In December, NASFAA hosted its last Advocacy Pipeline for 2024. Two members – Katie Malone from Kirtland Community College and Elizabeth Keuffel from Saint Anslem College – met virtually with congressional staffers from Michigan and New Hampshire.

The congressional offices included Reps. Jack Bergman (R-Mich.) and Chris Pappas (D-N.H.), as well as Sens. Gary Peters (D-Mich.) and Maggie Hassan (R-N.H.). During the meetings, NASFAA members discussed various issues that would help reform federal student aid, such as eliminating student loan origination fees and improving the Pell Grant program by doubling the maximum award to $13,000, restoring the automatic inflation adjustment, and shifting the program to full mandatory funding. They also highlighted the importance of restoring subsidized loan eligibility for graduate and professional students, as well as reducing the administrative burden put on financial aid administrators.

We asked the Advocacy Pipeline participants to share their thoughts and key takeaways from their time advocating with congressional staffers. Read on to learn about their experiences, and fill out this interest form if you would like to participate in an Advocacy Pipeline event.

Katie Malone – Assistant Director of Financial Aid, Kirtland Community College

I was incredibly grateful for the opportunity to participate in the virtual Advocacy Pipeline. Stepping outside of my comfort zone and engaging in direct advocacy was a truly rewarding experience. Nalia Medina's meticulous preparation and guidance were invaluable, particularly when referencing specific regulations and legislative bills.

Our meetings with congressional staffers were productive and successful, with insightful questions about the impact on students and financial aid staff. We covered topics such as student loan origination fees, return to Title IV calculations, restoring subsidized loan eligibility for graduate and professional students, and the administrative burden caused by things like reporting requirements.

This experience has ignited a passion for advocacy. I'm excited to continue my involvement in future advocacy efforts and encourage my colleagues to take advantage of this opportunity to make a tangible difference in the lives of our students. By advocating for these critical issues and others, we can make changes that help students to achieve their educational and career goals.

Elizabeth Keuffel – Assistant Vice President for Enrollment & Director of Financial Aid, Saint Anselm College

I have worked in financial aid for several decades and previously participated in Hill visits, but this experience was my first time doing so virtually.  As exciting as it is to be in Washington and move from one building to the next, the logistics of an online meeting can’t be beat. These meetings were easy, fun, informative and engaging.

NASFAA’s Advocacy Pipeline was well organized and tightly orchestrated. I appreciated our pre-hill-visit meeting to discuss issues of concern and figure out the best way to have a conversation and share pertinent stories. I appreciated the format of these meetings with two financial aid administrators and  two members of NASFAA’s policy team engaging in discussions with each staffer. We each got a turn and a chance to share concerns about the discussion topics. One of the topics I was passionate about discussing was administrative burden, which has grown exponentially over the past several decades. I urged congressional staffers to think about why that burden has increased, why it’s sometimes so complicated, and the unintended consequences this places on financial aid offices. The recent rollout of the FAFSA was a concern and top of mind for all staffers, but most had no idea about the new gainful employment (GE) and financial value transparency (FVT) reporting requirements recently added to our workload.

We had a particularly engaging conversation with Senator Hassan’s staffer. She asked great questions and was interested in the FAFSA rollout.

I liked the balance and flow of the conversations during the Advocacy Pipeline and thoroughly recommend it.

Publication Date: 1/17/2025

Comments Disclaimer: NASFAA welcomes and encourages readers to comment and engage in respectful conversation about the content posted here. We value thoughtful, polite, and concise comments that reflect a variety of views. Comments are not moderated by NASFAA but are reviewed periodically by staff. Users should not expect real-time responses from NASFAA. To learn more, please view NASFAA’s complete Comments Policy.