NYSFAAA EXEC COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES

JANUARY 29-30, 2006

ALBANY, NY

(Approved 4/20/06)

 

 

 

Present:  Sue Aldrich, Rachel Barker, Dave Canaski, Carolyn Corcoran, Steve Dodds, Clair Jacobi, Pat Johnson, Bill Mack, Heather McDonnell, Janet McGrath, Sheryl Mihopulos,  Judi Miladin, Lisa Simpson, Nancy Teodecki, Angela Van Dekker, Sam Veeder,  Joan Warren, Mike Williams, Brenda Wright (Beth Post and Jim Vallee joined us on Monday, January 30th)

 

Unable to Attend:  Maria Barlaam, Sharon Karwowski

 

SECRETARY’S REPORT – Carolyn Corcoran

  • December 2005 meeting minutes were distributed beforehand via email and reviewed for changes/corrections.  Corrections and clarifications were noted and minutes updated accordingly.
  • MOTION; To approve December 2005 meeting minutes as amended; Dodds/McDonnell.  MOTION APPROVED.

 

MOTION; To accept Janet McGrath as new Region 1 representative to Executive Council (Rachel Barker had to resign as accepted new job with lender); McDonnell/Van Dekker.  MOTION APPROVED.

 

TREASURER’S REPORT – Sam Veeder

  • Distributed written report
  • Conference 2005 hotel bill paid
  • Investments are up a little
  • Final summary of 0506 sponsorship distributed
  • Dues are way up
  • CAAN support was down
  • Statewide Training and School Counselor support was way up
  • Revenue sharing checks have been cut but only Regions 3, 6, and 8 checks are in mail as Sam needs quarterly reports from other regions before mailing checks
  • Ready to go with credit card payments on-line; could be used first time with Novice Registration;  here it was emphasized that anytime a region is planning an event involving a fee, Paula at ATAC needs to be informed beforehand and regions need to be using the Events Management function of website
  • Mileage rate changed; prior to 1/1/06 rate was .485 and now is .445

 

VP MEMBERSHIP REPORT – Joan Warren

  • Distributed written report which included a report of outstanding membership fees by region
  • We’re at 1304 members
  • All Conference 2005 registration fees have been paid
  • Reminder that every regional officer can go into website and get membership data for his/her respective region

 

VP TRAINING REPORT – Heather McDonnell for Maria Barlaam

  • Update on Jim Briggs Tax Workshops include the following dates/locations:
    • February 23rd in Buffalo at Classic Five  (Kevin Ryan, coordinator)
    • February 22nd in Albany at Charter One Bank (Lisa Simpson)
    • February 21st in NYC at Lincoln Center (Sherly Mihopulos/A.VanDekker)
    • Jim Briggs has 2/24 open and suggested a Syracuse area site; he also has the week of March 20th open

 

  • Intermediate Training set for Region 5 on March 31st at Italian American Club in Albany
    • Sheryl expressed concern about the 2/21/06 training event as they’re having problems getting event on website.  Suggestion made to coordinate so that regions’ tax workshop registration forms can be put on one form; for now everything should be channeled through Joan and Joan will contact Paula at ATAC; Judi will have Maria do an email to members about tax training information being on website
    • Sam suggested that vendor invoices for these workshops go through Sam and NOT through regional treasuries.  If a deposit or pre-payment is needed, contact Sam and keep Sam and Maria in the loop

 

  • Region 2 (SUNY Brockport) will host Region 1,2,3 Intermediate Training on a date to be announced

 

PRESIDENT’S REPORT – Judi Miladin

  • Signed Novice contract with Cobleskill; attorneys liked the contract as it’s loosely written
  • College Goal Sunday; we’ve been approved for exploratory grant; there will be training in Indianapolis; Judi solicited for state coordinator and has gotten responses.  Judi has asked Wayne Harewood (of CUNY/Kingsborough Community College) to be state coordinator and he’ll be meeting with Ken Storms, HESC’s representative for CG Sunday. 
  • Judi has appointed a committee to establish minimum qualifications for annual conference hotel site.  The committee includes Bruce Woolley, Chair, Lisa Simpson and Janet Grey.  The committee has been asked to report back to Judi by end of February so that she can share their information at April 2006 meeting
  • Kathy Flaherty will assume Chairmanship of Award Committee
  • Katrina Delgrosso will be new Development Chair
  • Earl Tretheway ahs resigned as Communications Chair; Judi has yet to appoint new one and Judi would like suggestions
  • Judi has written several articles for various publications
  • Wrote position paper on budget
  • Made contact with intern at Pierce Law School on trademark registration
  • Working on response to Senate Bill 1832 which is up for re-vote in House next week
  • Met with Cathy Patella on new Gear Up contracts; we are getting last year’s money without having to match it
  • Had a conference call with Nancy Teodecki and Sharon Karwowski on NASFAA award nomination; project pulled together

 

EARLY AWARENESS UPDATE – Nancy Teodecki

  • Has finalized committee; not all regions are represented
  • Had two conference calls meetings in January 2006
  • First project is to send information to middle-school counselors with the theme “Did You Know?” which includes posters and brochures; made contact with NY State Middle School Association
  • Second project is to plan for workshops for middle-school counselors; committee wants to focus first on getting information to middle-school counselors
  • 3000 more wristbands were ordered; holding for State Fair or if regions want some for regional events, they can contact Nancy
  • Nancy submitted information on costs for posters, brochures and was again advised not to let money stand in her committee’s way
  • They will meet the February 28th deadline for NASFAA award submission

 

NOVICE TRAINING UPDATE – Lisa Simpson, Bill Mack, Heather McDonnell

  • Committee met prior to Council meeting on January 29th
  • Details for 2006:  site is SUNY Cobleskill from June 3rd through June 9th
  • Participation will be capped at 120
  • They’re going with 12 small group leaders vs. 11 used last year
  • Received 8 applications for small group leader position
  • Joan clarified for Novice Committee that the earliest someone can register for membership for 0607 is April 1st

 

STATE FAIR UPDATE – No update

 

SCHOOL COUNSELOR WORKSHOP UPDATE – Pat Johnson

  • December 8th and 9th workshops had to be postponed due to weather; Region 6 had to reschedule for a February date and Region 4 has a workshop rescheduled in January
  • Pat is waiting for final reports from Regions 5 and 7
  • Idea was raised of  having a breakout session/workshop at statewide school counselor conference
  • Short discussion on giveaways at school counselor workshops; Pat will clarify with committee that regions need to keep monetary amount at a reasonable level and that regions need to exercise good judgment

 

PRESIDENT- ELECT REPORT – Dave Canaski

o       Dave pointed out that currently there’s no policy on membership management; discussion began.  Joan described what she currently does when receives new membership registration; she notifies applicants via email if they appear to be eligible for membership or not.  Joan has ability to cancel the membership application and suggested leaving the “unaffiliated” option on application

o       Dave presented a proposed new policy with the purpose of managing the membership of the organization.  The proposed policy would mandate that “NYSFAAA will ensure that the membership is limited to those individuals who are actively engaged in (or retired from) student financial aid administration, and those others whose career interests are consistent with the organization’s principles, values and goals.” Extensive discussion followed and amendments were made to the proposed procedures to be used for enforcing this policy. The following procedures were agreed upon:

o       The Vice President for Membership is responsible for creating and maintaining a membership application process/system that operates in a manner consistent with the NYSFAAA constitution, by-laws, and this policy

o       All applicants for membership shall be required to list their employer’s name as part of the membership application process

o       Members are required to notify the Vice President upon any change in employer.  The Vice President will determine whether the individual’s membership status is affected by the change

o       Membership is limited to individuals employed at post-secondary educational institutions, retirees from those institutions, or employees of other entities approved by the Council.

o       The Vice President shall maintain a list (database) of all employers meeting the above criteria

o       An applicant whose employer is not on the approved list shall be asked to provide the Vice President with a written request for approval by the Council, which shall include an explanation of how the employer’s values, goals and actions are consistent with those of NYSFAAA.  The Vice President will distribute the request to the Council by the following Council meeting, where discussion and a vote will occur.

o       Any elected member of the Council has the right to petition for a re-evaluation of a previously-approved employer.  The Council member shall present to the Vice President, a written request for re-evaluation by the Council, which shall include a detailed explanation of why the Council member believes the employer’s values, goals, and/or actions are inconsistent with those of NYSFAAA.  The Vice President will distribute the request to the Council by the following Council meeting, where discussion and a vote will occur.

o       MOTION:   To approve the policy as written, with amendments; McDonnell/Veeder.  MOTION APPROVED.

o       MOTION:  That Council approve, under the new policy, all of the existing lenders, agencies, and servicers, as they exist in the current membership database.  All primary and secondary schools not in the current database are also approved; Canaski/McDonnell.  MOTION APPROVED.

o       Discussion on Joan’s list of “consultants” to determine if there’s a problem with their services being inconsistent with NYSFAAA mission.  There was extensive discussion on the process to be used for agencies to present how their services compare to mission of NYSFAAA

o       MOTION:  To approve the following entities under new membership policy:  American Credit Alliance Inc., Overture, SCT, College Board, CICU, Financial Aid Services, Inc., Adrienne King, MJS Associates, Noel-Levitz and The Spelman & Johnson Group; Canaski/McDonnell.  MOTION APPROVED.

o       Reference back to December 2005 meeting discussion on fundraising and issues involved related to our tax-exempt status and our mission/purpose;  fundraising going on at regional level is problematic and in violation of current policies and procedures; it was clarified that neither are regions or committees allowed to fundraise.  Brainstorming/discussion on the budget process that should be used for committee and regional budgets and how they currently get their funds

o       Sam predicted that it will be painful for Regional Chairs to have to go out and plan a budget a year in advance

o       Sam pointed out the other concern is giving appropriate credit to the vendors for their support

o       It was agreed that we need additional thought on budget process

o       MOTION:  To accept, as amended, the amendments, Sponsors and Vendors, Tax Exempt Status, and federal tax return; McDonnell/Dodds.  MOTION APPROVED.

o       Dave announced that he needs Council representatives to solicit from their regions for volunteer to serve on statewide election committee; the goal is to solicit support for people to run for statewide offices

o       Dave also encouraged Council rep’s to get their regional meetings out on the NYSFAAA website calendar as he’s trying to arrange to visit regional meetings in each region and if they’re on the calendar, it’s obviously easier to arrange

 

 

CONFERENCE 2005 REPORT – Not Available

 

 

 

CONFERENCE 2007 REPORT – Clair Jacobi

  • Thanked Judi for supporting Regional selection of Conference Co-Chairs
  • Asked to have Conference 2005 Report as soon as possible as would be a better reference for budget making for 2007
    • Sheryl Mihopolus and Patty Herbst are trying to help Gail Drapala to get final report done for Conference 2005
    • Discussion on Conference 2005 and getting its final report
  • Bill Mack and Christine Falzaramo (Pace U.) are Co-Chairs of 2007 Program Committee; only people on the Program Committee are school aid people; plan is to focus on having a lot of federal staff there (USED, OIG, etc)
  • Theme will remain “NYSFAAA on Broadway” (there’s no concern with that)
  • All other committees have co-chairs identified
  • Sunday will be “Pre-Conference” Day for NYSFAAA/EASFAA training/ Novice/Non-Traditional Concerns (longer topics reserved for Sunday)
  • Monday will be first official day of conference and vendors set up for Monday
  • Joan emphasized that it’s important to get Co-Chair and Committee leader names and contact information on the website

 

GRADUATE CONCERNS UPDATE – Patrick Ziegler

  • Committee has no budget yet; has been inactive for awhile so co-chairs have been considering instead of doing workshops around the state, having a pre-conference event/session would be good way to re-introduce committee;  Sue and Carolyn informed Patrick that Conference 2006 is planning a pre-conference graduate symposium and that he’d be hearing soon from Program Committee Co-Chairs
  • Patrick talked about doing some type of graduate-related training prior to July 1st; Sam suggested that Patrick contact Maria Barlaam about coordinating and Sam told Patrick that budget is not a concern
  • Angela indicated that there’s been some interest in Region 6 for Health Professions-related training and Nancy Teodecki agreed; suggested that a survey be done statewide to measure interest in health-related training

 

COLLEGE GOAL SUNDAY UPDATE – Ken Storms, HESC

  • This is a Lumina Foundation grant-funded program.  Ken’s proposal to Lumina was to try to target population that is not using electronic aid  processes; he wants NYSFAAA to be a leading partner to help to get this population into the electronic aid process
  • Wayne Harewood is Statewide Coordinator
  • Ken will be putting together an Advisory Council that will include other agencies/partners to help; clarified is not trying to duplicate other organizations’ services but to try and service populations that aren’t being serviced
  • Judi asked Ken to clarify that the exploratory grant for this year is not a guarantee for future funding and Ken agreed that that’s probably true
  • Judi will share with EC representatives, the folks in their regions who have volunteered to help

 

 

REGIONAL REPORTS

  • Reports were given verbally and will be posted to the website for each region
  • Region 3 is requesting $1200 for June 2006 training (Steve Morgan is speaker); they’re inviting Regions 1 and 2 to the training
  • MOTION; That we approve $1200 in funding for June 2006 Region 3 training.  Canaski/Dodds; Motion approved.

 

 

HESC UPDATE – Tom Dalton

  • 192 applications received for Training Grants; deadline extended to 2/17/06.  Application numbers are running same as last year
  • They are closing out the year for Grants/Scholarships for 2004-2005; all outstanding cases need to be resolved by 2/14/05
  • Tom was asked to clarify whether HESC will allow for Professional Judgement     for TAP cases for 06-07 (there was thought/discussion from a Region 2 Regional Meeting where some members were thinking that would be the case).  Tom clarified that PJ will  NOT be allowed for 0607 TAP determinations
  • HESC has a new “Loan Consolidation” center on their website for information; also a new “Military Corner” with links
  • HESC Pin will also now be used for EMPN process; this change is effective as of May 15, 2006
  • Notice of Guarantee will now (as of 2/1/2006) be sent via email to borrower (was formerly sent to the FAFSA email address)
  • Dave commented that the email notification from HESC to students about applying for TAP on the WEB was considered questionable by some students; he wondered if there’s a more secure way to notify students as some students who got the HESC email suspected it was a phishing scheme.  Tom agreed that he’d bring the issue back as a concern and see if it could be resolved

 

 

CONFERENCE 2006 UPDATE – Beth Turner, Kerrie Cooper, Anne DelPlato, and Joe Martinkovic

  • Survey done to vending community about “dinner on own” vs. “NYSFAAA On Ice” option; survey result was NYSFAAA On Ice option won 17-5
  • Publicity Committee sent photos for website to ATAC
  • Entertainment will tie in student talent from area colleges (music, massage therapy)
  • Steering Committee talks often via conference calling
  • Program Highlights:  Dr. Ibraham Gambari, the U.N. Under Secretary and former SUNY Albany professor has agreed to speak; we will have an Opening Ceremony to highlight the different regions of NYSFAAA.  Also planning for a Presidents Panel to represent each sector.  Ethan Zohn of Survivor series will be luncheon speaker.  Session times will be 60 minutes. Program Committee has been looking at the “best of” sessions from other state and regional conferences.  A Graduate Symposium will be Pre-Conference event and Program Committee is reaching out to co-chairs of Graduate Concerns Committee
  • Conference budget was distributed and discussion occurred on maximum capacity of hotel, how vendor site will be based, emphasis on communicating well with both vendors and registrants.  Joan suggested a late registration AND a late payment fee; suggestion made that payments should be due no later than one week before conference
  • Dave asked if the Conference 2006 budget has taken into consideration the lost revenue for those who pay via credit card and the answer was  it has not.  Comments made that we shouldn’t have credit card usage affect Conference 2006 but chalk it up for now as cost of doing business and see how it impacts other NYSFAAA events
  • MOTION:  To accept Conference 2006 report and set registration fee at $250, as well as a  late registration fee of $50 and a late payment fee of $50.  McDonnell/Mihopulos.  MOTION APPROVED.

 

GOVERNMENT RELATIONS UPDATE – Bill Cavin, Jim Vallee, Beth Post

  • Bill Cavin provided an update on the Legislative Training which is taking place on Wednesday, February 1st; presenters are reviewing their presentation today and everything is set.  There are approximately 25 registrants including 3 Assemblymen and 1 Senator (all from downstate).  Council rep’s can leave invitations with our Assembly/Senate rep’s during our visits with them on Tuesday.  Abe Blackman, President of CICU will speak and there’ll be a 2 hour training broken into 20 to 30 minute sessions.  The Committee will follow up with registrants to see if there’s interest in more training at other times of year.  Bill agreed to Angela’s suggestion to put the training on the website
  • A draft of NYSFAAA’s position paper that was done by Judi was distributed for discussion and input.  A sub-committee met after the full meeting to come up with final position paper (to be available on website for all members to see)
  • Jim indicated that Gov’t Relations Committee is headed back to Washington in late February  and that the Committee is sending 6 members to the Legislative Forum in Albany on February 13th and 14th
  • Beth Post distributed the visit schedules that she had arranged for Council members to meet with their regional Asssemblymen/Senators.  Folders also passed out containing necessary NYSFAAA literature

 

EASFAA UPDATE – Tom Dalton

  • Ballots will be on-line by end of this week
  • There are 2 NY candidates on the ballot for President-Elect; Cathy Patella and Bill Cheetham

 

NEXT COUNCIL MEETING – April 20th and 21st at Crowne Plaza in Lake Placid

 

MOTION:  To adjourn at 4:05 pm; Aldrich/Dodds.  MOTION APPROVED.