Rocky Mountain Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators Training Committee Manual Last Updated: September 2015
TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Chapter 1 Purpose of Committee 2 Chapter 2 Committee Structure 3 Chapter 3 Timeline 4-5 Chapter 4 Recent Training Topics 6-7 Appendix A RMASFAA Committee Requirements 8-9 Training Committee Manual 1
Chapter 1 Purpose of Committee The purpose of the Training Committee is to plan and arrange for all regional training activities, with the exception of training activities associated with the Annual Conference and Summer Institute. In 2014-2015, training activities included creating and delivering a presentation at state conferences and the RMASFAA annual conference, monthly tips posted on RMASFAA s blog, and arranging for RMASFAA s first webinar. The committee develops an annual calendar of training activities and promotes this calendar on a nationwide basis. The committee also serves as the liaison for NASFAA training activities that require involvement of the Association. Training Committee Manual 2
Chapter 2 Committee Structure The structure of the committee is as follows: Membership consists of a and Vice plus representation from each member state. The RMASFAA President-Elect selects the Vice, who will serve as the following year. The selects member-state representation based in part by interest indicated on volunteer forms and with the assistance of the President-Elect. Once state representatives are determined, it is the job of the committee chair to update the list of committee members on the RMASFAA website. To update the listing of member names on the RMASFAA website, please use the following procedure: 1) Maneuver a web browser to www.rmasfaa.org. 2) Click on Member Services in the menu across the top of the page. 3) Click on Administrative Access options listed toward the bottom of this page. (Committee access is granted within a few weeks of assuming the position. If you don t have access, contact the Electronic Initiatives Committee for assistance.) a. From the Administrative Access options, select the Board of Directors/ option. 4) Log in with your RMASFAA user name and password. 5) An ATAC screen will appear. Select Actions from the box. 6) A window with Training at the top and numerous actions available will appear. There are also downloadable instructions. 7) Add Committee Members and Remove Committee Members are the first two options in the menu. You will need to remove any previous committee members and add your Vice and the members you have chosen as your state representatives. a. Removing is easy. Click the box in front of the names you wish to remove and choose Remove Participants. b. Adding is a little more challenging. First, search for the person s name (you do not have to complete all the boxes), and then select the correct person from the database to add to your list. If you don t find the person in the results of your search, uncheck the box marked Only Current Members? in the search fields. (Then, send that committee member a reminder to renew their membership in RMASFAA.) Training Committee Manual 3
Chapter 3 Timeline The period of service for Committee members is approximately one year. The Vice role requires a commitment of just over one year, plus a year in the position. The Vice, as the incoming Training, is expected to attend the Transitional RMASFAA Board Meeting before the annual conference, and takes over duties following the installation of the new Board. The performs Committee leadership duties for one year and is expected to attend the Board Meeting and annual conference at the end of his/her term. Committee members are established following the annual conference and participate for the rest of the following year. General timeline of duties: September/October before official term Attend Transitional Board Meeting convened by incoming RMASFAA President. Committee chairs typically attend at invitation of President-Elect - May be held immediately preceding and in conjunction with annual conference or separately at an earlier date - Committee chairs typically attend regular Board meeting before conference as observers at invitation of President Review Bylaws, Policies and Procedures and Mission Statement. Review Training Committee section of proposed budget and submit changes for discussion at the Transitional Board Meeting or earlier, if requested by the President-Elect. The Training budget has been limited in recent years because most Decentralized Training costs ceased after 2008 - Budget consists mostly of potential travel costs if a committee member is not able to present in his/her state and other for potential miscellaneous costs like flash drives or other presentation materials; actual costs have been minimal or none - Projected webinar costs were included in Electronic Initiatives budget for 2014-2015 The Board can provide suggestions on Committee focus and/or broad guidance for training topic(s). October begins official duties after RMASFAA Annual Conference. October/November Committee members, including new Vice, are recruited with the assistance of the President- Elect from volunteer forms submitted at the conference (and after). According to the P&P, membership includes the, Vice and a representative from each member state. If possible, it s nice to include a recent Leadership Pipeline graduate or current mentee in the mix as an opportunity for continuing development of leadership skills. November/December Meet as a committee via conference call as often as necessary to select presentation topic and delegate specific tasks. (FreeConferenceCall.com was used during 2015-2015) For example, from where will the presentation be obtained? Will it be compiled by the committee? Will it be a purchased presentation? Will a presenter be hired and, if so, at what expense? Does presentation need to be individualized for state conferences? The Committee typically researches and assembles presentation as a group and each state Training Committee Manual 4
member delivers the final version at his/her respective state conference, but the Committee is not limited to this option Review training events already scheduled by NASFAA or others so that selected session does not overlap or replicate. Keep in mind that the purpose of the committee is to offer professional development beyond what NASFAA and RMASFAA already do; we re wasting time and resources if we re duplicating offerings. Consult with DMCI Committee if selected topic relates to DMCI. The two committees may be able to coordinate training. Compile schedule of annual state conferences. Conferences are usually in March and April (Colorado previously held its state conference in October, but will be switching to spring following the 2015 combined CAFAA/RMASFAA conference) Committee members should contact their individual states to request position on its conference agenda for session to be presented by Training Committee members. February Send presentation topic and schedule of annual conferences to Association News to post on the blog. Committee members should announce topic on state social media and newsletter venues or request state president to do so. March/April Present training sessions at state conferences. Evaluate sessions per submitted forms and/or attendee references. In addition, if the Training Committee decides to continue the Tip of the Month for the RMASFAA blog, the will need to coordinate dates and deadlines with the Association News. Webinars planned by the Committee will need to be scheduled with the Electronic Initiatives and subsequent marketing for those events coordinated with the Association News. Training Committee Manual 5
State conference presentations: Chapter 4 Recent Training Topics Historical Note: In 2009, Decentralized Training was discontinued as the major responsibility of the RMASFAA Training Committee, largely due to economic issues. As a result, the Committee began creating and presenting a topic at state conferences each year. A survey of current Training Committee and RMASFAA Board members was conducted in early April 2015 to determine if there was interest in reinstating Decentralized Training efforts; results will be discussed at October 2015 Board Meeting. 2009 2010: Leadership within Higher Education [ True Colors and Pace Palette were both utilized.] 2010 2011: Diversity as it Relates to Financial Aid [A basic PowerPoint session was compiled by committee members and edited by each presenter to best fit each state s needs and time allocations. Several subtopics were chosen--intergenerational issues, ethnicity, religious differences, sexual preference, veteran and military status, unemployed, homeless, nontraditional family structures--and detailed so members could determine which were most relevant in their particular state.] 2011 2012: Destination Leadership [A leadership panel of five to six financial aid leaders (varied among each state conference) offered tips and best practices; Leadership Pipeline was also addressed and promoted.] 2012 2013: Financial Aid s Role in Student Retention [Presentation addressed the issue of non-retention, along with ways financial aid can assist in student retention; contributions also made from DMCI committee.] 2013-2014: Program Reviews 2014 2015: Communicating with 21 st -Century Students: #Say What? [Presentation offered strategies for how to use technological tools available for aid administrators to help speak their students language and provided an opportunity to hear best practices from colleagues. The session covered popular and new social media types, generational issues, collaborating with other campus offices, FERPA implications and other ways (including more traditional approaches) to communicate with students on multiple levels.] Tips of the Month December: Consumer Information January: Financial Aid Toolkit February: R2T4 March: Financial aid terminology April: Creating an office Facebook page May: Dealing with presentation anxiety June: Time management July: Reviewing ISIR transactions August: Enrollment issues September: Financial literacy October: Improving Customer Service Webinar Consumer Information Requirements: Tips on Making an Audit a Little Smoother, was presented October 6, 2015 by Dr. Jeremy Early, Associate Director for Administrative Services in Housing and Training Committee Manual 6
Residential Education at the University of Utah and former auditor for the Department of Education. His co-presenter was Karen Henriquez, Associate Director of Financial Aid at the University of Utah. Presented right before the RMASFAA annual conference, this first webinar was offered via a free trial version of GoToWebinar. Because of the difficulty and cost of offering webinar registration to members only (by requiring logging in to the member access section of the RMASFAA website), it was determined to just offer the registration link to anyone accessing the general website wanting to attend. Space was limited to the first 100 GoToWebinar logins the day of the Webinar. The Training Committee will need to move forward with the number and timing of future webinar offerings and budget for GoToWebinar (or other provider) costs as well as RMASFAA website set-up and registration costs. The Board will also need to determine whether to place these costs in the Training Committee or Electronic Initiatives budget. Other options may be to partner with NASFAA or associate members to use their webinar technology. Training Committee Manual 7
Appendix A RMASFAA Committee Requirements The information concerning committee membership can be found in the RMASFAA Policies and Procedures Manual in Section 5 Committees of the Association. The information is summarized in this appendix. Committee Membership Guidelines Committee members may be institutional or associate members of the association. The President-Elect, with the assistance of the committee chair, will solicit names of potential committee members from the state delegates, the associate member delegates and from volunteer form submissions. A member may serve on more than one committee during the same year, although it is recommended that as many members as possible be included on the committees. To the extent possible, committee members will represent the diversity of the association membership with regard to state affiliation, institution size, institution type, gender, and multicultural characteristics. Travel and other expenses incurred by committee members attending committee meetings and performing authorized committee activities will be covered according to the policies of the association. Travel expenses for meetings held in conjunction with the annual conference will not be reimbursed. Committee Association Governance Association News Conference Planning & Evaluation Corporate Development Diversity & Multicultural Initiatives Required Membership Immediate Past President, Members include: President, President-Elect, Vice President, plus the four most recent past presidents. Other members may be recommended by the President and approved by the Board of Directors. Vice One representative from each member state. (Institutional Member) Vice (Institutional or Associate) (These are appointed by the current RMASFAA President upon the recommendation of the host state delegate) Other such members as required. Associate Member Delegate Immediate Past of Most Recent Conference Planning committee should serve as an advisor to current committee Vice At Least two other members Vice Four additional members with majority representing association s underrepresented membership. Training Committee Manual 8
Electronic Initiatives Finance and Audit Leadership Pipeline Membership Committee Nominations and Elections Summer Institute Training Committee Vice Vice Two additional members * (will serve two years as chair; one development year plus one implementation year) Vice (Note: accepting Vice role is a 3-year commitment; Year 1 Vice ; Years 2 & 3 - ). Will select a new Vice every other year as current chair begins 2 nd year as chair which is the implementation year) One representative from each member state Vice One representative from each member state President-Elect, State Delegates from each member state Associate Member Delegate RMASFAA s member of the NASFAA Nominations & Elections Committee Vice Past One representative from each member state Vice One representative from each member state Training Committee Manual 9