November Proclaimed Financial Aid Awareness Month in Iowa

On October 17, a group of Iowa financial aid administrators gathered at the State Capitol in Des Moines to witness Governor Terry E. Branstad sign a proclamation proclaiming the month of November to be Financial Aid Awareness Month (FAAM) in Iowa.  The change of having the FAFSA available beginning October 1 has also changed the timing of promoting financial aid and FAFSA filing.

In the past, February had been proclaimed as Financial Aid Awareness Month in Iowa.  In recognition of FAAM, IASFAA promotes a challenge among Iowa’s colleges and universities to use unique and creative ideas to promote FAFSA filing on their campuses.  The winning campus receives a traveling trophy, Freida the Flamingo, to proudly display and a gift card for the office to use for a fun lunch.  The last winner of the trophy and gift card was Coe College in Dubuque!

With the signing of the proclamation now occurring in the fall rather than during the dead of winter, one financial aid administrator commented that it was nice to travel to the capitol and not have to worry about icy roads or snow!  Plus, no coats were required with the balmy fall that Iowa has been experiencing.  And now that November has arrived, the campuses are once again promoting FAFSA filing with the hopes of being the next winner of Freida!

Iowa Delegation

Because the state legislators are not in session during the month of October, the timing of the signing allowed for the group to be able to do a self-guided tour of the capitol building.  A visit to see the House and Senate chambers allowed them to stand on those respective floors rather than viewing from above in the gallery.  A decision to visit the state library in the capitol to take in the views of downtown Des Moines resulted in an impromptu presentation given by the state librarian showing some historical law books, including one from 1787 that has John Hancock and Samuel Adams’ names listed.

Promoting FAFSA filing is the first step in the financial aid process and IASFAA is thankful to Governor Branstad and the State of Iowa for recognizing how important this step is!  

Kristi Fuller

Assistant Director-Continuing Student Programs

Office of Student Financial Planning

Drake University

MASFAA Membership Reminder

MASFAA Membership Reminder

Now is the time to renew your MASFAA membership!  Unless you opted to pay your 2017 membership dues at the time you registered for the Kansas City conference, your membership likely already expired!

You can submit the 2017 membership application now by going to www.masfaaweb.org and clicking on Member Services.  Make sure you do that soon so that you don't miss out on any MASFAA activities as we enter the new year.  If you have any questions about your membership status, please let me know. 

Best wishes to all as we swim through this new PPY!!!

Crystal M. Bruntz

MASFAA Member Services Chair

Crystal.bruntz@avila.edu

Federal Issues - Election Update

Federal Issues - Election Update

With less than a week to go before the election, most of us probably can’t wait for it to be over. Every election is important and it is important that everyone exercise their constitutional right by taking the time to vote. Sometimes it is hard to know who to vote for; the media tends to focus on the personal tit-for-tat that goes on between the candidates instead of spending the time going over the issues and the stance of each candidate on those issues. So to save you some time, below is a summary of each presidential candidate’s stance on higher education and college affordability. This is not an endorsement of one candidate over another but a summary of their position as stated on their web sites.

Clinton wants families with income up to $125,000 to pay no tuition at in-state public four year colleges and universities and all community colleges will offer free tuition. All borrowers will be able to refinance loans at current rates. She also wants to help those in default protect their credit and cut interest rates on student loans. Clinton wants to develop a payroll deduction portal for employers and employees to simplify the repayment process of student loans. Aspiring entrepreneurs will be able to defer their loans with no payment or interest up to 3 years. Lastly, Clinton will use executive action to offer a 3-month moratorium on all federal student loan payments.

Trump wants to work with Congress on reforms to ensure universities are making a good faith effort to reduce the cost of college and student debt in exchange for the federal tax breaks and tax dollars. He wants to ensure that the opportunity to attend a two or four-year college, or to pursue a trade or a skill set through vocational and technical education will be easier to access, pay for, and finish. Most of Trump’s plan for education focuses on school choice at the K-12 level.

I would encourage each of you to look into the positions of each candidate when deciding who to vote for come Tuesday and to make every effort to get out and cast your vote.

Brian Weingart

MASFAA Federal Issues Chair