| August/September 2001 | Online Publication |
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It is important to remember that change is inevitable but change also allows us to create opportunities. Including staff in the process of making change happen opens an array of opportunities. |
Management and Leadership Institute Update...  this year, for personal reasons as well as President-Elect
of WASFAA, so that I had first hand experience of
this growing WASFAA activity. We each had our own
room in the residence halls but had the opportunity to get
to know a few of the participants better as suitemates. As
dorm living goes, based on my recollections, it wasn't all
that bad. The sessions and meals were held in the Hahn
University Center located up the hill so we did get our
exercise.While our days were spent in a room without windows, we did have some free time in the evening to enjoy some of the sights of San Diego. One evening a few of us sent to Sea World and saw as much as we could see in the short period of time and our finale was Shamu's House of Douse. What a wonderful way to end a day-whale shenanigans and fireworks! We also had a free evening to experience Old Town San Diego where the atmosphere was festive and good food abounds. I found myself getting a tour of the town on another night, enjoying a seafood dinner at the docks, viewing some of the naval ships and ended up watching the Padres who unfortunately lost. The MLI started with registration, a welcome barbecue and introductions of the illustrious faculty - Judith Lewis Logue, Chair from USD, Julie Yeager Arthur from the U.S. Department of Education, Luis Barajas of Arizona Western College in Yuma, AZ, Kay Lewis from the University of Washington, Doug Severs from Idaho State University and Cathy Thomas from University of Southern California. The following is a synopsis of the MLI. How to Develop a Team -Two of the points Luis Barajas made during this session were changes to the way one thinks and the possible effect on an attitude. The first one is how one may say 'I've got to' do something and perhaps have a feeling of obligation whereas an attitude can change with the replacement of one letter to 'I get to' do something which may seem more of an opportunity than an obligation. The other one is 'trying' versus 'willing'. One may try to do something but may not push oneself but when one is willing to do something one may take more initiative and do one's best and excel. Participants and faculty shared information and tips from their experiences following the presentation. Leadership Development - Cathy Thomas presented a look at leaders versus managers. We also spent time discussing change. It is important to remember that change is inevitable but change also allows us to create opportunities. Including staff in the process of making change happen opens an array of opportunities. It keeps them informed, we can test ideas with them, we can encourage them to share their ideas and in return show them how their ideas are implemented are among some of those opportunities that can increase the chance of success for making change happen.  Keeping a Student Perspective - We enjoyed a bit of Mickey Mouse and concepts of the Disney customer service concept during this session from Judy Lewis Logue wearing her Mickey Mouse ears. Many of the ideas might be considered to be common sense but this was a good review. We agreed that smiling and 'small talk' with students enhance their well being as well as others. Implementing the perspective of making financial aid a learning-based environment and determining learning objectives for our students along with anticipating the needs of our visitors to the Financial Aid Office gives us the ability to help students have the best time of their life. Financial Aid Issues in Distance Learning & Non-Traditional Programs - This hot topic was one of our technical sessions and one that more and more financial aid offices need to tackle given the changing environment. Julie Yeager Arthur spent time reviewing definitions of correspondence and telecommunications to emphasize the distinction among the various courses. We discussed the problems of non-traditional programs in relation to traditional programs and the variations of non-traditional programs. An overview of the Distance Education Demonstration Program was provided. We may have ended up with more questions than clarifications but this was a good session for the Institute. Staff Development & Training Techniques - This is one of the most important areas managers need to do but it may not get the level of attention it warrants. Time seems  to slip away from many of us as meetings and tasks seem
to increase each day, doing more with less and so on and
perhaps the feeling that we do not spend as much time as
we should with training and staff development. The participants
heard two perspectives from Kay Lewis and
Doug Severs on dealing with training. Among the examples
were an office Training Committee, other committees
to address specific office issues and rotate the participants
to provide an opportunity for all to be on committees,
identify the training areas (new staff, students,
supervisory, management, etc.) as well as on going training.
Staff development opportunities include state,
regional and national conferences and committee
involvement. Staff can present to students and at high
school nights, at a state conference and progress as
desired. In addition to conferences, there are other tools
available as well through NASFAA (self-evaluation guide)
and the Department of Education (training and the SFA
Coach).Multiple Roles of Financial Aid Administrators - As financial aid has evolved so has the role of the aid administrator. Cathy Thomas shared in her presentation that "There are two fundamental economic principles that serve as guidelines for all that we do as financial aid administrators, agencies and lenders: equity and efficiency." We do what we do as we believe in our students and their education. We made a list of the roles we play that was a fairly long one. Here are just a few of them:
Financial Aid & Academic Collaboration - Why collaborate? Kay Lewis reiterated that financial aid is an integral part of the campus and collaboration helps students. There are a number of areas for collaboration - retention issues, recruitment support, cost of attendance, program eligibility, satisfactory academic progress issues, special program needs - America Reads, Work Study. Ideas for collaboration include establishing a financial aid advisory committee; serve on various college committees that include faculty; provide minimum yearly update to relevant departments on campus; have statistics ready about your aid population. Kay put us to work on some case studies and helped show the importance and need for collaboration. No doubt, you have other additional ideas but the main point is that financial aid is one of the key players for students. Audits & Program Reviews - Julie Yeager Arthur presented our other technical session and posed a number of questions to us to answer as far as our preparedness for an audit. Using any number of tools to perform a self-evaluation is one way to determine how ready one is for an audit. Some of these tools are the NASFAA Self-Evaluation Guide, NASFAA Standards of Excellence Review program, an independent financial aid management consultant, the Title IV SFA Self-Assessments (part of QA but open to all schools). The importance of audits and program reviews helps to ensure continued funding of SFA Title IV programs. Case teams at the regional level now handle a number of functions including initial eligibility, recertification, audit resolution, technical assistance and program reviews. There is an emphasis on prevention and assisting schools thus there have been fewer program reviews in recent years. Keys to success are fully addressing all findings in the corrective action plan and be certain of follow through and make sure the actions are not repeated or it results in audit findings! This is another area in which the staff should be included. Their actions are all part of the audit and knowledge is power! Audits can be used as a learning process for staff and other involved departments. Effective Management Strategies in the Financial Aid Office - This session offered a resource tool, developed and implemented by Doug Severs upon his arrival at Idaho State. The outline begins by evaluating the expectations of upper management, followed by interviewing the staff and obtaining input from them for improvements. This information was then used to develop an action plan, designate the goals, who is responsible and financial requirements. The next step was to share the action plan with the financial aid staff, upper management and other important areas to build support. The final step is tracking the implementation and re-evaluating. Advocating for the Financial Aid Office - This is one of those areas that allows our voice to be heard and we can share with others our passion for what we do and whom we represent. Judy Lewis Logue shared her thoughts on the importance of participating in the legislative and regulatory process by being a source of information and advice giver to local legislators both local and federal. Other options are writing letters supporting the institution's position on issues, have the president or boss sign institutional letters as well as responding to NPRM's. Phone calls and/or visits to legislator's offices are another way to inform them of the institution's position. Long & Short Term Planning/Setting Goals & Directions - This was our final program session for the MLI and wrapped up by doing an exercise. Doug Severs provided us the format and we listed our short and long term goals for each of the sessions presented at the Institute. Evaluation, Certificates - During this closing period of time participants shared their thoughts on their experience at the MLI. Revitalized, renewed, inspired, engaged, new friends, network, involvement, great ideas, excited were among the words spoken. I believe that all the participants felt the MLI was worth the time and money and added to each one's professional development. Certificates of completion were awarded and Judy presented her faculty with a photo of the faculty as a token of her appreciation for their hard work. A tremendous thank you goes out to the faculty. The material presented and provided to participants of the Management & Leadership Institute is researched, created, developed by the faculty. Great job to Judy, Julie, Luis, Kay, Doug and Cathy! Everyone at the MLI are terrific individuals. We came from a variety of backgrounds and have a common bond through financial aid. The amount of information sharing and camaraderie was a delight. I enjoyed meeting all of you but do wish to thank Shannon and Kristi for their great sense of adventure, humor and lots of laughter! |
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