This session explores how Ivy Tech Community College, Sellersburg Campus, Financial Aid and Business Offices partner to effectively manage the Drop-For-Non-Pay (D4NP) process while advancing student retention and fiscal responsibility. Presented by the campus Financial Aid Director, the session highlights how aligned communication, clearly defined roles, and shared accountability improve operational efficiency and enrollment outcomes. Attendees will learn how data-informed collaboration reduced pre-collection activity, streamlined processes, and strengthened student success. Practical strategies and transferable practices will be shared for institutions seeking to balance compliance, fiscal stewardship, and access through intentional cross-functional collaboration.

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act thankfully passed with fewer dramatic changes to aid programs for undergraduates than were initially expected, but this does not mean the enacted changes are minor. Come learn how two institutions – a university offering four-year programs and a community college – navigated the implementation of the OB3 undergraduate provisions and supported impacted students. Time will be allotted for attendees to share their own stories as well.

Building the right network isn’t just about who you know. It’s about who supports you, challenges you, and helps you grow. In this session, we’ll explore the role of meaningful professional and personal connections in shaping your confidence, decision-making, and long-term success. Together, we’ll talk honestly about what it means to find “your peeps,” those who energize your work, align with your values, and encourage you to show up as your best self. You’ll walk away with practical strategies for identifying and cultivating these relationships, whether through mentorship, peer support, or intentional networking. We’ll also make space for a conversation that often goes unspoken: how to navigate relationships that may no longer serve you. Learn how to set boundaries, shift dynamics, or step away with professionalism and integrity. Whether you’re looking to strengthen your current network or build one from the ground up, this session will offer thoughtful insights and actionable tools to help you create connections that truly support your growth.

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Financial aid offices are often the first place students turn when they feel overwhelmed, uncertain, or at risk of stopping out. While students may arrive with transactional questions about forms, bills, or eligibility, what they often need is clarity, reassurance, and guidance through complex systems. This session explores how financial aid professionals can shift from a purely transactional service model to a holistic counseling approach that centers the student experience without sacrificing efficiency or compliance. Participants will examine what students are really asking beneath common questions, learn practical communication strategies that reduce anxiety, and explore how front line staff can resolve issues in the moment while also identifying trends that inform better communication and processes. Through reflection, discussion, and real-world scenarios, attendees will leave with concrete tools to strengthen student trust, improve service outcomes, and position financial aid work as a critical component of student success and retention.

Financial aid administrators often need to make decisions about how best to award available dollars without going over budget. Join staff from the Bureau of Iowa College Aid as we explain our approach to forecasting state financial aid awards, including how we set award eligibility parameters to stay within budget. We’ll discuss the interplay between deadlines, award amounts, SAI eligibility thresholds, yield and more! Learning about the historical data metrics and trends that we monitor may give you ideas to improve the budget forecasts and awarding strategies at your own institution.

The annual Single Audit doesn’t have to be a source of dread. This session offers financial aid administrators a practical and empowering roadmap to prepare for, navigate, and survive the audit process with confidence. Learn how to stay organized year-round to minimize last-minute scrambles, communicate effectively with auditors, and respond professionally—yet assertively—to potential findings. We’ll discuss how to advocate for your office when you disagree with an auditor's interpretation, strategies for keeping your audit moving efficiently, and tips for avoiding common pitfalls. Whether you're new to audits or just looking for ways to make the process less painful, this session will equip you with tools to get through it faster, smarter, and (hopefully) without findings.

The high price of college attendance remains a barrier to success for students from low- and moderate-income families. In response, institutions have introduced microgrants—small, off-cycle, need-based grants for undergraduates—to support student success. However, evidence on their effectiveness is limited. Using extensive administrative and survey data, we apply doubly-robust quasi-experimental matching methods to estimate the impact of microgrants on academic outcomes over four years. Findings indicate that grant recipients achieved higher GPAs, earned more credits, had better retention rates, and graduated at higher rates compared to observably similar peers. These findings have important implications for equity efforts in the current sociopolitical context, as students from historically underserved groups were more likely to receive microgrants, despite their universal design.

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In today’s higher education climate, marked by enrollment pressure, regulatory change, staffing shortages, and burnout, effective financial aid leadership requires a little more than policy expertise. It requires people centered leadership and intentional office management. This session explores how financial aid leaders at all levels can move beyond compliance focused management to lead teams with clarity, adaptability, and purpose. Attendees will examine practical strategies for aligning financial aid operations with enrollment goals, supporting staff morale and retention, managing workload in high volume environments, and fostering a culture of accountability and care. Designed for VPs, directors, and frontline professionals, this session offers real world leadership practices that can be applied whether you’re setting institutional strategy, managing teams, or working directly with students. Participants will leave with actionable tools to lead people effectively while navigating the complex realities of financial aid and enrollment today.

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Graduate and professional students are navigating rising costs, changing federal loan policies, and real financial stress that can affect academic progress and mental health. Yet even when students want financial guidance, participation in existing programs is often low—especially among underrepresented and international students. In this interactive session, I'll share data and student perspectives on where the financial literacy gaps are widest, why engagement is hard to sustain, and what we may be able to do differently. Come ready to share what you’re seeing—and leave with actionable strategies and collaboration opportunities.

Students and families expect timely, personalized, and easy-to-understand communication throughout the financial aid process. Whether you're promoting FAFSA completion or explaining next steps after an aid offer, effective outreach requires more than sending messages. It requires a coordinated communication strategy. This session explores how to build student-centered communication plans that function as both a marketing campaign and a customer service strategy. Using a real FAFSA campaign from a Big Ten university as the primary example, you'll learn how to map the student journey, align messaging with student needs at each stage, and coordinate outreach across email, websites, social media, text messaging, print materials, digital signage, and campus partners. We'll also discuss strategies for managing communication during policy changes and FAFSA disruptions, balancing compliance with accessibility, and using engagement data to evaluate and refine your communication plan throughout the aid cycle. You'll leave with practical frameworks and adaptable templates that can be applied to FAFSA communications and many other financial aid initiatives.

A successful disbursement requires close coordination between financial aid, student accounts, bursar, and financial systems. This session follows the student aid lifecycle from awarding and authorization through disbursement, highlighting the institutional roles, communication, timing, and system processes that make successful disbursements possible. Panelists will discuss common pain points, cross-office collaboration, and strategies for improving operational efficiency while maintaining compliance and providing a positive student experience.

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For rural students, the move from close-knit hometowns to larger campuses can feel overwhelming. This session explores how institutions can become places where rural students truly gather—financially, socially, and academically. Attendees will learn strategies to reduce financial barriers, support transitions, and intentionally build belonging, transforming campuses into spaces where rural students’ potential is recognized and greatness can grow.

Duplicate Cases are an inevitable part of managing federal financial aid records — yet for many institutions, they remain one of the least understood, time consuming, and frustrating issues to troubleshoot. With limited official guidance and a tendency to default to contacting the Application Systems Division for help, many staff feel uncertain about how to confidently resolve these situations on their own. This session will help you navigate the USCIS SAVE system to resolve a duplicate case by giving real life examples to help build understanding and confidence.

This session highlights the powerful impact of employing work-study students in financial aid and student service offices of all sizes and types. Hear directly from current work-study students about their experiences, growth, and the skills they’ve gained, and learn how mentoring and developing student employees can create a lasting pipeline to future careers in higher education.

Want to take a look at how other offices are handling the recent changes to federal student aid for graduate and professional schools and programs? This will be the session for you. We would like to propose a series of questions to the group to see if we can share best practices and ideas. Looking to network and collaborate on challenges and successes for student aid processing as we move forward.

Once financial aid is disbursed, the work is far from over. This session explores the critical processes that occur after funds are applied to the student account, including managing credit balances, issuing refunds, resolving payment discrepancies, handling enrollment changes, and navigating common operational challenges. Panelists will share campus practices, lessons learned, and strategies for strengthening coordination between financial aid and student accounts to ensure accurate, timely, and student-centered service. Whether you work in financial aid, student accounts, or both, you'll leave with practical ideas to improve post-disbursement operations and reduce common pain points.

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This presentation will discuss and demonstrate beginning- to intermediate-level Excel tools and functions that will help financial aid professionals' clean data, organize information, and develop useful reports. Items to be covered include the CONCATENATE function (merge data fields), VLOOKUP function (find and insert data from different tabs or spreadsheets), IF functions (create logical calculations or identifiers), and Pivot Tables (generated reporting tables
with filters). The presentation will include both a slide deck with detailed instructions and actual demonstrations in Excel. Questions and collaboration are strongly encouraged.

The way we show up for our teams matter. This session focuses on how intentional leadership and everyday moments of connection can make a real difference in retaining financial aid professionals. This session will leave you with practical strategies to build trust, reduce burnout and create a workplace where your team feels valued and supported.

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In today's rapidly evolving higher education landscape, financial aid directors must be more than policy experts. They must be data-informed strategists. This session explores the essential data points that every financial aid leader should track, interpret, and leverage to drive operational excellence, advocate for resources, and align with institutional goals. We will highlight the essential data points financial aid directors should track, understand, and communicate to campus leadership. Topics include operational metrics such as verification rates, processing timelines, and staffing efficiency; student success indicators including retention and persistence tied to aid, unmet need, and scholarship utilization; and strategic data including cost of attendance changes, discount rates, and enrollment trends. Attendees will leave with a clear framework for identifying and prioritizing key metrics, strategies for building data dashboards, and practical tips for translating numbers into powerful stories that influence policy, drive resources, and better serve students.

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Join us for an insightful session where we will share tips to help protect your institution from deceptive practices in the student loan process. This presentation will explore the evolving tactics used by fraudsters to exploit the student loan system and the risks they pose for institutions and lenders alike. This session will highlight strategies for fraud prevention and steps to take if you suspect fraud.

This session is a guided and interactive discussion with participants to discuss offices' policies, procedures, and practices in regards to Special Circumstances. What does your office consider and not consider? What are some unique situations that have arisen that you have had to navigate? What do you accept for documentation. Please join us as we learn from each other and collectively improve our best practices.

This session explores the evolution of student aid dating back to the first scholarship in North America through today and OB3. Join us to trace the origins of major aid programs, learn interesting historical facts and trivia about the profession, and deepen your understanding of how socio-political factors impact the federal programs we administer today.

How is your school managing change for the 2026-27 academic year with no Graduate PLUS Loan? What has been the impact to your students? Has your private loan volume increased? Has enrollment been impacted? What did you do to implement this change, and what would you do differently? Learn how changes required due to OB3 impacted financial aid offers, student enrollment, private counseling sessions, and credit information shared at the University of Iowa, including the Carver College of Medicine, and the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Law.

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One of the most exciting characteristics of the financial aid profession is the incredible breadth of knowledge areas and types of work that fall within its scope. In this session we will explore the concept of career mapping, and discuss processes and tools to take your financial aid career in the direction you will find most fulfilling. Come ready to think about (and maybe share) your values, interests, and goals!

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Financial literacy is a shared priority across Iowa’s Regent Universities—but how that priority comes to life looks a little different on each campus. In this session, representatives from the University of Iowa, Iowa State University, and the University of Northern Iowa will come together to explore how financial literacy programming is designed, delivered, and sustained across the three institutions. Participants will learn about the Board of Regents’ first-year financial literacy requirement, including the use of CashCourse, how each institution administers and tracks completion, and the lessons learned along the way. The session will also highlight broader financial literacy efforts beyond the first year—covering ongoing education, outreach strategies, partnerships, and student engagement across the lifecycle. Rooted in collaboration and shared purpose, this session offers a comparative look at what’s working, what’s evolving, and how gathering across institutions helps strengthen financial literacy outcomes for students statewide. Attendees will leave with ideas, models, and practical takeaways they can adapt for their own campuses.

Financial aid professionals regularly navigate emotionally charged conversations with students, parents, campus partners, and colleagues. Whether discussing verification requirements, resolving account issues, or delivering difficult news, the ability to communicate effectively—especially under pressure—is essential. Verbal Judo is a communication and de-escalation framework designed to redirect negative energy, reduce conflict, and guide interactions toward calmer, more productive outcomes. In this session, participants will learn core Verbal Judo principles and explore how they can be applied specifically within the financial aid environment. Through real-world examples and practical techniques, attendees will leave with strategies to maintain professionalism, defuse tension, and build rapport—even in the most challenging situations.

Hear from staff members uniquely positioned as liaisons between Admission and Student Financial Services. They will cover how they train Admission staff on Financial Aid concepts, collaborate with Enrollment Management leaders, and provide support to prospective and incoming students. You’ll walk away with practical steps on how you can improve your relationship with the Admission Office and work better together to ensure that incoming students know how to pay for their degree.

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This session will provide a high-level overview of Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) loan programs, including their purpose, eligibility, and key regulatory considerations. Participants will learn how HRSA loans can serve as a complementary resource to Title IV aid, particularly in supporting students who may be impacted by recent or ongoing regulatory changes. Attendees will leave with a foundational understanding of HRSA loans and practical insights into how community-driven approaches can help build resilience for both students and institutions during times of change

"You are too knowledgeable to be practical!" How are we communicating with our students and families so that they are clearly understanding the aspects of financial aid and what is expected of them? In this session, we want to explore our financial aid vocabulary to make sure we are communicating in a way that is understandable for all.

Join us for a panel discussion of Cost of Attendance. We'll discuss how we create the COA for our specific institutions, compare and contrast our different sectors' approaches, and dive into COA adjustments. We'll leave plenty of time for questions so come ready to be part of the discussion!

In an era of persistent staffing challenges and limited resources, strong leadership is more critical than ever. This panel brings together seasoned leaders from across the financial aid and higher education landscape to share how they are navigating talent shortages, maintaining team morale, and planning for the future, even when staffing is lean. Join us for a candid conversation about creative strategies for recruiting and retaining staff, supporting teams under pressure without burning them out, building internal pipelines and succession plans, and rethinking roles, workflows, and office structure to do more with less. Whether you're leading a large team or managing a small but mighty office, this session will offer practical insights and leadership perspectives to help you make smart, sustainable decisions about talent now and in the long term.

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SAP reviews require balancing compliance, efficiency, and care for students—and manual processes can slow teams down at critical points in the term. This session explores how financial aid offices are using technology, including Microsoft Power Automate, to improve the workflow for SAP appeals and probation reviews. Through real-world examples, presenters will discuss how automation can reduce processing time, improve consistency, and support collaborative review practices while keeping student success at the center of the work.

In this session we will focus on a specific practical application of financial equity principles -- professional judgment. What kinds of information are we permitted to consider when reviewing professional judgment requests? Are there economic and related factors we can take into account? (Hint: the answer is yes!) Come join in a discussion of how the way we treat PJ requests can promote equity and facilitate positive future financial outcomes for your students.

Every August, our office receives nearly 5,000 phone calls—and our professional staff simply couldn’t keep up. In response, we built a student employee–run call center to serve as the first line of support for students and families, answering the majority of calls during non-peak months and a significant share during peak periods. In this session, we’ll share our journey from idea to implementation, including how we secured resources, identified and prepared space, developed robust training, and created workflows for call escalation. Participants will leave with practical strategies, templates, and lessons learned that can be adapted to their own campuses. Whether you’re looking to improve customer service, reduce staff burnout, or make better use of student employees, this session will give you a roadmap for creating a student call center that works.

Financial aid offices across the Midwest are navigating rapid shifts, unpredictable volume, and evolving regulations—but clear decision‑making is possible when capacity is measured, visible, and actionable. This session demonstrates how to build and implement an Excel-based practical capacity management tool that helps offices identify vulnerabilities, balance workloads, and make proactive decisions during volatile periods. Attendees will leave with adaptable templates and real‑world strategies they can apply immediately.

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Higher-level technical training and applied concepts. Session title, activities, and full description coming soon.

Applied customer service and communication scenarios. Session title, activities, and full description coming soon.

Loan proration roundtable and discussion-based problem solving. Session title, activities, and full description coming soon.