WVASFAA Fall 2020 Virtual Conference

The WVASFAA Fall 2020 Conference is going virtual!  To attend the virtual conference sessions, you must be an active member for the 2020-2021 membership year. Registration for membership is available for non-members and renewal available for current 2019-2020 members. There will be a registration cost of 200.00 in addition to membership for Business Partners who would like to present a virtual session. Registration is now available for Business Partners.

We are currently seeking conference session ideas and presenters. Please send your session ideas or if you would like to present a session to Tiffany Myers at tiffany.myers@wvstateu.edu. We look forward to reconnecting with everyone during the Conference.

Fall 2020 Virtual Conference Schedule

 Registration for individual sessions is now available! To register for sessions you would like to attend, please click the session you would like to attend and you will be connected to the registration for the session. Sessions are registered individually.  Membership will be confirmed before you are able to access the session.

Thursday, November 12, 2020

10:30 AM – 11:30 AM             NASFAA Update

                                        Speaker: Megan Coval, NASFAA

2:00 PM to 3:00 PM                  Delivering An Exceptional Customer Service Experience           

                                                Exceeding customers expectations is critical – help your team understand the importance of customer service, how to deal with difficult students and parents, and practice scenarios to improve skills.

                                        Speaker: Thomas May, Citizens Bank 

Friday, November 13, 2020

10:30 AM – 11:30 AM             The Care and Feeding Your Career

How often do you take stock of your current position and long-term career path? Who is responsible for your career? What should you do now?  Is it time to make a move?  How do you go about moving on?  Do you need to network? We will guide attendees through an informative session to address these questions, assess your career path to date, and develop a plan to take it to the next level. 

Speakers: Cecelia Dwyer, College Ave

Monday, November 16, 2020

2:00PM - 3:00 PM           How to Use Communications to Drive Student Engagement  

Communicating effectively with students requires first getting their attention—but that’s exceedingly more and more difficult. Emails to your students are likely landing with only a 17% open rate, according to industry statistics. A consistent message paired with a multi-channel approach can help. 80% of today’s students watched a video from their college during their college search. Is your office exploring digital ways to make communications stick beyond the simple email campaign?  

Join us to learn the channels that drive student engagement at the right moment in the financial aid lifecycle, and how personalized and highly relevant communications are more effective. Work through a sample scenario where we discuss your award letter communication process and map tactics across channels to drive success. Leave with immediately implementable tips you can use to optimize your communications through automation and analytics to drive results.

Speakers: Heidi Sisson, Campus Logic

Tuesday, November 17, 2020

10:30 AM – 11:30 AM              Veteran Update

This session will provide updates on issues impacting veterans’ education and training.

                                         Speaker: Cody Tomblin, WVHEPC

2:00 PM – 3:00 PM                   Banner Bits and Bytes

Join Dianne as she provide updates and advice on utilizing Banner. This session will permit you to share any best practices to assist your fellow Financial Aid Professionals to utilize Banner more effectively and efficiently. Bring your Banner questions. 

                                           Speaker: Dianne Sisler, WVNET

Wednesday, November 18, 2020

10:30 AM – 11:00 AM              MASFAA Update

                                           Speaker: Chad Olson, MASFAA President-Elect

2:00 PM – 3:00 PM                   Majoring in Money

Majoring in Money 2019, a national study from Sallie Mae® and conducted by Ipsos, focuses on the payment methods, financial habits, and overall financial literacy of three groups of young adults: college students, college graduates, and those who began college but left before earning their degree. By examining the out-of-school young adults, we can shed light on potential growth in credit management skills that may lie ahead for current college students and whether gaps in financial literacy close after college.

Speaker: Joe Fries, Sallie Mae

Thursday, November 19, 2020

10:30 AM – 11:30 AM              Sector Meetings

●       4 year Public Colleges & Universities

●       Community and Technical Colleges

●       Private Colleges & Universities

●       Clock Hours Schools & Colleges

●       Associate & Auxiliary Members

2:00 PM – 4:00 PM                   Business Meeting           

Past Sessions

Thursday, October 29, 2020

2:00 PM – 4:00 PM                   Executive Committee Meeting

Monday, November 2, 2020

11:00 AM – 12:00 PM               Self-Care in 2020

Speaker: Kellie Toledo, WVSU, Director of Counseling and Accessibility Services

3:00 PM – 4:00 PM                   Developing Your Leadership Skills

Developing Your Leadership Skills – If you are looking to improve your leadership style, you’ll want to check out this session.  We’ll discuss the difference between leadership and management, one person’s path to leadership, and how to evaluate your leadership skills.  Chad Olson, MASFAA President, will share stories about what works well and what did not go as planned.  Virtual participation will be encouraged! 

                                                Speaker: Chad Olson, MASFAA President-Elect

Wednesday, November 4, 2020

10:30 AM – 11:30 AM             State Update

                                                Speaker: Brian Weingart, WVHEPC

Thursday, November 5, 2020

10:30 AM – 11:30 AM              Identifying and Managing Workplace Stress

                                                Stress is a part of our lives and there’s no getting around it. It has become a common problem in the workplace and at home. Life without some challenges would be dull but unresolved or too much stress can play havoc with our health, wallets, and lives. The key is to learn how to identify and manage it. This session will provide you with important tips for handling stress, preventing burnout, and striking a balance.

                                                Speaker: Carol Swenson, Ascendium

Friday, November 6, 2020

10:30 AM – 11:30 AM              WVASFAA and What to Expect as a New Financial Aid Professional

This session will give an overview of WVASFAA as an organization and discuss what to expect and experience as a Financial Aid Professional.

Speakers: Candi Frazier, WVU & JoAnn Ross, WVU Tech

Tuesday, November 10, 2020

10:30 AM – 11:30 AM              Missed Opportunities and Abandoned Ambitions: Understanding and Combating Student Melt

There are some incoming freshmen who have taken all the necessary steps to start college but simply disappear over the summer. And there are currently enrolled students who have done what it takes to persist, but leave school due to verification roadblocks. Both sets of students are now facing additional challenges in the midst of the pandemic and can be seen as the opposite sides of the same “student melt” coin, resulting in lost opportunities for both college and learner. So what can we do to combat melt? This session provides an overview of the melt phenomenon, considering today’s issues, using curated research to highlight some of the root causes and issues, as well as steps we can take to raise awareness and identify strategies to help students get to and through college.

Speaker: Matt Nettleton, Inceptia

2:00 PM – 3:00 PM                   Identifying and Resolving Conflicting Marital Information in Verification

We’ll review various reported marital status scenarios, determine if conflicting information exists, and discuss possible resolution when processing verification.

Speaker: Sarah Musgrave, WV HEPC