[Oasfaa] FW: [SWASFAA Team Chatter] NASFAA Credential Opportunities

Fri Aug 7 11:02:52 CDT 2015

I am a trainer on the Boot Camp committee, and Andrew is absolutely right.  It IS exhausting to think about.  We intentionally cram in as much as we possibly can because no one ever said financial aid was easy.  But, it is so completely worth it!  We have altered our agenda slightly this year.  In the past, Boot Camp began after lunch, around 1PM on Monday.  This year, we're kicking it off at 10AM and including lunch on Monday's agenda.  We want to have maximum time to present the materials, to engage the participants, to encourage questions, and to squeeze in some fun.  Because, I've got to say, we are a pretty fun group to be around.  Right?  Of course we are!

If you're on the fence about attending Boot Camp, or sending someone in your office, let me encourage you to register.  This is my 3rd year as a trainer.  To be completely honest, I was more than a little shocked, my first year as a trainer, sitting in the room, realizing that even after 10 years of working in financial aid, I was learning-and relearning-a lot more material than I wanted to admit to.  

I hope you all are surviving the heat, your students and parents, and all the other wonders that August brings to us.  Good luck, and I hope to see you in Albuquerque.  Just keep thinking about how nice and cool it will be in November...

Thanks!

Mendy Schmerer, M.Ed.
Assistant Director
Office of Student Financial Aid
University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center
1106 N. Stonewall, Rm 301
Oklahoma City, OK  73117
(405) 271-2118, x 48817 (p)
(405) 271-5446 (f)
Mendy-Schmerer at ouhsc.edu 
http://www.ouhsc.edu/financialservices/SFA/ 

 Become our fan on Facebook:  www.facebook.com/OUHSCFinancialAid 

-----Original Message-----
From: SWASFAA Team Chatter [mailto:blog at swasfaa.org] 
Sent: Friday, August 07, 2015 10:40 AM
To: Schmerer, Mendy M. (HSC) <Mendy-Schmerer at ouhsc.edu>
Subject: [SWASFAA Team Chatter] NASFAA Credential Opportunities

SWASFAA Team Chatter has posted a new item, 'NASFAA Credential Opportunities'

Oh, August. The month when all the procrastinators decide to apply for financial aid. The month when all the kinks in the processes come out of remission, and all the crazies have my number on speed dial. In spite of all that, I’m in a great mood this week. The auditors have left the building, the Gainful Employment reporting is done, and my head cold is finally gone. I can breathe again—both literally and figuratively. Now I have to brace myself for the start of school and the next round of SWASFAA and NASFAA projects.

Speaking of NASFAA, it was great to see so many of you at the conference in New Orleans. I was able to connect with people from all over our region. During several conversations, I received positive feedback from people who attended the SWASFAA midlevel training, which gave the registrants an opportunity to take free NASFAA credential tests in a variety of subjects. These credentials have become increasingly popular over time. I’ve seen some financial aid job postings that say preference will be given to applicants with credentials, and at least one university has incorporated the curriculum from the credential tests in their master’s program for higher education administration. As a financial aid director, I get a lot of satisfaction when one of my staff passes a credential exam, because it means they have the ability to interpret complicated regulations without coming to me for help.

I went through one of credential tests myself, and I was scared to death I would fail. I don’t do well with failure. When things are bleak, I become a weapon of mass destruction. Fortunately, I passed the test and got my credential in student eligibility, so the world didn’t end. Now I want to get all the NASFAA credentials. You’ll know if I fail one of them if North America crumbles into the ocean.

I don’t know how much longer NASFAA will continue to subsidize the credential exams for the state and regional trainings. They’re looking at this benefit on a year-by-year basis. As of right now, we know we are covered through June 30, 2016, so I hope SWASFAA members will take advantage of the training opportunities that SWASFAA will offer in November. Once again, we have partnered with NASFAA to offer free credential tests to people who attend either SWASFAA’s boot camp or leadership workshop.

Boot camp is intended for people with less than five years of experience in financial aid administration, but we always have boot campers who have been in the industry for longer than that. The training begins at 10am on November 2nd and lasts through the morning of November 4th. The trainers will cover the application process, cost of attendance, federal methodology, student eligibility, return to Title IV, campus-based aid, direct loans, Pell, professional judgment, verification, and SAP. I’m exhausted just thinking about it. We’ll provide study materials to all the registrants so they can study the curriculum before taking the exam. As soon as we confirm which subjects are eligible for NASFAA credential tests, we will post the list to the SWASFAA mini-site.

The leadership workshop is a half-day training on November 4th, the morning prior to the conference. It’s intended for people with more than five years of experience. Anyone who attends this training will be eligible for free testing in verification and professional judgment. You can go here for more information.

In a future blog entry, I’ll post some details about the conference itself.
Hint: It will include mariachis, FSA trainers, and mountains named after a watermelon. I’m not sure if the world can handle it, but we’re gonna try. If we survived SULA, we can handle just about anything, am I right?

Remember, we will be at the Sandia Resort and Casino in Albuquerque, NM. You can find all the information about the conference on the mini-site.

I’ll be in touch.

--Andrew

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