VASFAA

BOARD - COMMISSIONER - COMMITTEE PLANS & REPORT FORM

(Add additional objectives and status reports as needed)

Committee: President

Commissioner/Board Position: Erik Melis/President

Year (e.g., 2005-06): 2006-07

Committee Members:

N/A

Standard Goal 1: Promote VASFAA's Vision, Mission and Purposes. (Strategic Plan Reference: Section 1.0, 2.0, and 3.0)

Objective 1 (HOW the committee plans to achieve the stated goal): Communicate with VASFAA members throughout the year via listserv, newsletter articles, phone calls, meetings, e-mails, in person, and other appropriate method (including possible ‘away missions’ in regional areas) to meet this goal.

Status Reports of Objective 1 (Please report your progress toward achieving the stated goals – this is where the committee provides updates to the Board, including any suggestions or modifications to the goal and/or the Strategic Plan):

Date: 8/11/06

Report: The year started out with a very successful transition board retreat at the Airfield Conference Center in Wakefield, VA where we were able to discuss goals and objectives for next year and get planning started. As this report, I have sent several e-mail messages to the Executive Board and committee chairs regarding VASFAA issues of policy and process. I’ve scheduled our first board meeting in a conference-call format. I’ve posted several items to the VASFAA listserv, including a summary of the SASFAA board report and a summary of a meeting with the Virginia Secretary of Education. Additionally, I submitted an article for the Summer 2006 edition of the VASFAA Voice. I’ve also had several individual conversations with committee chairs and their commissioners focusing on topics such as membership, web site updates, conference, training, and public relations. Many of these conversations focused on planning the year’s activities.

Date: 10/15/2006

Report: We had our first board meeting by teleconference on August 16^th and that worked quite successfully for a board meeting with a limited agenda. Submitted additional articles for the VASFAA Voice Newsletter. Have had regular communications with board members and committee chairs via e-mail and phone calls. Will try to schedule some “away mission” time for later this fall or after the first of the year. Will continue to send updates to the association membership via the VASFAA Listserv. Next board meeting scheduled for Oct 15 in Williamsburg in conjunction with Fall VASFAA Training event.

Date: 1/29/2007

Report: We had a full board meeting in conjunction with the fall training event and then had another conference call meeting in December to discuss contracts for the 2008 conference site. Sent several e-mails out to the listserv and communicated via President’s letter and article in VASFAA Voice. Still trying to figure out how to schedule and carryout “away missions” but it’s proving harder than I thought…will keep trying.

Date: 5/11/2007

Report: We recently had an emergency conference call board meeting to discuss the media coverage of the student loan lender list and conflict of interest issues. Sent several e-mails out to the listserv and communicated via President’s letter and article in VASFAA Voice.

Objective 2 (HOW the committee plans to achieve the stated goal): Represent VASFAA on the SASFAA Executive Board.

Status Reports of Objective 2 (Please report your progress toward achieving the stated goals – this is where the committee provides updates to the Board, including any suggestions or modifications to the goal and/or the Strategic Plan):

Date: 8/11/06

Report: I attended the June SASFAA Transition Retreat and August SASFAA Executive Board Meeting. At the August board meeting many things were accomplished, including approving a balanced budget for SASFAA, addressing SASFAA’s response to the MyRichUncle marketing strategy, and reporting to the SASFAA Board on current VASFAA activities. I had the opportunity to sit down and talk with the other SASFAA State Presidents and discuss things going on within their associations and discuss issues that were common to each of our state associations (e.g. our concerns about decreased sponsorship due to HERA changes and mergers) I sent a message to the VASFAA listserv after the SASFAA Board meeting summarizing some of the activities that occurred during the meeting. I plan to attend the joint NCASFAA/SCASFAA conference in Asheville, NC in November at the invite of those two state presidents.

Date: 10/15/2006

Report: Continue to work closely with the SASFAA Board and particularly with the other SASFAA State Presidents in addressing common issues between the associations (e.g. issues related to MRU, association liabilities, statements of ethical behavior and non-discrimination policies, etc). Will be attending the SASFAA Board meeting in Orlando in November and then attending the joint NCASFAA/SCASFAA conference in Asheville immediately following that. Will continue to keep the VASFAA membership apprised via listserv and newsletter of the goings on within SASFAA and with the other state associations. Have also agreed to serve as Local Arrangements co-chair for the SASFAA Conference in Virginia in 2008.

Date: 1/29/2007

Report: Attended the joint SCASFAANCASFAA conference in Asheville in November and the VCAN Conference in Richmond in December. Am continuing to work with SASFAA board and will keep the VASFAA board and VASFAA membership apprised of goings on in SASFAA and NASFAA. Will be attending SASFAA Conference in Nashville in February, presenting at New Aid Officer’s training, participating in two concurrent session presentations, and assisting with manning of NAOW and VASFAA booths at conference.

Date: 5/11/2007

Report: Attended and presented at the SASFAA conference in Nashville in February. Conducted the state meeting at the conference. Helped to man the VASFAA booth for the 2008 conference in Crystal City, VA. Taught at the NAOW workshop in conjunction with the SASFAA conference.

Objective 3 (HOW the committee plans to achieve the stated goal): Work to increase enhance interactions between VASFAA and external entities (e.g. legislators, state agencies, CCAN, other aid associations, etc.).

Status Reports of Objective 3 (Please report your progress toward achieving the stated goals – this is where the committee provides updates to the Board, including any suggestions or modifications to the goal and/or the Strategic Plan):

Date: 8/11/06

Report: I attended the annual NASFAA Conference in July in Seattle. I, along with Brad Barnett ad Barry Simmons, met with Dr. Tom Morris, Virginia Secretary of Education and presented VASFAA to him as a resource. Additionally, we were able to get his pledge of support in our efforts to set up a standing proclamation for Financial Aid Awareness month in January. I sent a summary to the listserv discussing this meeting. I provided survey responses about VASFAA to CCAN for inclusion on the CCAN web site. We will continue to work to develop a partnership between VASFAA and CCAN. Plan to attend the CCAN conference in December in Richmond.

Date: 10/15/2006

Report: Worked with the VASFAA Board to renew our participation with NASFAA in LearnStudentAid.org. Will be attending, and possibly presenting at, the CCAN Conference in Richmond in December. Will continue to keep the VASFAA membership apprised of any NASFAA activities and activities of other groups like CCAN and SCHEV.

Date: 1/29/2007

Report: Attended and co-presented at VCAN conference in Richmond in December. Legislation has been introduced into the General Assembly to make get a standing proclamation for February to be designated as Financial Aid Awareness Month in the Virginia. Will continue to keep the VASFAA membership apprised of any NASFAA activities and activities of other groups like VCAN and SCHEV.

Date: 5/11/2007

Report: Legislation was introduced and overwhelmingly passed by the General Assembly to make get a standing proclamation for February to be designated as Financial Aid Awareness Month in the Virginia. We will be recognizing Senator Frank Ruff at the annual conference for his efforts in getting this resolution introduced and passed. Representatives from the VASFAA Board met with the Virginia Attorney General’s Office to try to be proactive and preemptive in dealing positively with the issues surrounding the preferred lender list and conflicts of interest media coverage. Meeting was very positive and opened the door for continued collaborative dialogues with the AG’s office. Issued, after sharing with the AG’s office, a VASFAA press release in response to all the media coverage about the financial aid issues. Will continue to keep the VASFAA membership apprised of any NASFAA activities and activities of other groups like VCAN and SCHEV.

Standard Goal 2: Lead the Association by providing opportunities for professional educational growth for the membership and awareness of financial aid awareness opportunities for students. (Strategic Plan Reference: Section 1.0, 2.0, 4.1 A (3), and 4.5 A (1-4)

Objective 1 (HOW the committee plans to achieve the stated goal): Work with appropriate VASFAA committees to ensure quality professional development opportunities are afforded to the membership.

Status Reports of Objective 1 (Please report your progress toward achieving the stated goals – this is where the committee provides updates to the Board, including any suggestions or modifications to the goal and/or the Strategic Plan):

Date: 8/11/06

Report: I continue to communicate with the committee chairs and commissioners regarding planning for the May 2007 conference. In working with the Experienced Aid Officer Training Committee, I signed the contract for accommodations at the Williamsburg Hospitality House in October for the fall training event that will include training for experienced aid officers, support staff and new aid officers.

Date: 10/15/2006

Report: I continue to communicate with the committee chairs and commissioners regarding planning for the May 2007 conference. Will be attending the Experienced Aid Officers’ Workshop in Williamsburg following the VASFAA Board Meeting. Continue to look for additional training opportunities that we can offer to the VASFAA membership to add value to membership in general.

Date: 1/29/2007

Report: Attended the Fall training event in Williamsburg in October and thought it was a big success. There is another HERA training session being conducted by Kay Jacks in Charlottesville on February 2^nd. Am continuing to work with the committee chairs and commissioners regarding the May 2007 conference and, from what I’ve seen so far, it promises to be a great one. Had the opportunity to nominate several individuals to attend the SASFAA Leadership Workshop (more details on this later).

Date: 5/11/2007

Report: Had the opportunity to nominate and send three individuals to attend the SASFAA Leadership Workshop, Melissa Barnes, Donna Taylor, and Keith Wellings. The 2007 conference, which begins in less than a week has a very robust agenda and provides something for everyone. Additionally, this year we’ve managed to get the Department of Education ACG and SMART training piggy-backed onto the conference. It will be held at our conference hotel immediately following the conference close on Wednesday, May 23^rd.

Objective 2 (HOW the committee plans to achieve the stated goal): Communicate with the Executive Board and committee chairs to identify future leaders of the association.

Status Reports of Objective 2 (Please report your progress toward achieving the stated goals – this is where the committee provides updates to the Board, including any suggestions or modifications to the goal and/or the Strategic Plan):

Date: 8/11/06

Report: The first action taking in this regard was to get some new participation in the committee chair process and that was successful. A number of committee chairs are first-time chairs. To ease the concern for some, I established co-chair positions which I think will work fine. We had a large pool of volunteers to draw from for committee assignments which was very encouraging since many of those volunteers were new to VASFAA. I am working closely with the Past-President and other members of the board to promote folks to step up as possible entries on 2007-08 slate of candidates.

Date: 10/15/2006

Report: Had to appoint an interim Secretary, Jeanne Holmes, to take the place of the elected Secretary, Leslie Thomas, who is no longer practicing financial aid in the Commonwealth. Continue to work with the President-Elect in preparation for her term as President next year and to discuss options for conference sites for 2008. Continue to work with Past-President on issues related to a robust slate of candidates for the 2007-08 year. Will be working with the Public Relations Committee to send out thank you letters to VASFAA volunteers. Will be working with Membership Committee to do outreach letter to non-member institutions and to institutions and sectors that are under-represented in the association.

Date: 1/29/2007

Report: Slate of candidates for the 2007 election will be finalized shortly and it looks as if we’ll have a slate of highly qualified candidates for our open positions. Public Relations is actively working on sending out supervisor thank you letters to acknowledge contributions by VASFAA volunteers and their supervisors. In hope of fostering additional future leaders in VASFAA, had the opportunity to nominate several individuals to attend the SASFAA Leadership Workshop (more details on this later).

Date: 5/11/2007

Report: Slate of candidates for the 2007 election was finalized and voting is actually underway. Public Relations has sent out supervisor thank you letters to acknowledge contributions by VASFAA volunteers and their supervisors. In hope of fostering additional future leaders in VASFAA, had the opportunity to nominate and send several individuals to attend the SASFAA Leadership Workshop.

BUDGET

Item (Broad general categories) Cost

Primarily travel for VASFAA, SASFAA, and NASFAA activities $3,000

Board Approved Amount: $3,000

Date: 5/26/2006

(Use separate sheet if necessary.)

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