Now that Your Institution Is a Member of NASFAA,
What Do You Want to Do Next?

Now that your institution is a member of NASFAA, you have the opportunity to get involved with the Association. NASFAA relies on the expertise and efforts of its volunteers; without our members and volunteers, there is no NASFAA. Volunteering is easy, fulfilling, and often fun! You don’t need to serve on a year-long committee or travel around the country as a board member to become an active participant in NASFAA. There are plenty of other ways to contribute that are just as important to the success of our shared mission.

Check out the opportunities below to see which ones spark your interest. Or, if you think of something that is not on the list, send your idea to Mindy Kaplan Eline, Director of Marketing and Membership Services.

NASFAA is your professional association. We hope you will make the most of your membership in a way that is important to you.

1. Become a Mentor

We are starting two mentoring groups this year: one to mentor new financial aid directors and the other to mentor new financial aid administrators. Mentor volunteers will be added to a new online database that will be accessible to all members. We hope to have the mentor database online this fall. Connecting members with members is our BIG initiative this year!

If you are interested in becoming a mentor for one or both groups, please send an email to Mindy Kaplan Eline with the following information: your name, title, institution, city, state, phone, email, the number of years you have worked in the financial aid profession, and the group (or groups) you would like to join – NASFAA Mentors for New Aid Directors and/or NASFAA Mentors for New Aid Administrators.

2. Join the NASFAA Outreach Network

NASFAA staff receive requests throughout the year to make presentations to students and families on financial aid. These requests often come from churches and civic organizations nationwide. Since the NASFAA office is located in Washington, DC, and we only have a limited number of staff, we can’t fill all of these requests ourselves. So, we created a national outreach network of financial aid administrators who are interested in making these types of presentations.

If you want to volunteer for the NASFAA Outreach Network, simply send an email to Linda Conard, Director of Communications, with the following information: your name, title, institution, city, state, phone, and email. If you have a special area of expertise you wish to highlight, please be sure to mention it in your email. When an outreach opportunity becomes available in your city or state, we will contact all the volunteers in that area to see who is interested.

3. Join a Feedback Group

Currently, we have one feedback group - the NASFAA Encyclopedia Feedback Group. (Feedback groups are formed as they are needed.) Since NASFAA is constantly updating its products and services, we need to hear from you, the members – to know if we’ve got it right. Feedback groups involve conference calls, telephone interviews, surveys, and online focus groups. As we progress with our upgrade to the Encyclopedia, we’ll need more and more participants in this feedback group.

To join, send an email to Roland Zizer, Director of Web Communications. Include the following information: your name, title, institution, city, state, phone, email.

4. Join the NASFAA Media-Savvy Volunteer List

Do you have experience talking to the media? Do you want more experience? Every month NASFAA receives requests from reporters and writers who want to speak with financial aid administrators on campus. We forward these requests by email and let you decide which questions you want to answer. We never release your name to the press. (When you answer an email, however, the reporter will know who you are.) Answering media requests is a great way to get our positive messages into the local communities.

To volunteer for the NASFAA Media-Savvy List, send an email to Mindy Kaplan Eline with the following information: your name, title, institution, city, state, phone, and email. If you have a special area of expertise (graduate/professional, veteran’s benefits, vocational schools, debt management, etc.) please be sure to mention it in your email.

5. Become a Course Moderator for LearnStudentAid

LearnStudentAid is NASFAA’s online learning community. Each course has a moderator who helps guide the learners through the material and answers questions. If you’ve taken online courses and have expertise that you’d like to share with new aid administrators and others, this is a great way to get involved.

To learn more about becoming a LearnStudentAid Course Moderator, contact Ellen Blackmun, Director of Technology Initiatives and Distance Learning.

6. Write an article for Student Aid Transcript

Sounds daunting? It’s not. Articles can be as short as 2 double-spaced pages. Editor Linda Conard is eager to work with you on new article ideas.

For details on becoming a Transcript author, visit the Guidelines online or email Linda Conard, editor.

7. Apply for the Standards of Excellence (SOE) Peer Reviewer Team

If you have at least eight years of experience in financial aid, you may qualify to become a Standards of Excellence Peer Reviewer.

For details, visit the SOE web site and contact Susan Luhman, Program Coordinator, with any questions.

8. Volunteer for a Committee

Each year, we put out a call for volunteers to serve on NASFAA Committees. You are encouraged to apply when you read about the call for volunteers in Today’s News.

For details, visit the Volunteer Page now.

NASFAA is your association. Get involved. Be NASFAA.

Please direct all questions and comments to Membership Services at Membership@NASFAA.org.