Welcome to the Fall issue of the VASFAA Voice – the first issue of 0708 and a deeper look into the plans of VASFAA’s 0708 President, Patricia Kelly. There is already a notice and call for volunteers for the May 08 conference committee. This is VASFAA’s 40th Anniversary year!

Well, another Fall semester is under your belt. You’ve worked through another round of someone else’s politics laying the foundation for your priorities in aid administration. You are immediately faced with new issues that eventually will impact your operations – likely increasing your workload with no new staffing or auxiliary funding for your office.

Editor’s note: At this point in preparing this message, I wondered aloud to myself…what could I say and stay out of trouble. Here is what I came up with at the time……..There is yet another cry for increasing need based aid – once again focused on a promise of increased Pell Grants. Another year will go by before we know whether this is yet another vacant promise or if the money never gets appropriated due to yet someone else’s political agenda. Either way, history has proved that we are unlikely to see substantial increases in Pell right away – that one person’s assurances are only as good as the political climate on the day of the appropriations vote.

Editor’s note continued: That was written 3 days ago. As I was working on finishing up the newsletter and my editorial, the Chronicle’s daily message came across my email confirming my lowly expectations of politics and their impact on education finance. (33 years of the same repetitive rhetoric allows you to think this way). Here are two excerpts from the Chronicle’s daily report ……

Washington — The chairman of the House Appropriations Committee warned education lobbyists today that they may never see the $2-billion Pell Grant increase that his panel approved in July.

In a speech before the Committee for Education Funding, a coalition of 100 education associations, Rep. David R. Obey, a Wisconsin Democrat, said that President Bush was serious in threatening to veto the education-spending bill, which would raise the maximum Pell Grant by $390 in the 2008 fiscal year, which begins on October 1. If the president carried out that threat, Mr. Obey said, lawmakers may lack the votes to override the veto.

And further down the article…………"But it’s unclear whether the Pell Grant Program will get a discretionary increase even if Mr. Bush abandons his veto threat. The Senate’s version of the appropriations bill, which must be reconciled with the House’s version, contains no increase for the program, and appropriators have been talking about shifting some of the Pell money in the House bill to other programs now that Congress has passed legislation providing for a mandatory increase for the program.

That bill, a budget-reconciliation measure that the president is expected to sign, would increase the maximum Pell Grant to $5,400 over five years, provided that appropriators do not cut the program’s baseline."

I just hate it when my instincts are right and students once again bear the burden of misguided politics.
After all is said and done, what again happens to the middle class to improve their funding options? Won’t they still be looking to you for the best resources available? Won’t they still need to rely on someone’s expertise to get them through a confusing maze of options? Have recent events made it easier or harder for them to navigate an ocean of financial aid options? Is it now easier or harder for you in the financial aid office to provide clear and confident guidance? There have already been calls asking about loan fees with concerns about their impact on computer programs on campus. I’ll let you be the judge.

In this issue we roll out a new article series that focuses on the transition from high school to college and the many issues that arise. As a direct quote from our new Feature Writer, Pam Rambo… an insider’s view of college planning activity at the high school level for each issue. Each issue could feature the inside scoop on seasonal activity in high school planning for juniors and seniors timed to the publication of issues of VASFAA Voice. That would mean that each issue could contain an overview of the topics of that season with a focus on the one that would most interest readers. The seasonal list of activity is as follows:

Read the first installment and provide Pam your feedback. Welcome aboard Pam!

In addition, we would like to hear from our learned scholars (including members of the Virginia RAG) with their perspective on today’s environment vs the way it was a decade or so ago. Feel free to contact your editor to discuss some ideas for consideration.

This issue is packed with timely information for your reading. Let me know if you like it, read it, want to be a part of it, or suggest improvements. The Newsletter Committee is always seeking willing participants to join our committee. If you are interested, please contact me directly at 301-865-6246 or via my email address below. Please note that the phone number is a new office number. My cell phone number has not changed.

The next issue of the newsletter is scheduled for publication on January 10th. Please send your input by December 15th to me at gary.a.spoales@bankofamerica.com.

Thank you once again to everyone who provided material for this newsletter. The entire association appreciates your efforts. As always, this issue’s contributors are listed at the end of the newsletter.

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