NJASFAA Executive
Council Meeting
March 18, 2004
In attendance: Robert Alston, Joan Buttafuoco, Frank Cuozzo, Gisele Joachim, Dennis Levy, Audrey Loera, Shirley McFarlane, Carmen Panlilio, Maribeth Quinn, Joe Roberto, David Sheridan, Mark Singer, Jack Williams, Rich Woodland
Meeting called to order at 9:45 a.m.
Quorum was established.
President: David will be writing letters to supervisors of Executive Council members and committee chairs thanking them for allowing participation in NJASFAA. The copies of committee reports provided for the spring conference packets will also be used for the year-end EASFAA report.
President-Elect: The location of the 2004-2005 retreat has been changed to The Inn at Lambertville Station.
Secretary: Previous meeting minutes passed unanimously.
Treasurer: Treasurer’s report distributed.
Awards & Recognition: David Sheridan reported on behalf of Stephanie Fitzsimmons. NJASFAA awards voting has been completed and plaques will be made for presentation at the conference. Elections are currently ongoing. The deadline for voting has been extended to April 2.
Conference: Jack Williams reported that spring conference planning is ongoing. The committee has worked very hard to insure a positive conference flow. The vendors have all been sent set-up and hotel information.
Constitution/Bylaws: Rich Woodland reported on the association strategic planning meeting. Issues that were discussed at that meeting, which require further discussion and resolution, include the role of the association Vice President, the addition of the Treasurer-Elect responsibilities to the PPM, and the rights of associate members within the association. Discussion of these items followed, including a discussion of the responsibilities and roles of Executive Council and the Board of Directors.
EASFAA: Helen Mikulak will attend the EASFAA conference as the recipient of the EASFAA Mentoring Scholarship. Joe Roberto reminded everyone to register for the EASFAA conference in Providence, Rhode Island.
Government Relations: Carmen Panlilio reported that she attended the Leadership Conference with Dennis Levy in Washington, D.C. They visited the offices of Congressman Rothman, Holt, Payne and Senator Corzine’s office. Senator Corzine has led the effort to prevent IRS tax table updates to be implemented in a way that would impact need analysis.
A visit with Congressman Rob Andrews is planned for March 29. Carmen and Dennis had the opportunity to meet with Congressman Andrews’ senior education staff member during their D.C. visit.
The committee continues its collaboration with PASFAA and is thinking about potential spring conference member initiatives. The committee is providing two concurrent sessions at the conference. Discussion continued with regard to various federal issues, including reauthorization, year-round Pell, need analysis issues and the efforts that colleges are making to keep college affordable (dual degree programs, year-round attendance, Web courses, etc.).
Long Range Planning: Susan Howard (EASFAA President-Elect) facilitated the Strategic Planning retreat. She will be sending us the Long Range Strategic Plan document. David Sheridan is preparing a newsletter article.
Newsletter: Frank Cuozzo reported that March 19 is the deadline for submission of articles for the upcoming newsletter. Conference pictures have been received and will be included in the publication. In researching other states, it was noted that most associations still provide hard copy newsletters to members. Maribeth Quinn expressed concerns about the newsletter moving forward. No editor has volunteered for next year. Maribeth is proposing that the newsletter be changed to include two hard copies – post conference publications, and Web blasts in coordination with the Electronic Initiatives Committee in between both issues.
Non-Traditional Concerns: Joan Buttafuoco reported that a committee meeting was held last week. The date for the clock hour training workshop has been set for May 14 at Raritan Valley Community College. Clock hour packaging and Return of Title IV Funds will be covered. In addition, a one-hour session for general Q & A has been set aside. Steve Tessitore will join the workshop and assist with training. A mailing to directors/superintendents of non-traditional schools and financial aid offices will be done the week of April 5. Schools with contact names have been identified. Registration on our Web site will open on April 20. Helen Mikulak will contact ATAC to arrange this. The next meeting is scheduled for April 30.
Public Relations: Mark Singer reported that Pam Bauer is finishing the brochure and he anticipates that it will be distributed at the spring conference.
Scholarship: Once again, application submissions for the 2003-2004 academic year were at high levels. The association was very active and this year 57 applications were received from all six sectors. Unfortunately, there were a few submissions that missed the deadline and had to be returned, but all in all, the response was terrific! The following breakout of submissions by sector is provided for your information: Non-Traditional – 14, County College – 7, Rutgers/NJIT – 5, Independent – 20, Four-Year Public – 6, Graduate – 5 (Total = 57). Scholarship recipients by sector: Non-Traditional – Muhlenberg Regional School of Nursing (Michele LaMorte), County College – Gloucester Community College (Gina Riese), Rutgers/NJIT – Rutgers University (Natalie R. Ruiz), Independent – Georgian Court College (Elsie T. Helle), Four-Year Public – Kean University (Chi H. Choi), Graduate – Monmouth University (Margaret L. Dejong). Congratulations are offered to the hard working members of the scholarship committee.
Sunshine: A conference report is currently being prepared.
Training: The training committee received very positive feedback from the recent Professional Judgment Workshop held at Union County College in January. More than 65 financial aid professionals attended the workshop and many commented that the presentation and handouts were excellent! Thanks to Catherine Boscher-Murphy for her skills in leading the group and all those who participated in this successful workshop. The Annual Support Staff Workshop has been completed with a great turnout and very positive feedback. The committee is now planning the Novice Training. This training will occur throughout three days (one day a week for three consecutive weeks during the end of May to the beginning of June). Once the days and topics have been finalized, we will receive additional information about what topics will be covered on what days. Participants can choose to come for one day, two days or all three. Directors have been contacted with a request to submit topic suggestions and potential number of novice staff members who will participate.
HESAA Update: Gisele Joachim updated Council on the proposed budget, TAG hold-harmless language and proposed NJSTARS legislation.
New Business: Dennis Levy expressed thanks to NJASFAA for allowing his participation in the NASFAA Leadership Conference. He also credited Carmen Panlilio for providing New Jersey with the opportunity to be the only state during the Leadership Conference credited with four legislative visits. NJASFAA has budgeted for the purchase of NASFAA Core materials ($600). Joe Roberto further reported on the county college concerns/perspective regarding the proposed NJSTARS legislation. The next Executive Council meeting is scheduled for May 13 at The College of New Jersey and will be a joint meeting of the 2003-2004 Executive Council and the incoming 2004-2005 Council.
The meeting adjourned at noon.