From Gatekeepers to Changemakers: 60 Years of Advocacy and Leadership in Financial Aid
By Chloe Stanley, NASFAA Communications and Engagement Assistant
When Jim Anderson, principal of enrollment integrations at Montclair State University, began his career 47 years ago, he was simply looking for a job to support him and his wife through their master’s programs. Like many in the field, who often say they stumbled into financial aid by accident, he didn’t necessarily see it as a long-term career.
More than a decade before the introduction of the FAFSA in 1992, the financial aid process was complex and entirely manual.
“You had to really learn the methodology,” Anderson said. “I actually had it memorized — even the tables we used most often. I could do a recalculation without looking at anything.”
At that time, Anderson said, financial aid offices often operated in isolation from campus leadership. “I think they were intimidated by it because of the complexity involved,” he said. “Now they realize the importance of financial aid for recruiting and retaining students.”
Shortly after the Higher Education Act was signed into law in November of 1965, a small group of financial aid administrators formed the National Student Financial Aid Council, the precursor to NASFAA, to support the financial aid professionals managing newly created federal student aid programs. Since then, the pace of change in technology, policy, and campus expectations has transformed the role of financial aid administrators into one that's far more strategic and student-centered.
As institutions began to recognize financial aid as integral to enrollment and retention, the isolation started to crumble, and financial aid professionals were brought into the fold of larger institutional decisions.
“When I first started, people outside of financial aid often saw us as gatekeepers,” said Brenda Ilojiole, now associate director of financial aid at Bethune-Cookman University, who began her career in 2015. “Now they see how important the financial aid office is for the institution — that we need to be at the table, having conversations with executive leadership and stakeholders to help them understand how certain policies impact our students.”
Shifting Rules, Rising Demands
Aside from the impact on student behavior and outcomes, financial aid policy is changing rapidly, and staying in compliance with federal regulations has become increasingly complex, requiring financial aid professionals to spend hours training and staying up to date.
Brad Barnett, FAAC®, associate vice president for access and enrollment management and financial aid director for James Madison University, agreed. “We have to adapt on a very frequent basis, and we're relying on webinars and emails and all these other technologies,” Barnett said.
And because financial aid has become so intertwined with other campus offices and accountability measures, the office requires longstanding institutional knowledge and a deep bench of leadership.
“These days, you have to take a whole new approach,” said Brenda Hicks, director of financial aid at Southwestern College. “There needs to be somebody in each office experienced enough to anticipate the change and figure out what's coming next.”
Amy Davies, senior assistant director at the University of Oregon, has seen similar progress since entering the field in 2017. Moving from past isolation means that the student experience, from application to graduation, is now directly influenced by strategic financial aid input.
“The financial aid office was often seen as transactional and compliance-driven rather than student-facing,” she said. “Over time, perception has evolved. Financial aid now has a stronger voice in discussions about retention, budgeting, and policy design.”
Davies added that professional associations like NASFAA have been key in elevating the field.
“They’ve helped professionalize financial aid by offering credentialing, leadership development, and ensuring our voices are represented in policy discussions,” she said.
As the field continues to evolve, professionalization has been formalized. This is evidenced by the development of financial aid competencies, which provide a clear roadmap of the diverse skills needed to be a financial aid administrator.
NASFAA’s comprehensive credentialing and certification programs help measure professional expertise. Coupled with the Career Awareness Toolkit, these resources elevate the field and guide new professionals into specific roles rather than accidentally becoming an aid administrator. NASFAA and its member community continue to lead this transformation, ensuring the next generation of aid professionals enter with purpose, preparation, and pride.
Once considered a job people “fell into,” financial aid has become a career path defined by advocacy, innovation, and a commitment to student success.
That transformation is personal for Ilojiole, a past participant in NASFAA’s Diversity Leadership Program (DLP).
“This year I have done more outreach and collaborated with other departments on campus more than ever,” Ilojiole said. “The professional organizations have helped me get out of my comfort zone and set me up with networks where, if I don’t understand something, I can just call somebody.”
After experiencing decades of change in financial aid, Barnett says the community's resilience has remained constant.
“As challenging as it can seem at times, we have always been a profession that has been able to figure out these hard things and make it work,” he said. “We only do that because we're doing it together – we couldn't do it if we were trying to do it alone.”
Looking to the Next 60 Years
Despite the community’s resilience in navigating tumultuous change, financial aid offices face challenges with staffing, retention, and compensation. CUPA-HR, in collaboration with NASFAA, found that more than half of financial aid employees are likely to seek other employment opportunities, with 79% citing a pay increase as a top motivating factor.
Financial aid roles continue to carry greater compliance and workload demands without comparable recognition or pay, according to Mike Bennett, 2007-08 NASFAA national chair.
“Compensation is challenging today,” he said. “There is a persistent misconception that all areas of student services are equal regarding staffing needs and compensation.”
In January 2025, NASFAA convened the Career Awareness Toolkit Task Force to address these challenges, present financial aid as a viable career path for the next generation, and elevate the work of financial aid within the larger higher education ecosystem, ultimately developing the Career Awareness Toolkit.
Zack Goodwin, chair of the task force and assistant vice president of student financial aid at Marquette University, sees the toolkit not as an endpoint, but a beginning.
“This project demonstrates how we can come together as a profession to tell our story — and that work is far from finished,” he said. “We’re living through a complex and politically charged time in higher education. Financial aid professionals have always adapted and led through uncertainty, and now is our chance to help others see that, too.”
By sharing these resources and raising the profile of the profession, Goodwin and the task force hope to ensure that financial aid continues to attract passionate, skilled professionals for generations to come.
"Over time, the financial aid profession has earned greater respect as colleges and policymakers alike have come to recognize what we’ve always known — that financial aid administrators are not just stewards of funds, but champions of access, advocates for equity, and essential partners in helping students achieve their educational goals,” said Melanie Storey, NASFAA president & CEO. “Today, they are leaders on campus whose voices belong at the decision-making table, shaping policies and practices that directly impact student success."
Learn how NASFAA and its members are advancing career awareness in financial aid.
Publication Date: 10/29/2025
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