New Hampshire Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators
Annual Business Meeting Minutes
St. Anselm College, Manchester NH
Wednesday, April 17, 2013
Meeting called to order by President, Elizabeth Keuffel 9:08am.
President’s Report
Elizabeth welcomed those in attendance especially during this busy time of year.
With all of the issues facing us currently; sequester, and budget challenges both on a federal
and campus basis, she thanked everyone for their continued support to NHASFAA and the
ongoing partnership with the association and vendors.
Elizabeth then took the opportunity to thank Leslie Bembridge for her hard work as our
Development chair. Between the annual meeting and the conference we had 10 vendors
represented and brought in total revenue of $8100.
She also thanked our Membership chair, Ashley Coleman. She did a great job and brought in
the highest number of members we have seen in years.
She shared that the conference committee was beginning its transition from a 2 day conference
to an overnight format in 2013. The 2012 conference exceeded all expectations. She also
invited all NHASFAA members to get involved with this great committee.
Jason will soon report that our budget is doing very well. We currently have three times our
operating expenses in reserve. Where other states are struggling, NHASFAA is strong.
Our Strategic Long Range Plan is moving forward, and we are looking for membership input.
Many of our council members wear more than one hat. It is time for new faces. This is the
time to get involved.
We will be looking at the role of NHASFAA and advocacy. Our government relations committee
will be looking for feedback from the membership.
Crystal Finefrock will also be sharing some of the results of the survey that she asked the
membership to complete.
Elizabeth personally thanked her staff at St. Anselm’s for their help in preparing for today’s
meeting.
Secretary’s Report
Copies of the 2012 Annual Meeting Minutes were on the table as well as sent to the membership
electronically. Therefore, Anna Clifford asked for a motion to waive the reading of the 2012
meeting minutes. Susan Proux made motion and Susan Howard seconded the motion. Motion
passed. Anna then asked for a motion to pass the 2012 meeting minutes as written. Jason Graves
made motion and Cyndi Schosfield seconded the motion. Minutes were passed as written.
Treasurer Report-
Jason Graves, UNH
NHASFAA BUDGET REPORT-04/17/2013
Checking
Balance:
CD Balance:
Elite Savings
Balance:
Net Balance:
Account
Line Item
2012-13
Budget
INCOME
5000
Membership Dues
$5,670.00
5340
Conference
Registration
Sponsor-Speaker's
Bureau
Sponsor-Training
5350
Sponsor-Website
5410
Bank Account
Interest
Other (CD
Interest)
Transfer from
Reserve
Prior Year
Carryover
Development
Target
$
6,800.00
$
$
$
$
70.66
$
29.05
$
2,556.29
$
$
7,500.00
5100
5330
5450
5460
5470
5480
$
18,277.82
$
6,964.70
$
45,286.76
$
70,529.28
Income as of
04/17/2013
$
6,020.00
$
7,600.00
Remaining/short
($350.00)
($800.00)
$0.00
$0.00
$0.00
$
52.19
$
13.01
$
-
$18.47
$16.04
$2,556.29
$0.00
$
7,500.00
$0.00
*
*
Total Income
$
22,626.00
EXPENSE
6006
Travel
6700
Annual Meeting
6705
Strategic Planning
6706
Council Meetings
6806
Council Retreat
6910
Historian
6920
Newsletter
6930
Speaker's Bureau
6940
Training
Committee
Website
Committee
Conference
Committee
Government
Relations
Supplies-General
6950
6960
6970
7200
7206
7310
7700
SuppliesComputer
Accounting/Audit
7720
Membership
Committee
Professional
Development
Scholarships
7730
Charitable
7740
Gifts/Awards
7750
Reynolds' Award
7710
$
1,500.00
$
1,500.00
$
250.00
$
$
$
$
$
75.00
$
1,000.00
$
2,515.00
$
13,373.00
$
$
$
$
750.00
$
$
$
$
200.00
$
430.00
$
-
$
21,185.20
Spent as of
04/17/2013
$1,440.80
$
1,187.36
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
358.40
$
2,425.00
$
14,172.93
$
$
$
$
75.00
$
$
$
$
200.00
$
25.00
$
-
$
312.64
$
1,500.00
$
250.00
$
$
$
$
$
75.00
$
641.60
$
90.00
$
(799.93)
$
$
$
$
675.00
$
$
$
$
$
405.00
$
-
Remaining
*
7800
Lease
$
$
$
33.00
$
250.00
$
$
$
$
$
750.00
$
22,626.00
$0.00
$
7806
Lease-Deposit
$
7900
Bank Account
$
Charges
7950
Other
$
7960
Transfer to
$
Reserves
7970
Carry-back to
$
Prior Year
7980
Development
$
Committee
7990
Multicultural
$
Committee
8000
Leadership
$
Committee
Total Expenses
$
18,443.69
Income Less
$
Expenses
2,741.51
*Additional $2500 approved by council to overspend on conference committee.
This was not approved in the original budget
**$2556.29 on Expense 5460 (transfer from reserves) was
to balance the budget for 2012-2013
Note: $20,000 was transferred from
checking to savings.
$
$
$
33.00
$
250.00
$
$
$
$
$
750.00
$
4,182.31
Jason asked that we take a moment and think of those that were affected by the recent tragedy in Boston
this past week.
The association finally has a financial status with the state of NH by finally submitting a 501C3. Jason
again commended the association for maintaining three times our operating expenses in reserve.
He also shared that he had the opportunity to attend the NASFAA (?) Leadership Conference
and had the opportunity to meet with some of the states that are currently struggling.
Suzy Allen moved to have the 4/17/2013 budget approved; Sheri Gaunthier seconded the
motion. Budget passed.
Elizabeth then invited those chairpersons in attendance to come forward and give a brief summary of their
committee and what each accomplished over the year.
TRAINING –Jeff Bentley and Robin Gagnon
The committee is continuing to improve.
The Training Committee has worked hard this year to bring trainings to the
NHASFAA membership. The trainings which were all hosted at PSU in
Concord included the following:
 May 4, 2012—A Military and Verification Training was attended by
approximately 30 people. The day began with a Military presentation
by Claire Turner from SNHU, followed by a Verification presentation
by June Schlabach from PSU. The day concluded with our volunteer
panel for a question & answer period.
 September 21, 2012—Financial Aid 101 was attended by 21 people.
The agenda for the day included History of Financial Aid, presented by
June Schlabach from Plymouth State University; The FAFSA was
outlined and presented by Karen Collins from the Center for College
Planning; and the day wrapped up with Types of Aid presented by
Suzy Allen from University of New Hampshire.
 March 12, 2013—DL Training was attended by approximately 10
people. The training was produced by NASFAA and presented by
Robert Tschinkel, the sole proprietor RGT Consulting, a Title IV
consulting firm that he began in 2009 after his retirement from the
Department of Education, Federal Student Aid.
The training provided an overview of Direct Loan Program, an
understanding of reconciliation and cash management, cohort default
rates and compliance with direct loan regulations.
Upcoming Training
 May 30, 2013—EffectiveneSS (Service Strategies: Before--During--and
After)
o Customer Service—Presented by Dan Dreves, Nelnet
o Developing Effective Communications—Presented by Jeff Penta,
SNHU
o Communicating Repayment Options (IBR, PAYE, etc)—presented
by Maureen Fagen, Salliemae
 June, 2013—Empowering Financial Aid Offices
Please contact the training committee with any suggestions for topics that
might be of interest, or you may be willing to present at future trainings!
 Jeff Bentley, Co-Chair/email:jbentley@asa.org
 Robin Gagnon, Co-Chair/email:r.gagnon@snhu.edu
 Maureen Fagen
 Suzanne Faulkner
 Karen Joyce
Membership Committee- Ashley Coleman
My goal of membership was to meet and hopefully exceed last year’s figures of 163. To date, we
have 176 current members. This is 13 more members from last year, or an 8% increase. This is the
highest membership has been since 2008-2009. Membership totals for the past years were as
follows:
2011-2012: 163
2010-2011: 156
2009-2010: 162
The most surprising figure is the amount of new memberships for 12-13. For the 2011-2012 year,
we had 19 new members; whereas this year we have 43. I also added a few new non-postsecondary
groups into the database because of membership including a guidance counselor’s office. To
continue membership growth, I would suggest reaching out to guidance counselors at the high
school level, and admissions representatives at the post-secondary level.
SPEAKERS BUREAU-Sharon Eaton
This year we transitioned to the new Speakers Bureau system. The system allows for electronic
communication with the guidance community and a centralized system for tracking events,
assigning speakers, and soliciting speaker evaluations. While the new webpage was emailed
directly to guidance community members, speaker requests were submitted using both the old and
new systems. Additionally some counselors had a hard time submitting requests using the new
system due to the security measures imbedded in the request form. In some cases that resulted in
high schools contacting NHASFAA members directly, making it difficult to track and collect data on
all of the events NHASFAA speakers were involved in. An additional challenge resulted from the
timing of membership dues. NHASFAA memberships that were not active due to unpaid
membership dues delayed volunteers from being added to website database as speakers. Some
institutions take a while to generate checks for payment which resulted in some events not being
‘approved’ in the system in a timely fashion, although confirmation emails were sent directly to the
high school and the speakers.
Speakers volunteered for 17 events at high schools, including Financial Aid Nights and FAFSA
completion workshops. While the amount of requests for speakers has remained similar to past
years, requests came from schools that have continually partnered with NHASFAA speakers year
after year. Strong relationships have developed between high schools and our volunteers. This
clearly fits our goal of outreach, continuing to serve as a reliable and trusted resource for high
school students in the state.
In light of the challenges experienced this past year, a few changes will be made to make for a
smoother process. This summer I will be contacting NHASFAA members who have volunteered as
a speaker in the past to complete the volunteer form with the hopes of having all speakers in the
system prior to the payment of membership dues. I ask that speakers please notify the chair if you
are contacted directly by a high school to schedule an event. This will allow us to continue
effectively tracking our outreach efforts throughout the state.
CONFERENCE COMMITTEE – Co-Chairs Susan Proulx (Community College System of NH) and
June Schlabach (PSU)
Co-Chairs June Schlabach (PSU) and Susan Proulx (Community College System of NH)
Committee Members: Jeff Bentley (ASA), Mac Broderick (Saint Anselm College), Sheri
Gonthier Christine Hoch (PSU), (NHTI), Heather Ward (Discover). Christine Roz (NHTI)
also helped on the day of the conference.
New Members: Maureen Fagan (Sallie Mae), Jennifer Miller Dudley (Inceptia)
96 NHASFAA members attended the 6th annual conference (two days!) on October 25th and
26th at SERESC in Bedford. The two day registration price was kept the same as the one day
fee in 2011, with support from NHASFAA.
The theme was
The 2012 Community Service organization was the NH Coalition to End Homelessness.
High School Student Wish List items (such as gas/meal cards, miscellaneous school
supplies, and personal care items) were collected and cash donations went to the “Hope
Starts Here Scholarship Fund” to support NH students who have experienced homelessness
during their high school career, who have the desire to pursue higher education, and who
have demonstrated academic achievement.
Six former NHASFAA Presidents were honored during the luncheon on the second day.
Prizes Awarded:
 Lottery Tickets: Tyler Bergmeier, Karla O’Hara, Karen Harrington, Margaret Kelly, June
Schlabach
 $50 Gas Cards: Bev Cotton, Kathy Courtemache
 Keurig Coffee Maker: Elizabeth Keuffel
 Free Conference Registration for 2013: Robin Gagnon
 Bean Pot: Liz Gould
Nine supportive exhibitors participated: Wells Fargo, Sallie Mae, NHHEAF Network
Organizations, Nelnet Education Loan Servicing, Great Lakes Higher Education
Corporation, First Marblehead, Discover Student Loans, Citizens Bank, and American
Student Assistance.
A Thursday evening networking event was held, with delicious appetizers and other
refreshments.
Evaluations were positive; with most in favor of continue the two day event format.
The NHASFAA Council and the Conference Committee have reviewed other
opportunities/venues for the 2013 Conference, and we are very pleased to announce that
our 7th annual conference will be held Wednesday October 23rd and Thursday
October 24th at the North Conway Grand Hotel in North Conway at Settler’s Green.
We are developing an exciting program of presentations, hoping to include sessions such as
the Financial Aid Shopping Sheet, a Roundtable on Best Practices in Verification, Financial
Literacy/How students pay for college, National Student Clearinghouse and Return of Title
IV - Modules. We are inviting Justin Draeger from NASFAA, as well as a training specialist
from NASFAA and a Department of Education trainer. There is also a possibility of having
Senator Jeanne Sheehan attend. There will also be sessions for both the registrar and
bursar office track.
We would love to have suggestions for sessions and offers from presenters, as well as new
participants on our fun and creative Conference Committee. With our exciting new venue,
we would like to attract as many members as possible!
Mac Broderick and Heather Ward shared that the conference is a great networking
opportunity and that the committee would love to see one person from each institution in
the state attend the conference.
Elizabeth will be signing the contract soon!
DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE – Chair Leslie Bembridge
Exhibiting Breakdown
Conference:
NHHEAF Network
GLHEC
Citizens Bank
SLMA
Discover
First Marblehead
Wells
NelNet
ASA
Annual Meeting:
NHHEAF Network
GLHEC
Citizens Bank
SLMA
First Marblehead
MEFA
NelNet
Wells
ASA
Total Revenue:
$8100.00
No vendors have offered to partake in vending at the trainings
GOVERNMENT RELATIONS – Cynthia Schofield
The 2012-2013 Government Relations Committee had 10 members this year. The GRC began to
hold conference calls in August. One call a month was scheduled through May 2013. The
committee agreed to contribute to each of the NHASFAA newsletters, use the NHASFAA List
Serv, develop a relevant topic for a session at the 2013 annual conference, communicate with
elected officials and invite an elected official to speak at the 2013 annual conference.
Additionally, a Financial Aid Day at the State House, similar to the event held in Massachusetts
each year, is being reviewed to see if it is a good fit for the NH Financial Aid community. The
GRC website and the NHASFAA Fact Sheet were updated.
I am happy to report that all goals were met with the exception of the communication to all
elected officials. It is the hope of the committee to develop a new approach to this goal and
partner with NHASFAA leadership to present a unified position communication.
I would like to thank the members of the committee for their efforts and dedication. Many of our
initiatives in 2012-2013 will move forward into 2013-2014.
Committee Members:
Shannon Carroll, Keene State College
Anna M. Clifford, Southern New Hampshire University
Kathy Courtemanche, Saint Anselm College
Anne Eule, Nashua Community College
Crystal Finefrock Gaff, Plymouth State University
Jennifer Hashem, Southern New Hampshire University
Melissa Labrie, Southern New Hampshire University
Nicole Nardello Lawton, Portsmouth Beauty School
Darleen Ratte, Southern New Hampshire University
MULTICULTURAL/DIVERSITY COMMITTEE- Lizbeth Gonzalez
Members:
Lizbeth Gonzalez, Chair – Nashua Community College
Tyler Bergmeier - White Mountains Community College
Kenneth Ferreira - Franklin Pierce University - Rindge
The Multicultural/Diversity Committee has not been very active this year.
We received a request from Nashua High South through the College Planning & Outreach
and the Speakers Bureau for a Spanish speaking financial aid person to meet with families
to talk about the financial aid process during their financial aid night. Their financial aid
night was scheduled for the same week of the FSA conference and the committee was not
able to accommodate the request. However, we will work with the College Planning &
Outreach and the Speakers Bureau to coordinate with the school to meet such request in
the future.
The diversity calendar will be available until the month of July 2013.
We will work towards our goal of creating a brochure to increase multicultural/diversity
awareness and will continue to seek new methods to accomplish our goals.
Educational Talent SearchReport was submitted by Melissa Azzaro.
ETS provided services to more than 1200 students at 21 high schools and 10 middle schools. We
provided information on academics, careers, college, financial aid and financial literacy.
More than 90% of our seniors completed the FAFSA this year. We helped our students navigate the
verification process.
We brought 191 sixth graders to visit a college campus. 5 groups went to UNH, 3 groups went to PSU
and 2 groups went to Lyndon State.
Our 7th and 8th grade groups went on job site tours. This is an opportunity to experience a work place
and listen to people from a variety of occupations talk about their college and career journey.
We took our high school students on campus visits. This included Keene State, Brandeis, Bentley,
Wentworth Institute of Technology, Emmanuel, U Maine Farmington, Assumption, and St. Anselm.
All ETS high school students and parents have been invited to a Campus Day at PSU on April 27th. This
will include an information session, tour and lunch. We expect about 100 students and family members
to attend.
In June we will bring 35 7th and 8th grade students to UNH for an overnight experience. They will attend a
college class, listen to an Admissions presentation, participate in challenge activities at the Browne
Center and sleep overnight in a residence hall. On the second day we will take the train to Boston, visit a
college and participate in a cultural event.
As a result of sequestration our budget will be cut by 5.2% for next year. It is unclear yet whether we will
be eliminating students from the program. At this point we will probably eliminate all of the above
activities except direct services to students at the high schools and middle schools. I will look for
alternative funding for these activities, but many may be cut. We have heard that in 2014-15 we will
return to the current funding.
Center for College Planning-Tori Berube
CCP is happy to report that each high school in the state except for one was serviced this year.
(98%)
Since January 1st, 1400 13-14 FAFSA’s were filed, including Girls Inc., Sports camps, and Girls
and Boys Club of America.
Take it to the Bank-(3) $1,000 scholarships
CEO Scholarship-$5,000 scholarship to be awarded on May 3rd.
I Am College Bound- 300,000 NH students were awarded scholarships, along with ipads and
ipad minis.
Tori shared that she and Tara Payne will be on the radio this coming Sunday.
Tori also took the opportunity to thank the 14 members of NHASFAA that helped with FAFSA
Filing Saturdays.
This now concluded the business portion of the meeting. Elizabeth called a short recess while
we heard from Michael McFarlane, chairperson of the Education Funding Committee for the
Consumer Banking Association and Betsy Mayotte, Director of Regulatory Compliance and
Privacy at ASA. We then had time for our vendors to give us a brief update. This included
Sallie Mae, Citizens Bank, NHHELCO (Invest in U), MEFA, Wells Fargo, First Marblehead, Greak
Lakes, NelNet, and ASA.
Lunch was provided
Elizabeth then presented awards
*Lisa Jo Moher Committee of the Year Award”-
The Lisa Jo Moher Committee of the year award was created to honor and celebrate the life of
our colleague who passed away suddenly in 2009. Lisa Jo worked in the financial aid office at
SNHU for many years and was the director of financial aid at Granite State College. Lisa Jo was
active in the association, passionate about helping students and dedicated to her family and
career. Simply put….Lisa Jo had a great zest for life and left a lasting impression on the lives she
touched. This award honors a NHASFAA Committee that has exemplified the same level of
passion and dedication to NHASFAA.
Elizabeth was honored to present a “Rose of Recognition” to our conference chairpersons,
Susan Proulx and June Schlabach for a successful 2012 conference.
Elizabeth also gave a rose to both myself and Jason Graves, Treasurer, for our help.
She also gave a rose to Suzy Allen for her as Elizbeth began the transition to president.
Finally, she gave roses to both Sheri Gauthier for her work with both the website and conference and to
Robin Gagnon for her help with both newsletter and training.
Maureen Begley Annual NHASFAA Conference Scholarship
Maureen Begley died in November 2009 just one week after having attended her last FA
conference (MASFAA). She had missed the NHASFAA conference that year because she had a
cold.
Maureen attended an EASFAA conference less than 2 weeks after she first arrived on the East
Coast. The next conference that she attended was NHHEAF/NHASFAA where Tori Berube made
sure she had her own name badge which thrilled Maureen. She made so many friends and was
so welcomed that FA conferences became her greatest pleasure! She always looked forward to
the next time that she would see all her friends. She was so excited when she had her own
name badge and Sue Howard facilitated name badges for her at several EASFAA conferences.
Her family felt that donating conference registrations to EASFAA, MASFAA and NHASFAA would
be the very best thing to do in Maureen's memory. It is their hope that the NHASFAA
conference scholarship in Maureen's name will welcome new members to NHASFAA in the
same way that NHASFAA so warmly welcomed Maureen.
We thank the Begley family for honoring Maureen’s memory by providing a scholarship to the
NHASFAA conference for a new conference attendee or someone relatively new in the field.
Elizabeth will be sending out an email shortly for nominations for this very special award.
Motion by Susan Proulx to adjourn meeting at 1:12pm; seconded by Kathy Courtemanche . Passed
unanimously.
Respectfully submitted,
Anna Clifford
NHASFAA Secretary