South Dakota

SDASFAA members coped with the sizzling summer that socked the plains states throughout July. At the same time, schools waded through the implementation of the first ever ACG and SMART awards to students. And, with the word “change” a fundamental part of financial aid, members developed new processes and policies to adhere to HERA regulatory changes. As always, SDASFAA members kept them selves occupied over the past months!

Several SDASFAA members took the opportunity to meet new colleagues at the RMASFAA Summer Institute while others renewed friendships in Seattle at the 40th Anniversary of NASFAA. As always, SDASFAA members look forward to experiencing Salt Lake City and all it offers during RMASFAA 2006 “Keeping the Spirit Alive”!

Notable News from SDASFAA throughout the summer!

From David Martin (Director of Financial Aid SDSM&T and current SDASFAA President) –
Andrea, daughter of David and Laura Martin, was married July 1 to Steve Kindvall in an outdoor wedding nestled in the quiet seclusion of the Black Hills near Spearfish, SD. Andrea and Steve are making their home in Custer, SD where Andrea is a Radiology Tech at the Custer Hospital. Steve works at Rice Honda in Rapid City (which is very convenient for David since he is a Honda motorcycle rider!). Congratulations to the entire family!

From Southeast Technical Institute – Lynette Grabowska was recently promoted to the STI Financial Aid Officer. She replaced Carol Bogaard who moved to Iowa this spring. And, Jon Muhs was promoted to the Assistant Financial Aid Officer this summer from his previous position of Financial Aid Assistant. Congratulations to you both!

From Presentation College – Pat Volk began her Assistant Director of Financial Aid duties immediately following the 4th of July holiday celebration on July 5. Pat joins Director of Financial Aid, Val Weisser, Past President of SDASFAA. Welcome to SDASFAA Pat!

Jackie Payne of Wells Fargo EFS and husband Tory are the proud parents of a baby boy! Mason Tyler Payne joined big brother Dexter on July 7 to double the fun at the Payne residence weighing 8 lbs. and 6 oz’s and measuring 21 inches in length! Congratulations Jackie and Tory from all of us!

Sharon Kienow (Director of Financial Aid Northern State University) gained a daughter! Sharon and Bob Kienow are proud to announce the marriage of their oldest son Tyler to Kate Duncan on August 5. The couple resides in Shakopee, MN where Tyler works for Best Buy Corporate as an Inventory Control Specialist and Kate is a 1st grade teacher. Congratulations to the Kienow family from SDASFAA!

Kansas

Congratulations to Sara and Pete Brubaker on the birth of their son Alexander Paul. He was born on July 7th, weighing 6 lbs., 2 oz. Sara is the Assistant Director of Financial Aid and Admissions at McPherson College.

Newman University has recently hired Charly Arnold as a financial aid counselor. She comes to us from Oklahoma City where she previously worked in the financial aid office.

Nebraska

Mark Schilmoeller, of Nelnet, has joined the Campus Solutions division of Nelnet. He is managing the NSA brand in Nebraska and the ASAP/UBT, Colledge and Nelnet brands in Kansas.

On September 1st, Shareen Thewke (Assistant Director, University of Nebraska at Omaha; President, NeASFAA) and husband Craig welcomed Landon James Thewke to their family. Landon weighed in at 5 pounds, 15 ounces, and is 19 inches long. While he arrived a bit earlier than anticipated, all are fine!

Jocelyn Olson (Assistant Director) and Krista Barr (Counselor) have left Bellevue University to pursue other opportunities. Sarah Rogers has been promoted from Counselor to Assistant Director, and Jessica Steffen has been promoted form Specialist to Counselor. Two new Counselors are Candace Dinan and Sharalyn Clark.

Randi Mann, Assistant Financial Aid Counselor, left Clarkson College in August to pursue opportunities at Vatterott College in Omaha. In September, Clarkson College welcomes two new Financial Aid Counselors, Misten Thompson (formerly of Bellevue University) and Jessica Vasquez (formerly of ITT Technical Institute in Omaha).

Colorado

Congratulations go out to Donni R. Clark, Director of Financial Aid, University of Northern Colorado. She is happy to report the birth of her first grandchild on July 28, 2006—a little boy named Jackson John Biegger. Per Grandma, “of course he is wonderful!!”

Computer Conversion – The thirteen Colorado Community Colleges plus T. H. Pickens Technical College and Emily Griffith Opportunity School are undergoing a massive computer conversion from SIS to Banner this year. The colleges are making this change by going live into production in approximately 12 months, instead of the usual 2-3 years, that other colleges have taken. The thirteen colleges are spread throughout Colorado, with several in the surrounding suburbs of Denver, and others in the northeast, northwest, and southern parts of the state. Many of the students take CCCOnline classes, with some living not only around the state of Colorado, but elsewhere in the United States and overseas. CCCS serves more than 116,000 students annually and employs hundreds of employees, so this conversion is immense.

Academic Competitiveness and SMART Grants – Without a designated state scholars program, Colorado found itself having to come up with an alternative when Congress passed the recent legislation authorizing the Academic Competitiveness Grant for Pell-eligible students. The State Department of Education scurried to meet the deadline for submission of an equivalent combination of class requirements to meet the definition of a rigorous course of study. The proposal was ultimately approved, which paved the way for Colorado institutions to begin rapidly implementing processes to identify possible candidates and award those who meet the requirements. Some institutions have been successful in recruiting other departments on their campuses to assist with some of the work (such as admissions, recruiting, records, academic advising), while other schools have handled the work primarily in the financial aid offices. CAFAA’s list serve has served as an information highway for members to share their processes, ideas, and questions about these new federal grants in order to overcome the extraordinary challenges they all are facing.

Fall Conference – CAFAA’s Fall 2006 conference (Oct 18-20) promises to be very different from the usual, from the location to the theme. For 113 years, Historic Hotel Colorado in downtown Glenwood Springs has graciously opened her doors to travelers from every corner of the earth. Some of her most famous guests have been Molly Brown and numerous presidents including President Taft in 1909. Teddy Roosevelt returned for many years after his famous three week bear hunt in 1905, and during the Roaring 20’s, Hotel Colorado became an attractive playground for Chicago gangsters. And, although Doc Holliday visited Glenwood Springs before the Hotel Colorado was built, he did visit the famous Hot Springs as part of his therapy for TB. Many of the hotel’s rooms remind current visitors of the history as they are named after their famous guests. The conference theme, “Fall into the Flavor”, hints of good cooking with an inviting menu throughout the 3 days. CAFAA’s annual conferences have been very popular over the past couple of years, with record numbers of members attending each year. Networking with colleagues, jam-packed sessions, spectacular fall colors in an historic town… What more could members want?

Montana

It has been a busy summer and we’ve had new folks join our financial aid community. Judy Chapman was hired as the Financial Aid Director at MSU-Billings replacing Melina Hawkins who retired. UGF also has a new director, Kerri Kotesky. At U of M-Western, Gloria Payne joined the staff and Ricki Jones was named Director of Financial Aid. Eileen Bishop is the new Financial Aid Director at Miles Community College. MSU-Billings also hired Brooks Snow as Financial Aid Specialist.

Kalie Porter has replaced Mary Holden at Student Assistance Foundation’s Billings Office. Mary was promoted to General Manager, Campus Outreach Division, and now resides in Lakeside Montana. In addition, Mary is now Mary Howard as she tied the knot in August. Keith Carparelli has left Student Assistance Foundation for greener pastures in the banking world.

Shelby Gilluly, MSU-Billings Loan Officer, gave birth to a baby girl on July 28th. Laine Aubrey and her mom are both doing well.

Sue Rufus, from the University of Montana, is leaving the financial aid office and the state of Montana September 1st. Sue has more than 15 years of service in financial aid and will be missed by her Missoula co-workers and the financial aid community in Montana.

Best of luck to everyone as the fall semester begins. We look forward to seeing our colleagues in Salt Lake City in October.