Student Aid Advisory Committee Issues Preliminary Agenda For Chicago Field Hearing

The Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance issued a preliminary agenda for its upcoming field hearing at the University of Illinois at Chicago on Dec. 18. The committee also extended the registration deadline to Dec. 11.

The hearing will be the first of three field hearings the committee will hold as a part of its congressionally requested study to make textbooks more affordable for students. The field hearings will include testimony from organizations and individuals around the country who are currently working to make textbooks more affordable. Information gathered will be used to inform recommendations in the final report, due to Congress by May 2007.

In addition to addressing textbook costs, the hearing will include a roundtable discussion and public comment session to discuss issues from previous hearings and a panel discussion on the committee's recently released report on the impact of financial barriers on bachelor's degree attainment.

The following speakers are scheduled to speak at the hearing:

• Mr. Robert Carlock, Vice President of Finance & Administration, Rend Lake College
• Ms. Ashley Dearborne, Member, Student Advisory Committee, Illinois Board of Higher Education
• Mr. Tom Doran, Co-Founder/CEO, Freeload Press
• Ms. Bonnie Elmore, Assistant Manager, Textbook Services, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
• Ms. Emily Kissane, Policy Analyst, Minnesota Office of Higher Education
• Ms. Carolyn Kruse, Director & Senior Academic Librarian, College Library, University of Wisconsin, Madison
• Dr. Cheryl Maplethorpe, Director, Financial Aid Division, Minnesota Office of Higher Education
• Dr. Craig Martin, Ecological Plant Physiology Professor & Chair, University of Kansas
• Dr. Nancy Mergler, Senior Vice President & Provost, University of Oklahoma, Norman
• Mr. Matthew DeRosa, Student Member, Illinois Board of Higher Education
• Mr. Scott Formo, President, Minnesota State College Student Association
• Mr. Nathan Lustig, Co-Owner, ExchangeHut.com
• Mr. Barry Major, President, Used Textbook Association
• Mr. Trevor Montgomery, President, Students for Access & Affordability in Higher Education, University of Illinois, Chicago
• Mr. Edward Stanford, President, McGraw-Hill Higher Education
• Dr. Z. Clara Brennan, President, St. Augustine College
• Mr. Larry Matejka, Executive Director, Illinois Student Assistance Commission
• Mr. Alan Robertson, Interim Vice President for Administration & Financial Affairs, Chicago State University
• Dr. Steve Timmermans, President, Trinity Christian College
• Dr. David W. Tretter, President, The Federation of Illinois Independent Colleges & Universities
• Dr. Jerry Webber, President, Kankakee Community College

Posted 11/30/06 to www.NASFAA.org. Please submit Web Site questions or comments to Web@NASFAA.org