Influence the Future of the Student Financial Aid Community
NASFAA invites you to add to the conversation and engage with your community as a conference presenter at the NASFAA 2025 National Conference in Anaheim, California. Thousands of student aid professionals from across the nation attend the NASFAA national conference each year to teach, learn, network, and share best practices.
Joining us as a conference presenter is an opportunity to advance the profession of financial aid administration, expand your network through an audience of peers, and raise the visibility of your institution or company. Sessions focus on the field of financial aid administration and enrollment management, provide ideas, and offer solutions participants can apply at their own institutions.
The call for submissions window is now closed. The Conference Program Task Force will reach out if/when your presentation submission has been selected.
Selected sessions will be presented in person June 24-27, 2025 in Anaheim, California, or online July 7-11, 2025 for the separate NASFAA 2025 Virtual Conference.
Who Should Submit?
- Financial aid administrators in leadership positions
- Diversity and inclusion leadership/subject matter experts
- Higher education institution leaders and policymakers
Suggested Topics by Track
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Compliance
- Policies & Procedures
- Professional Judgment
- Enrollment compliance
- Preparing for a federal program review
- Compliance at different size institutions
Enrollment & Retention
- Cooperation and collaboration between financial aid and enrollment offices
- Financial aid and advising
- Financial literacy and wellness for your students
- Communicating effectively with Gen Z
- Financial aid for study abroad programs
- Peer financial education programs
- Leveraging technology
Graduate & Professional Issues
- Graduate/professional cost of attendance
- Informed borrowing and financial literacy for graduate students
- Strengthening campus partnerships
- Future of graduate and professional funding
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Leadership/Management
- Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
- Engaging and retaining staff
- Transitioning to different types of institutions
- Advancing the profession
- Succession planning
Regulatory Implementation
- Prison education programs/Incarcerated students
- Pell Grant restoration
- Second Chance Pell
- Return of Title IV Funds
- Academic calendars
- Student Aid Index
- FAFSA Simplification
Research & Data Analysis
- Impact of FAFSA simplification
- Student loan repayment
- Satisfactory Academic Progress
- Data security
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How Do I Submit a Proposal?
Review the required information for session proposals as you prepare your session submission(s).
The proposal includes three parts:
- A basic form including track, session type, school sector, credit type, and target audience.
- Session title and brief summary: Encapsulate the session and its takeaways and persuasively present it to the selection committee. If the session is chosen, this will be its description in the conference program.
- Speaker information.
While the selection process is competitive, you can strengthen your proposal in the following ways:
- Clearly state the value of your session to conference participants.
- Include key learning outcomes or takeaways.
- Provide additional details on your target audience.
- Include a succinct, bulleted outline of your presentation.
- Provide applicable links that you may use or reference in your session.
- Tell us whether you've presented at this or similar conferences before.
How Are Proposals Selected?
Proposals are peer-reviewed and selected by the 2025 National Conference Program Task Force with a primary responsibility to curate high-quality content. The task force places a strong emphasis on ensuring that the slate of selected proposals and presenters represent the diversity of higher education across our nation. Submissions by speakers from historically underrepresented groups are highly encouraged, as are presentation topics covering diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives within higher education.
The committee evaluates the quality of submissions based on the following criteria:
- Relevant to current needs and interests of attendees, including evolving societal challenges affecting higher education
- Potential for audience engagement
- Practical application of material
- Content encompasses broad audience appeal
- Speaker credentials and command of topic
- Speakers who reflect the rich diversity represented in higher education
Vendor sales pitches are not acceptable session content. Vendor-only proposals have a very low acceptance rate, but will be considered if they share proven methods across a number of successful clients or industry landscapes. To increase chances of selection, vendors should invite a higher education institution to co-present. If vendors do not wish to go through the proposal process and would like to present alone, they are encouraged to utilize the Business Solutions session option to present on their products and services. For more information, contact Carissa Uhlman.
Important Dates
- *DEADLINE EXTENDED* All sessions must be submitted by Friday, November 8, 2024.
- Decisions sent: Late 2024/Early 2025
- Session handouts due: June 13, 2025
- National Conference: June 24-27, 2025
- Virtual Conference: July 7-11, 2025
Questions?
If you have any questions, please email Dana Kelly, vice president of professional development & institutional compliance.
Additional Materials
