CAFAA

This past year has gone by so quickly and January is quickly flying by as well! It’s always nice to be able to reflect on the past and look to the future at the start of each year.

The 2010 year was full of changes for the financial aid community. We said good bye to many good friends and colleagues who have helped advance educational opportunities in Colorado. The good news is that many of these same colleagues returned wearing ‘different hats’ but with the same goals in mind.

With the increased volume and demand for financial aid, many institutions have added staff members over the past year. It was so refreshing at the CAFAA 2010 Conference in Blackhawk to see many new and energetic attendees. I am excited about all of their fresh new ideas and would like to encourage each of these new members to volunteer for CAFAA committees or events. It truly is a rewarding experience guaranteed to bring at least a few laughs into your life.

The 2010 year under Thad Spaulding’s leadership was very successful for CAFAA. A couple of the significant accomplishments were the new and improved website and the strong efforts put forward in reaching out to other stakeholders to try to provide even more access for students. Thank you Thad for everything you did for CAFAA and for students in 2010!

Looking forward to this upcoming year, we know we have so many changes to implement from the new Program Integrity Regulations while looking for ways to ‘tighten our belts’ with potential budget cuts. I believe CAFAA can help each of us through this process.

My goal for 2011 is to continue in Thad’s footsteps with improving communication between CAFAA members and the community using the tools of technology that are already available to us.

Implementing new regulations is challenging to say the least but who better to help each of us through this process than fellow CAFAA members. Our members are the most knowledgeable Financial Aid Administrators in the country with the added benefit of knowing processes specific to Colorado. Working together utilizing each other’s experience, will truly make this process easier.

The CAFAA list serve – This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it – could be one of our most useful tools. Posting questions or comments to your colleagues can provide each of us with a place to bounce ideas off each other, to help us interpret a complicated regulations or to just network and find out what’s happening at other institutions.

The CAFAA website – CAFAA.org - is another tool that we can each utilize. It is currently in its growth period and with the help of the CAFAA membership can house important links and information specific to our needs. 

                                                           -Karla Nash, CAFAA President 2011