aid world—exploring how to stay calm under pressure, redefine your mission when plans change, empower and trust your team, get creative with limited resources, and communicate with clarity when it matters most.

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Every year brings new questions, new guidance, and new gray areas in federal student aid administration. Join NASFAA’s Dana Kelly for an engaging review of the most frequently asked, most challenging, and most surprising AskRegs topics of the year. From implementation hurdles to emerging compliance trends, this session will highlight the issues shaping aid offices nationwide and the guidance that helps institutions stay on course.

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Come join our discussion of how Veteran and Veteran Affiliated benefits work hand in hand with Financial Aid.

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In this session we will explore approaches to awarding scholarships which may have difficult donor restrictions through "pool and match."  We will discuss the nuts and bolts of how this approach can operate, as well as the opportunities and risks of various approaches.

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This session will focus on data from a doctoral research project that evaluates a new financial aid counseling intervention for first-year students at Pearl River Community College in Mississippi. The purpose of the study was to discover whether students’ lack of understanding of the financial aid process and eligibility requirements for federal, state, and institutional aid may be a contributing factor to poor retention, SAP status, and returned funds due to withdrawal. We will discuss retention and eligibility data for students who both did and did not attend a counseling session, as well as students’ attitudes towards the financial aid counseling based on survey data.

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Have you ever wondered what dark magic is used to get the reports you use daily? Do you currently create your own reports but want a better understanding of how to do so? Have you ever heard the term "SQL" (said like sequel) and wondered what exactly that is? Or do you just want to reinforce your understanding of SQL? If you answered 'YES' to any of the above, grab your laptop and join us for an interactive session on SQL and Query writing!

Session Description: Join us for an interactive listening session designed to gather your insights, ideas, and aspirations for the future of SASFAA. As we begin developing the next five-year Strategic Long-Range Plan, the committee is eager to hear directly from our members. This is your opportunity to share the goals, challenges, and priorities you believe should guide our association’s direction. Your voice matters—help shape the future of SASFAA!

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Data surrounds us in everything we do. How do you begin to measure what is important? It begins with deciding your goals. What do you want to know or build or improve? Is it your student service metrics that could help tell your service story? Is it building the enrollment characteristics of your students who enroll, retain, and graduate? Do you want to build goals for your staff team that are measurable and attainable? Come learn some of the ways to aggregate your data and begin to tell the story of your office and the ways you serve students. 

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This session will discuss how leaders can create a Circle of Safety (Simon Sinek's "Leaders Eat Last") with their team while bringing in others across campus in order to break down silos and foster a stronger, more resilient, and collaborative group of campus partners.

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General overview of withdrawal and Return of Title IV process.  Will the new 2026-27 rule changes leave a sour taste in your mouth?

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Katie Cashman and Daniel Moneyman are back with their ever-popular Top Ten List!  This session will address the top concerns and intricacies that you may be overlooking in OB3 regulations.  

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As campuses continue to decentralize student support services, delivering emergency aid effectively and equitably has become both more complex and more critical. This session offers a comprehensive look at best practices for managing emergency aid in decentralized environments, with a special focus on recent federal updates that have removed emergency aid from the category of Other Financial Assistance (OFA) under Title IV regulations. Participants will explore:  Implications of the federal policy change: What it means for packaging aid, compliance, and student eligibility. Strategies for accurate designation: How financial aid offices can ensure emergency aid is properly classified and documented to avoid misreporting or unintended impacts on student aid. Cross-campus collaboration: Building effective partnerships with student affairs, basic needs programs, and academic departments to streamline aid delivery. Equity and responsiveness: Designing programs that meet diverse student needs while maintaining consistency and transparency.  This session is ideal for financial aid professionals, student support leaders, and administrators seeking to strengthen their emergency aid programs in alignment with federal guidance and institutional goals.

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Fasten your seatbelts and prepare for takeoff—Join your fellow financial aid travelers as we embark on a first-class journey through the ins and outs of Pell Grant administration. Our flight plan includes correctly calculating Pell at any enrollment intensity, ensuring smooth disbursement landings, managing recalculations with minimal turbulence, and navigating the skies of COD and G5 reconciliation. We’ll even make a stop at the beautiful shores of Year-Round Pell. Whether you’re a first-time traveler or a frequent flyer in the world of federal aid, this session will help keep your institution’s flight path clear. Sit back, relax, and enjoy the journey! ☀️✈️

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As students and families navigate the challenging landscape of college affordability, clear and transparent aid offers are essential. In this session, we’ll explore how the CCT (College Cost Transparency Initiative) is addressing public concerns and media conversations around transparency in financial aid. Learn about recent legislative efforts shaping aid offer standards and hear the latest survey data on what worries prospective students and families most when applying to college. Financial aid practitioners will share their firsthand experiences working with the CCT to refine their aid offers and address these challenges. Join us to uncover how transparency in financial aid is evolving and what it means for students, families, and institutions.

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With recent changes to PLUS and Grad PLUS loan availability, schools are seeking new ways to help students bridge the financial aid gap responsibly. This panel features institutions using lender lists to guide students toward informed private loan decisions. Learn best practices for lender vetting, compliance, and communication while discovering practical tools and insights to strengthen transparency, student support, and financial wellness on your campus.

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Financial aid is a high-pressure field where burnout and turnover are common. This session offers practical strategies to transform your financial aid office into a supportive and collaborative community. Learn how to cultivate psychological safety, enhance communication, and implement effective team-building activities. Participants will leave with actionable steps to boost morale, reduce turnover, and ultimately improve service to students.

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Strategic enrollment plans set the direction, but success depends on how effectively institutions put them into practice. This session will share a real-world approach to moving from vision to action by centralizing scholarships. Participants will learn how to connect the “why” of enrollment priorities—such as improving access, retention, and equity—with the “how” of restructuring scholarship management. We’ll cover both the functional steps (data, policies, processes) and the political realities (stakeholder buy-in, culture change, and communication) that make implementation possible.

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This follow-up session brings together leaders from financial aid and higher education to explore how institutions are tackling ongoing staffing challenges with limited resources. Building on last year’s discussion, panelists will share what has changed, what’s working, and the new strategies helping teams make progress in a shifting landscape.

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Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) is often reduced to a set of metrics—GPA, pace, and time frame. But the true impact of SAP extends far beyond these numbers. For working adult and graduate students especially, SAP can signal deeper issues of academic preparedness, life disruptions, or institutional disconnects. This session reframes SAP as a student support opportunity, not just a compliance requirement. Using a collaborative, student-centered model, this session will demonstrate how one institution has transformed SAP from a once-per-term process into a semester-long communication and outreach strategy. The goal: to identify at-risk students earlier, support their success holistically, and prevent loss of aid and momentum.

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The world of graduate and professional financial aid is changing faster than ever. Join three seasoned financial aid administrators as they dive into the challenges, concerns, and opportunities. The session will include the latest information about OB3 and how it affects graduate students across the country.  Come ready to share your campus experiences, compare notes with colleagues, and leave with actionable insights for managing change in your own aid offices. Whether you're dealing with OB3 implementation hurdles, shifting enrollment patterns, or resource constraints, this session offers a collaborative space to learn from peers facing similar challenges.

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Come hear how the South Carolina Higher Education Tuition Grants Commission leverages student grant data to build powerful legislative relationships, meaningfully transform program administration, and advance policy changes.  Using free resources and encouraging student participation, SCTGC uses data to tell compelling stories, while proving that advocacy is not about scale, it's about strategy.

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The Cohort Default Rate (CDR) is more than just a federal compliance metric—it’s a reflection of how well institutions prepare students for successful loan repayment and long-term financial stability. In this session, we will explore data-informed strategies to manage and reduce CDRs through proactive student engagement, campus collaboration, and effective use of analytics. Attendees will gain insights into identifying at-risk borrowers early, implementing targeted outreach during the grace period, and strengthening partnerships with servicers, career services, and community organizations. The session will also highlight repayment challenges and practical tools to help borrowers navigate new repayment options and avoid default and empower students toward successful repayment outcomes.

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Join us for an engaging session where we’ll unravel the mystery behind federal student aid reconciliation regulations. Just like a classic whodunit, navigating the complexities of reconciliation can feel like a game of deduction—who did what, when, and where? In this interactive session, participants will explore the key players in the process, from the initial data entry to the final reconciliation, uncovering common pitfalls and best practices along the way. With clues provided through real-life scenarios and collaborative problem-solving, attendees will leave with a clearer understanding of how to successfully navigate the federal regulations and ensure compliance in their institutions. Don't miss this chance to crack the code and ensure your financial aid processes are as smooth as a well-executed plot twist!

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With FAFSA Simplification reshaping the Institutional Student Information Record (ISIR), financial aid offices across the SASFAA region continue to navigate new data fields, unfamiliar structures, and evolving federal guidance. This session provides a practical, accessible walkthrough of the ISIR with a focus on real implications for processing, compliance, and advising within Southern-region institutions. Participants will explore each major section of the ISIR—contributor data, tax information, SAI components, comment codes, and potential flags—through examples drawn from the first year of implementation. We will discuss common issues encountered by SASFAA institutions, strategies for troubleshooting conflicting information, and best practices for communicating ISIR-related issues to students and campus partners. This session is designed to help both new and experienced aid professionals build confidence in interpreting ISIRs accurately and efficiently as we prepare for the next FAFSA cycle.

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Whether it is routine financial aid processes or major changes that hit the financial aid landscape (like those introduced through the One Big, Beautiful Bill)  students and families look to school financial aid offices for guidance, reassurance, and clarity.  This session will explore effective strategies for communicating financial aid processes and changes to parents and students in ways that are timely, transparent, and easy to understand.  Attendees will learn how to translate complex policy shifts into plain language, tailor messages for different audiences, and build trust during times of uncertainty.  The session will include practical examples, adaptable communication templates, and ideas for outreach campaigns that keep families informed and confident through the transition.

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Join us for a creative journey into team dynamics and professional growth in financial aid. This session uses the "Dungeons & Dragons" framework to explore the skills and roles crucial to building and supporting a successful financial aid office. Discover how the archetypes and abilities in D&D can provide insights into how financial aid professionals support students, navigate challenges, and contribute to their teams. Whether you’re a director focused on building a resilient and adaptable team (Constitution) or an advisor aiming to enhance communication and rapport with students (Charisma), this talk will help you leverage both technical and interpersonal talents. Together, we’ll map out strengths, skill sets, and core values in a fun, D&D-inspired way. Financial aid professionals of all levels will leave this session with a refreshed perspective on the diverse skills they bring to their work, ready to help students succeed with newfound enthusiasm. 

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