Session Descriptions

Sunday April 14th

Fundamentals Workshop

“2024-2025 Verification and Tax Basics for Financial Aid Administrators” presented by Robert Weinerman of Iron Bridge - The college financial aid process relies heavily on tax data and must ensure that the data collected is as accurate as possible. In this session, we will look at how tax data is collected in the FAFSA, how it is used, and the processes in place to ensure the data is correct. We’ll start by looking at the FUTURE Act Direct Data Exchange (FA-DDX), which transfers (most) of the tax data required by the FAFSA directly from the IRS, and when the FA-DDX can’t work, requiring contributors to manually enter their tax information. We’ll look at Verification – the process through which the Department asks financial aid administrators to collect specific documentations and check the accuracy of specific FAFSA data elements as defined by the Department of Education to ensure that the FAFSA data are accurate. We’ll also look at the ways financial aid administrators review and adjust tax data, including correcting and updating it, separating a single FAFSA contributor out of a joint tax return, and identifying and resolving tax-related conflicting information.

Welcome

“The State of Enrollment in Virginia” presented by Ben Kennedy of Kennedy & Company  - The state of enrollment, and the prospective student pipeline, is more favorable in Virginia than in other parts of the country. However, there are some factors nationally and regionally that are worth noting as financial aid administrators and their admissions counterparts work to enroll and retain students. This session will explore relevant trends and their implications for those that work in enrollment management.

Monday April 15th

Welcome and General Session 9:00 to 10:00

“FAFSA Completion Best Practices” by Jim Purcell of Alabama Commission on Higher Education - Alabama has become one of a handful of states that now require high school students to complete the FAFSA prior to graduation.  In response to this new requirement, the Alabama Commission on Higher Education collaborated with Oracle to develop the Commission’s FAFSA Completion Portal and a direct communications initiative that encourages and assists high school seniors with completing the FAFSA.  The portal links the state’s K-12 data with federal ISIR data to provide real-time completion metrics by high school.  The Commission communicates to high school seniors with emails provided by the Alabama Department of Education.  The initiative yielded a 30% increase in FAFSA completion and resulted in increases in admission applications and enrollment.  

General Session 10:15 to 11:30

“FAFSA Simplification Panel: Expectations vs Reality” presented by Andrew Quinn (Brightpoint), Mayra Vazquez (TNCC), Michael Morgan (Rhodes), Shannon Eskam (VMI), Kelley Florian (BSHSI), and JW Kellam (Converse) – Join us as we continue to navigate FAFSA Simplifications. How has the reality been different from the expectations? How has your school responded with the delays? Questions can be submitted prior to the conference through this link.

Lunch and Learns11:30 – 1:00

“The Said What?: The 2023 Student Survey on the Financial Aid Experience” presented by Earnest - Learn the results of Earnest’s third annual Survey on Student Engagement in which 555 undergraduate students shared their thoughts on the financial aid process, their experiences, and their attitudes towards advice, decision-making, and working with their financial aid offices. Join us as we transform this data into actionable strategies to better engage with your students and enhance your role in their educational journey.

“Return to Payment – Why Aid Offices Need to Engage” presented by Mohela – With the return to repayment that started in October 2023, over 30 million Americans have been impacted in a variety of ways as they find their loans are no longer in the COVID-Forbearance status from the past 42 months. Borrowers reentering repayment again or those who recently graduated and are entering repayment for the first time, find themselves surrounded with new terms and conditions, confusing processes, constantly changing rules and difficulty in accessing support services. In addition to the current direct loan program, many borrowers are still paying on the older Federal Family Education Loan Program loans and Private loans. This session will give participants the opportunity to hear how things are progressing and to share with each other ideas and best practices that will help us all in moving forward in this new post-pandemic era.  We will also learn why schools need to start now to talk more about loans with students and borrowers.

“Freeze! Protecting Your Credit and How to Talk with Your Students” presented by College Ave - Students are not always interested in what we have to say, much less the advice we give them. Studies show, however, that this generation is more interested in credit and financial health than any previous cohort. In this informative session, participants will gain valuable insights into safeguarding their credit and learn effective communication strategies for discussing financial matters with students. We will explore practical tips for freezing potential threats to your credit, demystify credit protection strategies, and enhance your ability to engage in meaningful conversations about financial responsibility with students. Equip yourself with the knowledge and communication skills needed to navigate the complex landscape of personal finance confidently. Don't miss this opportunity to take charge of your financial well-being and empower the next generation through impactful discussions.

“Oracle Student Financial Planning” presented by Oracle - Please join us as we take a journey through the Oracle Student Financial Planning solution from both a student and FA staff perspective. Oracle SFP is a game-changing financial aid solution that manages each student’s financial plan individually and provides real-time visibility into a student’s entire academic lifecycle, supporting better informed financial decisions and optimized outcomes. With its high levels of automation (90%+ throughout the entire financial aid lifecycle), intuitive Student Portal experience, and compliance with changing regulations and legislation, SFP empowers financial aid professionals to spend time on students, not process.

General Session 1:15 to 2:15

“Fraud Awareness” presented by Kris Park of the Department of Education - The U.S. Department of Education Office of Inspector General, Investigation Services, will provide an overview of ED OIG and discuss sources of allegations, indicators of fraud, examples of Title IV fraud schemes, best practices to reduce the risk of fraud, and how to contact ED OIG.

General Session 2:45 to 4:00

“Changes to the Tax Code, Tax Forms, and Tax Data in the FAFSA” presented by Robert Weinerman of Iron Bridge - Luckily, the 2021, 2022, and 2023 tax forms and tax code are very similar, and we are not looking at significant changes to the tax information that the FAFSA collects across these years. We’ll cover the few changes financial aid administrators should be aware of, but mostly, in this session, we’ll focus on the changes to the tax data collected in the FAFSA. We will look at how some tax data that FAFSA has been collecting for years have been redefined or will be used in different ways than in the past, the new tax data has appeared, and how some of the allowances in the Student Aid Index formula that are based on tax data have changed.

Breakout Session 4:15 to 5:15

“How to use Social Media and other Tactics to Engage Gen Z” presented by Tim Young of Earnest - With calls, email, texts, letters, and tweets, you might wonder how students still miss your messages. Students are overstimulated and if you want your message to be heard, you have to think like a social media company. Here, you will find the tools you need to engage your students on their terms and make your message heard.

“COA Policy Creation” presented by Cary Wright of Virginia Tech - This presentation will cover tips for creating a Cost of Attendance policy, as well as how Virginia Tech calculates their Cost of Attendance. With all of the FAFSA Simplification Act changes and requirements related to COA, having documented procedures and a robust policy is crucial for remaining compliant with regulations!

“SAP: What Would You Do?” presented by Tom Kinback of NOVA – The expression "Is the glass half-full or half-empty?" has for many years highlighted the tendency for two people to see the same situation in different ways. While that adage could be applied to just about everything in financial aid, it especially holds true for SAP appeal decisions. Somewhere it is written that professional judgment and SAP appeal decisions are more art than science.  Come to this discussion of SAP and SAP appeal situations.  The audience will be asked to weigh in on “What would you do” via cellphone or tablet online polling.

“PJ and SAI” presented by Robert Weinerman of Iron Bridge - An understanding of how the FAFSA data come together to become the Student Aid Index is important for financial aid administrators to understand, especially when it comes to professional judgment. In this session, we will look at how the data in the FAFSA come together to form the SAI and Pell eligibility – and then look at how changing these data (when considering professional judgments) can change the student’s aid eligibility – or result in no change. Understanding this process can help FAAs manage their appeal workload –as many requests from students and parents, even if a professional judgment is warranted, will not result in a change to the student’s federal aid eligibility or extend Pell eligibility. Let’s see if we can predict in advance whether the adjustment the student or parent are requesting will result in more funding for the student.

Tuesday April 16th

General Session 10:00 to 10:50 am

“Professional Judgments for the new FAFSA” presented by Brad Barnett of JMU – Join us as we look into how the Professional Judgment process has updated with FAFSA Simplification

General Session11:00-12:00

“The Pell Initiative for Virginia” presented by Barry Simmons of SCHEV - The Pell Initiative for Virginia is a competitive, institutionally-based grant program to encourage state-supported postsecondary institutions to increase their Pell-eligible student recruitment, enrollment, retention and attainment. Pell-eligible students are generally low-income, first generation or underrepresented students. The Pell Initiative is funded by the Commonwealth of Virginia and administered by the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia. This session will deal with program administration details and share examples of currently funded programs. Details of future Pell Initiative funding will also be discussed and will close with a question and answer period.

Breakout Session 2:15 to 3:15

“Breaking Barriers: Accessing State Financial Aid using the VASA Application” presented by Tierney Jackson of SCHEV - Join us for an informative session on the Virginia Alternative State Aid (VASA) Application, which is the alternative application available to students, including undocumented and DACA recipients, who are ineligible to file a FAFSA. This session will cover what the VASA application is, who can benefit from it, and how to file it as well as provide a walkthrough of the current application.

“Persist in Higher Education” presented by Lori Auxier of ECMC - Join us for this informative session to learn more about ECMC’s free educator guide, “Persist in Higher Education, that is designed for postsecondary educators to help them learn about and implement best practices in support of low-income, minoritized and first-generation college students. This guide provides practical, step-by-step instructions for implementing a range of programs shown by evidence to produce better outcomes in admitting, enrolling, advising, preparing, retaining and graduating students from all backgrounds. The guide also connects educators to research showing why these programs matter so that users of the guide can make compelling cases for change at their home institutions.

“This is Financial Aid Jeopardy!” presented by Kathleen Roebuck of Monogram - A fun interactive way to test your financial aid knowledge and learn something new!  Great refresher questions for long timers and great training for newbies! Categories include: FAFSA, Potpourri, Verification, Student Loans, and more.  Join us in a game of Financial Aid Jeopardy where you will be split up in teams to see who takes home the win.

“Exceptional Customer Service” presented by Chansone Durden of Earnest - All of us know what good service is. We know the goal is to meet a customer’s need, and what it feels like to be a satisfied customer. But oftentimes, something happens when we go to work, and our customer service becomes a job instead of a common practice or discipline. Whether you are interacting with a student, parent or executive management, these 8 essential tips can make you comfortable and capable of providing an exceptional customer service experience.

General Session 3:45 to 4:30

“The Way of the Shepherd” presented by Patty Peterson of Citizens - Discover seven principles used by effective leaders and put them into practice with your own team to build a highly productive team.  Learn how to teach the people around you to view their work as a calling rather than merely a job, a place to work rather than a place to get a paycheck.  Challenge yourself to become a great leader and bring out the best in your team.