Committee Members (*absent)

Dick Battig John Beneke *Elaine Chiles *Angie Comstock Vickie Crupper Kim Donat Arman Habegger Billie Jo Hamilton Zina Haywood Brian Heinemann Roberta Johnson Karen Kopp

*Jack Lyons Dan Mann Mark Martin *Ernesto Monge Lois Mulbrook Richard Nash Al Pinckney John Pogue Samantha Ruffini *Janet Ruge Wendell Schick Michiale Schneider

Debbie Scholz Steve Schuetz Colby Sellers Rick Shipman Mary Jo Smith Howard Thomas Jason VanSickle Jerry Wade Claudia Wenzel Cari Wickliffe Christal Williams Arnold Woods

ACTIONS:

Motion: to approve our 2005-2006 discretionary committees and Committee Chairs. Pogue/Schick. Motion carried.

Motion: to accept the proposal for a $300 symposium flat fee as presented by the committee. Pogue/Nash. Motion carried.

Motion: to change the P & P to include the Treasurer and Newsletter to be part of the WEB Services Committee. Nash/Heinemann

Adjusted Motion: to change the P & P to include the Treasurer Elect, Newsletter Chair and Summer Institute Chair to be part of the WEB Services Committee. Nash/Heinemann. Motion carried.

Motion: to approve the waiving of the conference fee for the Treasurer Elect. Pogue/Sellers. Motion carried.

Motion: to accept the Corporate Support committee recommendations to:

Motion: to accept the minutes for the 0405 Executive Committee, dated October 15, 2005. Heinemnan/Pinckney Motion carried.

Motion: to accept the minutes for the 0506 Executive Committee, dated October 26, 2005
Pogue/Heinemann. Adjustment to include Summer Institute as written report. Motion carried.

Motion: to approve the concept of the award and to have the awards committee bring modifications to the Association Governance Committee. Hamilton/Shipman. Motion carried.

Motion: to adjourn. Pinckney/Heinemann. Motion carried.

President: Dan Mann
President Dan Mann called the meeting to order at 8:37am. Welcome to Janet Dodson from NASFAA and Brent Tener from SASFAA. Congratulations to Zina Haywood as she was promoted to Executive Vice President/Provost of her College. Introductions were made to our guests. Jack Lyons is better and is back to the office, but will not be able to make it this weekend. Housekeeping update by Dick Battig. We will be eating in the hotel this evening. State presidents are recommended to sit at the lunch table together to have their meeting. Dan had wanted to have some students come in for a focus group before lunch, however, it didn’t work out, but we will try again in Des Moines.

See written report. MASFAA has sent the $3000 stipend to Walsh College on behalf of Past President Howard Thomas. Four members will be attending the NASFAA Leadership Conference. Dan currently doesn’t have anything arranged with West Virginia, but he will work out the details.

NASFAA’s National Forum on Educational Loans will be addressing the costs and long term financing for an education. 140 national members were invited to the forum in St. Louis. MASFAA members Rick Shipman and Pam Fowler are two of the four co-chairs for the forum. Rick reviewed the agenda for the forum. Of the 140 invitees, a diverse selection of institutions were selected to attend to give different views of lending and financing education. Discussion ensued regarding the invitation and whether any members would be attending. We may bring this discussion back under new business to see if we should send someone from the MASFAA region.

Motion: to approve our 2005-2006 discretionary committees and Committee Chairs. Pogue/Schick. Motion carried.

Ernesto Monge has resigned as the Research Chair and Dan is working on getting a new chair for this committee.

Conference Program: Roberta Johnson
The program committee met on Wednesday – Friday, prior to this exec committee. Roberta is very pleased with the committee members. There were many ideas to carry on the theme of “It’s about students.” The conference theme will be about education, i.e. the evaluations will be like report cards. There was discussion during the program meeting that the states would like to have their state meetings earlier to get more participation. Roberta would like to open up for discussion on whether we should have state meetings or sector meetings. Discussion ensued regarding having state meetings more than having sector meetings. If we move the state meetings to Sunday afternoon, would there still be more participation? Roberta will take the discussion back to her committee. If reauthorization does go through the program committee will partner with the federal issues committee to get the information out to the membership. They also will try to have two presentations by Jeff Baker to go over any and all changes. If the state meetings are held earlier in the conference, state members would then know who is at the conference and be able to meet up at a later date. Dan stated that the program committee has a lot of ideas and if anyone has any suggestions for general session speakers, please let Roberta know.

Local Arrangements: Debbie Scholz
Iowa is waiting for the conference to arrive!! See written report. They are meeting every two weeks. Debbie reviewed the proposals for the two grants that were submitted to the Finance Committee. Debbie asked what Exec would like to do in Des Moines for the April meeting. Some members have approached Debbie about paying for the conference without paying for food. Because we are going to the Des Moines meeting on Thursday and Friday, we might be able to work with students. Discussion ensued and it was very positive. Discussion ensued also, about food guarantees and tracking problems and the difficulties in the management of the meals. Discussion also ensued about members attending the meal functions and also the issue of associate members taking the membership out to meals and perhaps the membership needs to say no to the invitation. However, members are also asking the vendors to take them out for meals too. It was suggested to put in the School Catalog (Program) about the code of ethics or “school code.” A suggestion was also made to have vendors sponsor different tables during the large meals. Awareness and validation of meals would be good idea to double check meal counts. Dick reviewed dates and the timing process for meal counts. A suggestion was made to email a few weeks ahead of time to registered attendees and what meals are being served. Debbie is recommending that the exec membership become a Des Moines Ambassador to promote Des Moines to the membership and for the state presidents to become liaisons for the conference. Promotional materials will be made available to the state presidents to put in their conference packets. A suggestion was made to announce major award winners to the membership at different times so more individuals are aware. Dan stated that he has challenged both site and program to really review the conference program.

Project development requests have not yet been approved by the Finance committee, but would like clarification regarding liability and other details.

Site Selection: Dick Battig
See written report. The 2008 Conference will be held here in Cincinnati, in this hotel. Between the Convention Center and Hilton, they will pay for our expenses at the Conference Center. We might not have enough space here in the hotel only. There is also a three month “out” clause which would be very beneficial. Many events would still be held in the hotel. 2011 Conference is in Michigan and Dick is reviewing sites in that state.

NASFAA Update: Janet Dodson
Janet started in aid at Kansas, which used to be a part of MASFAA. Janet extended greetings from NASFAA. There are a lot of competing processes in Washington DC right now, and education is not really a priority. Janet spoke about getting our voice heard in Washington. Let your elected officials know about issues that affect our students. Janet wants to bring magic back to our profession, and connect with other individuals. How do we make sure that the students know what is going on with our profession and educational issues, whether it is email or how the information is relayed to them? Phone calls could be more effective.

NASFAA is looking good; the Finance Committee has met regarding the tier approach. The auditors suggested that they include the Finance Audit and are now called the Finance and Audit Committee. There are cities that can and cannot hold a NASFAA Conference. NASFAA is trying to be very sensitive to regions but not all regions can hold a conference, so regions may be sharing a conference.

Nominations and elections are coming up. Superbowl weekend is the weekend that the ballot is developed. NASFAA is really looking at regional representation. The Leadership Conference is coming up and there are a number of members from MASFAA that are on the Leadership Conference Committee.

The upcoming Conference is in Seattle and rooms are rare, so if anyone has an extra room, please release it, so others can get a room. The New York City Conference was the best attendance conference ever. Billie Jo Hamilton will be Conference Chair for the 2007 conference in Washington DC.

Janet really encouraged volunteerism and representation from the MASFAA region. We can make a difference in our profession and opportunities are always available. Don’t make things too easy for students, but reasonable and understandable. There will be representation at the Des Moines conference from NASFAA. We need to make the opportunities for students to get an education. The Washington DC Conference is around July 17, 2007.

Diversity is a challenge for the NASFAA board. Whether it is an age issue or race issue is getting harder to find individuals that are staying in education vs. higher incomes in private sectors. So the issue with NASFAA is the same with most non-profit organizations and higher education in general. Janet is looking for individuals that are willing to work and generate magic.

SASFAA Update: Brent Tener
Brent extended greetings from SASFAA. Brent also got his start in the MASFAA region and his first conference was here in Cincinnati. Their upcoming conference is in Greensboro, NC. SASFAA is doing better with finances and are being very responsible. SASFAA had a symposium in October and where they wanted to go as an organization. It was professionally facilitated. Brent also stated that they spent a great deal of time during Fall Semester for hurricane issues. He stated that there has been an outpouring of support from other financial aid organizations and vendors for the profession and most importantly for students. It was a great experience to come from a very unpleasant event.

President-Elect: Vickie Crupper
See written report. Theme is developed and there will be a pre-conference workshop. Vickie’s conference will be the 45th anniversary. She also needs to finalize some state exchange events. Rick Shipman stated that NASFAA has all the dates for College Goal Sunday, (CGS), but Vickie would like to have the links for the individual states’ information. However, Rick stated that NASFAA links to the individual state links.

Symposium Committee: Zina Haywood
RMASFAA has decided to not participate as a partner for this event. See written report. Steve Morgan will lead the general session on renewing your spirit. Zina asked if we should invite RMASFAA. The title is “Putting the Pro Back in Professional.” The target is to have 75-100 attendees. We need to make sure that we have a quality symposium with good content and an ultimate product come from the symposium. The committee has set up the fee structure similar to Summer Institute. $300 Symposium fee to cover two nights lodging and one lunch and breakfast. RMASFAA could not commit to the $15,000 as MASFAA was doing, due to their financial situation. A priority date for MASFAA was suggested and then open the symposium up to other Financial Aid professionals. The intent of the symposium is to provide a benefit to the membership with a nominal fee for a commitment to the membership. Would membership fees be extra if someone is not currently a member of MASFAA? If not a member the fee would be $300 plus the current membership dues. Suggestion was made that if we invite RMASFAA members, they would not have to pay the fees. Motion: to accept the proposal for a $300 symposium flat fee as presented by the committee. Pogue/Nash. Discussion ensued on whether there should be a commuter fee established, but is the theme that and intent might be as a retreat type of function. Motion carried. Attendees must belong to an association after the Midwest priority date.

State Exchange: Vickie Crupper
To date there is only one state requesting reimbursement request. Ohio has gone to Iowa. There is a state rotation cycle and the rotation schedule was announced and will also be on the state president website.

Past-President: Howard Thomas
Howard attended the NASFAA Board in Austin, TX. Howard has had an email discussion with regard to the retired MASFAA members and the reduced membership fees for retired members. Discussion ensued on contacting the retired members.

Association Governance: Howard Thomas
See written report. By Law change has been sent to ATAC to put on the website. There was a 97% vote for the change in definition and fees for retired members. The committee might be bringing in an outside facilitator to assist with long range planning. Motion: to change the P & P to include the Treasurer and Newsletter to be part of the WEB Services Committee. Nash/Heinemann Discussion ensued regarding why this is important based on how much information is put on the website by these two positions Motion: to change the P & P to include the Treasurer Elect, Newsletter Chair and Summer Institute Chair to be part of the WEB Services Committee. Nash/Heinemann Discussion ensued regarding who participates on the committees and the amount of users of the website be included in the committee. The information that goes on the web should go through the web services committee chair and then they could possibly contact ATAC at that point. The intent of AGP was to show that the web committee is more than just one person, but should include other individuals. Motion carried.

Nominations and Elections: Howard Thomas
Conference Call is being used to follow the calendar. January 31st is the next conference call to make up the slate for the upcoming election. A ballot will be sent in April to ATAC to get posted to the website.

Vice President: Billie Jo Hamilton
See written report. The insurance costs will be for the same amount of funding, however, the coverage will be expanded. Billie Jo will bring more information back to the exec council, once she has it. The RFP is being investigated for tax preparation and audit. We have had some IRS issues, so it would still be a good idea to have a firm handle the tax preparation.
See written report on Finance Committee. The registration fee for the treasurer elect for the conference will be waived, considering all the work that is done for the conference. It may also encourage individuals to run for the position of Treasurer.

Billie Jo discussed the process for the CDs that MASFAA currently has. She will being going back to the original financing idea to get MASFAA back on track with a three month cycle for the CDs. Maturity dates and interest rates may be better, since we don’t have any CDs at this time.

Billie Jo is going to put together a draft on what can be considered for reimbursement for MASFAA members that submit travel.

Motion: to approve the waiving of the conference fee for the Treasurer Elect. Pogue/Sellers Motion carried.

There are still three individuals that have not paid for the conference. Samantha Ruffini is in contact with those individuals.

Corporate Support: Jason VanSickle
See written report. Levels of support were brought up for the amount of funding provided based on what they are getting. Platinum, Gold, Silver and bronze. Sponsorships are getting more concerned that they are getting enough benefits for their sponsorship dollars. Some of the vendors are asking for the registration fees to be waived for all levels, except exhibitors only. Jason discussed web sponsorship availability. Corporate support will be sent through email from Jason to all possible vendors. He hopes to make that deadline earlier to get organized and ready for the conference. Jason really would like his committee to develop a new corporate support structure.

Platinum level – get all the levels from Jason for the minutes.
Acknowledgement of the sponsorship is very important and the committee would like to see the recognition of such during all the events. At the recent conference there were concerns that some of the sponsors weren’t recognized on the PowerPoint. Dan had recently sent an email to the membership to give more recognition to the sponsors. Discussion ensued regarding the points and issues that Jason brought to the table. Downloading of the participant list is possible and Howard stated that he could assist someone from Jason’s committee to generate the lists. Motion: to accept the committee recommendations to:

Secretary: Karen Kopp
Motion: to accept the minutes for the 0405 Executive Committee, dated October 15, 2005. Heinemann/Pinckney Motion carried.

Motion: to accept the minutes for the 0506 Executive Committee, dated October 26, 2005
Pogue/Heinemann. Jerry Wade will resubmit report as it was not included in the original minutes.

Motion carried.

Treasurer: Samantha Ruffini
See written report. Samantha has worked to get the elected officers official with the bank services, so everyone is now legal. Samantha discussed record retention and Rick Shipman stated that he will look into helping Samantha with this volume of paperwork.

Samantha has handed out to the Exec committee the profit/loss statement, the balance sheet and other documents. Income for this time of year is virtually nothing, so it looks different due to conference expenses. Money Market was reviewed and shows the current balance. The profit/loss was compared between the two most recent years, as of November 1st, which is the beginning of the fiscal year. The differences are due to late paying conference attendees from the Indianapolis conference and a reduction in the membership dues from $65 to $50. Discussion ensued regarding the date that items are paid, not necessarily for the year that the expenses were incurred.

The current expense form has the mileage rate of 40.5 cents. Items that are covered were reviewed and the timing of payment was also brought up.

Billie Jo brought up that reimbursement of internet costs for executive council committee members is not reimbursable. Many hotels do include internet access as part of the contract for conferences. Discussion ensued with regard that members are giving up their weekends and possible consideration for this fact. MASFAA does not pay for personal phone calls. Dan suggested that the issue be taken back to Finance Committee for suggestions or other proposals.

Treasurer-Elect: Brian Heinemann
No written report.

Delegate at Large: Rick Shipman
No written report. Rick has contacted the three committee chairs

Archives Committee: Arman Habegger
Materials that were provided by Marc Brenner were supplied, with a number of pictures. There is now a link from the MASFAA website to the archives website. Arman will be originating the request at the next meeting for the payment of the $500 for the archives.

Research Committee:
Rick Shipman recently attended the College Scholarship Service. He said that a project that was discussed was the loan indebtedness in conjunction with the income levels of our students.

The research committee is complete in terms of membership and they are looking for an instrument to have the training survey. They also may be charged with research on long range planning.

Web Services: Mark Martin
Mark believes that Brian Heinemann’s support will be very helpful. Mark has been able to pass on information to Paula from ATAC very quickly. Recommendation for a privacy policy might be a very good idea. Time tables, as was discussed by Jason stated how important this issue is. August 1st is the deadline for requests for banner ads to the website. October 1st will then be the payment deadline for these advertisements. See written report. Mark discussed how to post reports and minutes on the web. He stated that if you have any problems to please give him a call. Mark reviewed what can be done on the website. Dan stated that one of our goals is to use the website more. All members are charged with working with the website.

A suggestion was made to have all reports put on the web for the next meeting and have a projector and have the meeting electronically. Discussion ensued regarding this idea. We are trying to use the ATAC technology, since we are paying for the benefits. Dan charged Dick and Mark to see if there are possibilities with the hotels that are used. Dan charged Mark with contacting Howard and Association Governance with the privacy statement. Dan also stated that the deadlines that Mark is using do not align with the fiscal year and asked if that would present any problems or issues. Discussion ensued with regard to the timing of the ads and timing of conference registration. Most conference registration occurs during August/September. Program Committee had discussed opening the date for Conference registration to an earlier date to help some schools that might have left over budgets.

Delegate at Large: Wendell Schick
No written report.

Associate Member: Elaine Chiles
Elaine not in attendance. Wendell presented her written report.

Membership Database: Christal Williams
See written report. Dan asked if Christal could report out with a comparison from year to year. She will also be following up with Membership Services for the non members.

Membership Services: Mary Jo Smith
Since the letter has been sent to the retired members, there is hope that the retired membership would increase. Mary Jo asked if she should contact Mark to put information out on the web and he requested that he at least be cc’d. Mary Jo does have the new membership brochure available to give to the state presidents for distribution. Mary Jo created a postcard and handed them out and asked whether or not it would serve a purpose to promote membership. Dan asked if there is a strategy between using the brochure and the postcard. Mary Jo stated that she sends the brochure to the retired members because she wasn’t sure of their internet accessibility. The postcard could be mailed or handed out at state conferences. If mailed by the state or Member Services, Mary Jo stated that if the presidents provide the lists, she could mail out the postcards. Janet Dodson stated that it is a great piece, but perhaps the postcard should have the dates. Janet also suggested that Mary Jo might want to consider creating a postcard that would list all the important dates for the year. Mary Jo will add Summer Institute and the Symposium to the postcard that she has already created.

Delegate at Large: Al Pinckney
No written report. Al is going to try to be at the symposium and then substitute for Zina as a faculty member at the Summer Institute.

Question surfaced with regard to the purchase of CORE materials. The states will purchase the materials with reimbursement from MASFAA.

Family Education Concerns: Arnold Woods
The committee still needs someone from the St Louis area to be part of the committee, since the conference will be held there next year. The committee has selected a site that has 160 eighth grade students, which is a good number because if too many students participate, the logistics would be more difficult. The budget of the committee should take care of any donation made to the middle school in Des Moines. The date of the program was discussed among the membership. Al stated that the program be tied to parent/teacher conferences. If the program is held the Friday or Saturday before the conference there may be more financial aid professionals available. Dan pointed out that it is a very rewarding experience to help these young students.

Professional Development: Cari Wickliffe
The committee has a number of scholarship winners and these individuals really want to help. The newcomers’ breakfast at the conference worked well, because the tables were already established by state, and the members had a place to go. Pre conference ideas were discussed by the PD committee with suggestions being brought forth to the Exec committee.

The PD committee discussed having a checklist for first time attendees.
Scholarships were discussed and the timing of them. Sharing best practices via the web was also discussed, but how would it be monitored? Customer service, specifically for students, was brought up with ideas for specific training with these types of situations, perhaps in role playing. Cari stated that perhaps they could have a traveling road show of train the trainers, to assist with support staff training. Cari suggested that to get in the theme of the conference program as working at schools. Roberta stated that the program is going to do at least one session on customer service. Dan asked what the thoughts were on having a pre-conference. Discussion ensued with regard to having a preconference. If the Summer Institute and Symposium are first choice, would it be necessary to have a pre-conference. There will be a pre-conference for the 2007 conference, but Dan stated, based on discussion, that we won’t have a pre-conference for the Des Moines conference. For this year’s breakfast, we invited 153 members and about 20 members showed up for the event. Receptions and events have been held at different times and Vickie asked for a discussion on what to do for the newcomers. Vickie suggested using the individuals that attend the Leadership Conference to possibly assist at the Des Moines conference. Brent Tener stated that SASFAA has a new professionals track at their annual conference. There also might be a distinction needed between first time attendees and new professionals. Dan stated that it appears as though the states have been taking care of the support staff training. Vickie suggested to Debbie not to have a breakfast section on the conference registration form for first time attendees, but in the other section of the form. Cari would like to do something fun for the new professionals at the conference, such as t-shirts. In addition, she suggested that we have a session for new professionals about ethics and the dos and don’ts of the profession. Dan stated that we really need to work on getting volunteer participation and that perhaps we need to look at the MASFAA process.

Summer Institute: Jerry Wade
Al read Jerry’s report for Summer Institute as he had to leave the meeting. Al showed the post card for Summer Institute. See written report.

Delegate at Large: Colby Sellers
No written report. All three committee chairs have been doing a great job.

Awards: Lois Mulbrook
12 people fell beyond the 35yr service time frame. Discussion ensued that if the person is a current member, than the award should be given. Lois asked the state delegates of what is the best way to disseminate the award information to the various states. Lois asked the state delegates to contact her with their ideas for their individual states.

Lois presented the new MASFAA Leadership Award. The Association Governance did review this proposal and feel that this is a great way to get MASFAA out to the states. This award will mirror the NASFAA Leadership award. The award will be announced at the MASFAA Conference with a presentation at the States’ Conference. The award will be a combination of state and regional service. Discussion ensued regarding the award and whether it is feasible to get nominations from the states each year. It was also discussed that there are individuals that contribute to the association that aren’t financial aid personnel. The intent is to look every year, but it doesn’t necessarily have to happen each and every year. Recognition is important, particularly positive recognition. It may also be a positive influence for the younger professionals in financial aid. This is a MASFAA award through the states for nominations. Motion: to approve the concept of the award and to have the awards committee bring modifications to the Association Governance Committee. Hamilton/Shipman Discussion ensued with regard to the fact that this is a Midwest award and not a state award. Motion carried.

Federal Issues: Bruce Foote
Bruce stated that he has seven states represented; however, he would like to have members from all the states. See written report. NASFAA made a call for action on Thursday. Bruce is encouraging all the states to move on these very important issues. Dan stated that he has gotten nothing but positive responses on the information that Bruce is pushing out electronically to the membership.

Newsletter: Michiale Schneider
Newsletter is out on the web. The next newsletter is coming up and if anyone has any information that they want posted to please pass it on to Michiale. The deadline date for the next edition is the end of February for a March publication. Items can be sent in any type of format. Dan is very interested in comments about this new newsletter, both good and bad.

STATE REPORTS:

Illinois: Jack Lyons
Not in attendance. Colby Sellers presented the Illinois report. Jack Lyons is on the mend. There is was a close race in the state’s election. State of Illinois is looking at possible alternatives for additional funding. Illinois was asking about MASFAA sponsorship for the Leadership Training. Dan stated that this is not the first time for this request. Some states are doing leadership training and some of not. There has been no conclusion of this subject; however, it could be pushed up to long range planning. Missouri and West Virginia currently do not have leadership training. Cari suggested that the Professional Development Committee could look at this issue for their planning. Dan charged her with this issue.

Indiana: Richard Nash
At their most recent conference, they brought back as many previous state presidents as possible. There is a picture of them in Richard’s written report. Fifteen of the past presidents are still very active. Indiana is currently in the election process for 0607. Indiana is also preparing for a by law change. Currently Associate Members do not have a voice on their exec. The proposal is to development a new position to represent the associate members. Indiana is gearing up for their 17th year of College Goal Sunday. Dan is coming to the April conference. February is a bi-annual support staff workshop. This workshop alternates with a leadership workshop.

Iowa: John Beneke
Iowa had a CSI conference theme and hosted Angela Johnson from the state of Ohio. See written report.

Dubuque is the site of the Feb 7th workshop. Dan will try to attend the Spring Conference. John stated that they are working on their web services to keep everyone up to date. John asked for a show of hands of who uses ATAC in their state associations. There isn’t currently a group discount. Kim stated that this is something that we might explore. Mark Martin volunteered to check into this subject.

Michigan: Kim Donat
See written report Michigan has 22 sites for College Goal Sunday. Michigan held elections in early November. Kim stated that they had a number of individuals that were not willing to run based on situations at their schools. Vickie asked for the names of the Michigan members that are going to the Leadership Conference. There was discussion regarding the use of the “Extreme Reality Store” vs. just calling it the “Reality Store” and Michigan thought there might be some liability using the “Reality Store.”

Minnesota: John Pogue
Minnesota is also sending two individuals to the Leadership Conference in March. Dan asked what the work study workshop covers. John stated that it is for individuals that solely work with work study students/programs/issues. They have had this workshop for a number of years and it is really well attended.

Missouri: Angie Comstock
Not in attendance. Dan stated that Angie had submitted a report but Dan would provide one to the Secretary. Samantha and Cari gave a brief update on what was happening in the state with regard to the controversial state grant situation. Missouri is using ATAC and it is going better than it did in the fall. Missouri will be doing their 3rd College Goal Sunday this year. On line elections were held through ATAC. They have decided to move up the elections for next year. Missouri did the NASFAA training around the state.

Ohio: Claudia Wenzel
The Department of Education came to the Winter Conference to present issues regarding default prevention. Ohio will hold their 4th College Goal Sunday. Dan suggested that we all pay attention to the default prevention workshop and Ohio is leading the way in conjunction with ED. ED is now more interested in getting the dollar amounts of loan borrowing instead of looking at the getting the default rate down. Dan stated that there will be a lot of issues coming out of this in the next few years. People are interested in participating with ED, but are not really sure what they are looking for. Roberta asked if this could be a possible topic for the Des Moines Conference. ED has contacted Kim to come to the Summer Conference in Michigan and present on this issue, but he didn’t get a lot of information from them.

West Virginia: Janet Ruge
Not in attendance. Jason gave an update. Spring Conference is also scheduled. February is Financial Aid Awareness Month. He gave examples of various events to take place during that month.

Wisconsin: Steve Schuetz
No written report. There was a high school counselor workshop held in October. Wisconsin held the NASFAA training. There was record attendance at the fall conference, even though the Packers didn’t do so well. They had a reality store event. Wisconsin launched a new web site in November and had a full slate for the first time in a long time. They are sending two members to the Leadership Conference. Wisconsin is having their leadership conference in spring, which alternates with a support staff workshop. Steve will forward report to Dan.

Other:
Dan gave upcoming important dates to the Exec Committee. Please make travel arrangements for the April meeting in Des Moines.

Dan asked if anyone had any suggestions for entertainment in Des Moines for the April meeting. Bowling was suggested. Debbie stated that they will come up with something fun.

NEW BUSINESS:
Dan asked if the membership would like to send someone to the NASFAA Forum and whether MASFAA would have a role in this program. Arman asked who was already planning on attending, and perhaps present back to the membership what the outcome was. Dan also asked if there is anyone that was invited and are not planning on going. Howard stated that he wasn’t going, not due to finances but that the resources can be used for other programs. Karen stated that she was unsure of what the forum originally was and that Rick would resend the invitation to her, so she can contact her institution. Billie Jo stated that promotion could be better and NASFAA needs to contact more individuals. Next step would be reported back to the committee.

On behalf of Zina and the Symposium, Dick suggested that the members encourage their state colleagues to attend the Symposium in June.

Dan stated that if you have any nominations for the NASFAA Leadership Award to please submit the nomination.

Dan encouraged the committee members to run for MASFAA offices in the upcoming election. Howard Thomas will be putting the slate together.

Dan asked that any articles for the Newsletter need to be sent to Michiale by the end of February at the latest.

OLD BUSINESS:
Vickie gave an update on the “pick” of dates of when reauthorization will actually occur.

Motion: to adjourn. Pinckney/Heinemann. Motion carried.