Dr. Phil Day has been working to renew, restructure, and re-energize NASFAA since his first day as president and CEO of the Association.
At NASFAA's National Conference last week in Orlando, Day highlighted the Association's recent accomplishments and outlined goals and priorities for the future. These goals include increasing member benefits, expanding communication and advocacy efforts, and realigning the association and its processes to maximize efficiency and effectiveness.
NASFAA's Future Goals and Priorities:
- Strengthen NASFAA's Leadership Role
NASFAA will work to strengthen and revitalize the organization to more effectively lead the development of public policy and practices that ensure and expand access to post-secondary education.
- Promote Awareness of Need-Based Aid
NASFAA will work to promote awareness and understanding of the availability of student financial aid, particularly among low- and moderate-income families and populations underrepresented in higher education, to reaffirm NASFAA's fundamental commitment to need-based aid and the role it plays in helping the United States fulfill its commitment to its citizens and their future.
- Advance Member Communications, Training, and Professional Development
NASFAA will expand communications, training and professional development opportunities for NASFAA's diverse membership. This will lay the foundation for the next generation of leaders and professionals to take charge when today's leaders step down.
- Enhance NASFAA's Funding Base
NASFAA will enhance its funding base in order to achieve a sustainable, healthy, and highly effective organization that will remain vital far into the future.
- Expand Partnerships
NASFAA will expand partnerships with national, regional, and state associations and others that share NASFAA's goals to promote student access and success, and increase need-based grant aid.
Over the past several months, NASFAA has already made significant progress toward these goals.
"The feedback from NASFAA members in the field strongly suggests that we are on the right track," Day told the 2008 Conference audience.
Expanding Advocacy and Communications
The student loan crunch provided an opportunity for NASFAA to expand its advocacy efforts and communications capabilities, a commitment Day made to the NASFAA Board when he was hired.
"I don't know of any other organization that has been more engaged, more focused, or more responsive to the ever-changing situations we have - and still are - facing," Day said.
Increasing Member Benefits
Day has also been working to reorganize the Association to be more effective and responsive to its members. To accomplish this goal, NASFAA has repositioned Membership Services as the cornerstone of the newly created Programs and Services Division. Membership Services has shown marked success: despite incredibly difficult economic times, NASFAA membership levels remain steady and significantly higher than the national average and previous years.
"It's working, and you can be sure that we will continue to expand our communications and our customer services to our membership in unprecedented ways," Day promised. "We want members to see their investment in NASFAA as having a direct return and a value-added benefit."
Connecting the Budget to Long-Term Goals
Another commitment Day made to the NASFAA board was to link the strategic long range planning goals and objectives to the budget on an annual basis..In order to "connect the dots" more directly, NASFAA has restructured the annual planning and budgeting process.
First, NASFAA will integrate planning and budgeting more directly by presenting the annual budget to the board earlier so that the commissions and committees can shape budget priorities as they develop plans for their year of service. Until now, the budgets for an upcoming fiscal year have typically been approved at the November board meeting - six months before the commission chairs and committee chairs begin identifying their priorities. Moving forward, the budget planning and development process will begin shortly after the start of each calendar year and continue until a final budget is approved at the July board meeting. This will allow the new budget to better address the plans of the commissions and committees, link the plans directly to the board approved annual planning priorities, and correspondingly ensure more accountability.
Second, NASFAA will produce a plan of operation for each of its major divisions and for each major cost center. This will help demonstrate how each management unit of the association will help achieve the annual planning objectives, determine what it will cost, and identify the core performance indicators that will help track efforts and accomplishments every year.
National Conversation on Student Aid
Day also made a commitment to the NASFAA Board to reposition the association to reaffirm its leadership role in directing student aid public policy. To achieve this goal, Day proposed, and the NASFAA Board unanimously approved, launching the "National Conversation Initiative on Access and Aid for Student Success."
The National Conversation will uncover, address, and promote a nationwide program to eliminate the major barriers to college access and success - especially financial barriers for low- and moderate-income students and populations underrepresented in higher education.
"National dialogues and debates, when concerted and sustained, traditionally have been effective instruments for social change in America," Day said. "Next year, a new administration will take office in Washington. It will be the prime moment to begin the dialogue and debate on college affordability, and student access and success."
NASFAA plans to make the National Conversation sufficient in scope and duration to arouse the collective conscience of the country and to lay the groundwork for constructive action. Day knows that this discussion will occur with or without NASFAA and is determined to ensure that NASFAA members, with their expertise in student access and success, will lead this conversation.
This initiative will involve as many stakeholders as possible: government at all levels; business and labor interests; colleges and universities; other post-secondary associations; think tanks; and, most importantly, students and parents. NASFAA will involve these groups and others in a series of listening sessions, symposiums and discussions, culminating in something akin to a "White House Conference on Student Access, Aid and Success."
"My hope and expectation is that we develop and put in place a new policy framework for student assistance combined with an on-going budgetary commitment that is responsive to the needs of our students," Day said.
This new system should help level the playing field and close the divisive gaps between the have's and have not's. It should provide a real opportunity for all students to access and succeed in higher education.
"You can be assured that NASFAA will do everything it can, working in partnership with our state and regional organizations, to make that dream a reality. The stakes are too high, the imperatives too compelling and the potential too great for us and others to sit on the sidelines," Day said.
NASFAA's leadership and board expect that the National Conversation will help achieve the goals of all financial aid administrators: to help any eligible student who wishes to pursue higher education achieve their goals.
By Haley Chitty
NASFAA Associate Director of Communications
Posted 07/14/08 to www.NASFAA.org. Redistribution to non-NASFAA institutions is prohibited. Please submit Web Site questions or comments to Web@NASFAA.org.
