We are almost at the half-way point of the VASFAA year, and so far it has been an exciting one. This past summer the committees made plans on what they would be doing throughout the year to meet their goals and objectives, and we have now had the opportunity to see the results of their efforts, which have been awesome!

For the past few years, VASFAA has offered a one-day New Aid Officer’s Training Workshop in conjunction with a conference. The attendance at these events has been good and the feedback has been very positive. However, we also received feedback that the membership would like to see VASFAA offer a New Aid Officer’s Training Workshop that is not tied to a conference…a stand-alone event. I am happy to say that the Training Committee responded to this request and offered a New Aid Officer’s Training Workshop on December 1st and 2nd. Furthermore, the workshop appeared to be a huge success, with 32 participants on the 1st and 34 on the 2nd.

One interesting tidbit about the registrations is that if the three participants with more than five years of experience are removed from the equation, then the average amount of experience in the profession for the remaining participants is about eight months. In short, the event seemed to hit the target audience by providing quality training to a group of individuals who are relatively new to financial aid.

The 13 High School Guidance Counselor Workshops scheduled for this year have all been held, and it appears they were also very successful. The Secondary School Relations Committee did a fabulous job coordinating these events, and I am grateful to all the locations who agreed to be a host site for this.

VASFAA has been hosting these workshops for several years and guidance counselors across the state look forward to this event each fall. I had the opportunity to participate in the workshop at Mary Baldwin College and enjoyed working with my colleagues from Mary Baldwin College, Bridgewater College, Eastern Mennonite University, and Blue Ridge Community College on this event.

As of 12/13/05, the Awareness Committee has 23 sites scheduled for VASFAA’s 2/4/06 Super Saturday event. Information about the sites and the workshop should be posted to the VASFAA web site in the near future.

VASFAA’s second Leadership Symposium was held in November at Virginia Tech. Feedback from those who participated in the event was very positive and a lot of good discussion was had during the sessions. Personally, I walked away with some great information that I have already started to use at JMU. I appreciate all the efforts the Experienced Aid Officer’s Committee put into making this event happen, and all the speakers who agreed to be a part of this.

The first annual Commonwealth College Access Network (CCAN) conference was held on December 12th and 13th in Charlottesville, Virginia. I had the pleasure of representing VASFAA at this event and co-presenting a session entitled “Financial Aid and Admissions Tips for College Access Providers.”

CCAN was created as a result of an Awareness Summit that was developed and hosted by ECMC, SCHEV, and VASFAA in November 2003 in Richmond, Virginia. CCAN’s mission is “to support and enhance postsecondary education access and attainment for residents of the Commonwealth of Virginia.”

My opinion of the conference is that it was a huge success. Approximately 120 individuals attended the event, which is a great turnout for their first conference. The participants were primarily from high school guidance offices and college access programs, which demonstrates the need for an organization such as CCAN in Virginia. Representatives were also on hand from SCHEV, the Department of Education, and a variety of Virginia colleges and universities. I am proud to say that several VASFAA members are on the CCAN committee that helped develop the organization and coordinate the conference. They include:

I was extremely impressed by the format of the conference, as well as the number of participants and the passion they demonstrated for being postsecondary access providers. It was truly an uplifting experience to be a part of this event.

I see a lot of potential opportunities for collaboration between CCAN and VASFAA, and am very excited about what the future holds for working in partnership with CCAN. Our missions are very similar and we have a lot the same individuals involved in both organizations. CCAN is in the early stages of committee development and is beginning to plan for the future. It is my sincere hope that our two organizations can work together to help make post secondary education more accessible to those who desire to further their education.

This year, we have seen three of our long-time VASFAA members and friends retire from the profession. Jo Ann Carreras, Gail Catron, and Estherine Harding will all be missed. I appreciate their dedication to the profession, our organization, and the students we all serve. I wish them all the best in their lives after financial aid.

It takes a certain amount of Communication, Commitment, and Continuity to be a “Financial Aid Survivor,” and it has been a pleasure to watch VASFAA members demonstrate these 3 C’s during the first half of this year. I am looking forward to seeing what the next half has to offer.