MASFAA Executive Board Meeting at Fall Training
October 22, 2014
Members Present:
Carrie CooperPresident
Nicole PatrickPresident Elect/Newsletter
Greg WindhamPast- President/Nominations
Alex WashingtonVice-President/Training
Albert Steven TarantoTreasurer
Jennifer RogersDirector
Marilyn JamesDirector
Laura Diven-BrownDirector
Leslie SmithSecretary
Brenda McCaffertySite Selection
Megan SmithHigh School Relations
Leigh Ann HusseyConference
Stacey WalkerElectronic Services
Bob WalkerState Representative
April WashingtonDiversity
Members Not Present:
Terry BlandAudit and Finance Chair
Joe StatutoLegislative Relations
The meeting was called to order by President, Carrie Cooper at 1:13 p.m. A quorum was established by the President. The President called for reports from officers and committee chairs.She gave the President’s report and said a work of thanks to everyone. The minutes from the MASFAA Executive Board Transitional Meetings on July 11, 2014 were reviewed and filed. Leslie Smith reported that all minutes for her term were posted to the MASFAA website and these were the first since 2005. Nicole Patrick reported on the Magnolia News progress. Alex Washington noted corrections to the March 26, 2015, Executive Board Meeting after lunch at FA 101. Steven Taranto reported on the 2014-2015 budget and noted how the miscellaneous income and prior year expenses were recorded. He also reported that Katie Tompkins had resigned as Member-at-Large as she was no longer working the financial aid field and therefore, he gave the report for membership.
Jennifer Rogers, Director, reported on request from the Board of Director’s meeting for changes to the MASFAA by-laws concerning the Mission Statement, Vision Statement, Articles VI. And VIII. The recommended changes were to:
VI. B. 3. Change “MASFAA Newsletter” to “The Magnolia News” which is a blog.
VI. E. 3. Change the wording in the Mission Statement to read:
The Mississippi Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators, Inc. was founded to establish a financial aid community that encourages the exchange of ideas and professional expertise to effectively and ethically promote access to higher education by meeting the needs of our diverse constituents (students, parents, and institutions).
And, in the Vision Statement to read:
Through the coordination of plans and programs pertinent to student financial aid, MASFAA serves the interests and needs of diverse students, postsecondary educational institutions and their aid administrators, and public and private agencies and organizations concerned with student financial aid.
Through these efforts, MASFAA has a profound impact on the lives of people who desire to achieve a higher education but believe it is impossible due to financial constraints.
VI. B.3. Serve as Chairperson of the Communications Committee;
VI. E.3. Upon completion of each fiscal year, archive all Association records in accordance with the Association’s Policies and Procedures Manual.
VI. F. 8. Upon the completion of the term of office, turn over to the new Treasurer, within 30 days after the close of the fiscal year, all financial records of the Association;
VI. H. The Directors will:
1.Attend all Board of Directors meetings as called by the President;
2.Serve as the Planning Committee and be responsible for reviewing and recommending revisions to the Constitution and By-Laws of the Association and the Association’s Policies and Procedures Manual.
3.Perform a review, or cause a review to occur, of the MASFAA checking account and financial records annually, within three months of the end of the fiscal year, evaluating liability and insurance policies, evaluating employee dishonesty bond, and making recommendations to the Board for investments and excess funds in the checking account.
VIII. Change title to read: Article VIII – Committees and Liaisons
VIII. C. Audit/Finance Committee to be moved to the Directors’ job descriptions and the Planning Committee be moved from E to C to read:
Planning Committee: The Planning Committee is responsible for establishing a five-year plan to be continuously built upon. The Planning Committee will systematically explore and work toward future opportunities, while analyzing and avoiding threats to the organization. The Planning Committee will make recommendations to the Board on issues as requested by the members, as well as issues of immediate or long range concerns. The Planning Committee will review and make recommendations to the Board for revisions to the Association’s Constitution, By-Laws, and Policies and Procedures Manual. The Planning Committee is composed of the Directors and the Immediate Past-President who serves as chair.
Eliminate Article VIII D. Diversity Committee
Other changes under Article VIII were changed to read as follows:
D.Training Committee: The Training Committee is responsible for planning all aspects of the education and training programs, events and professional development of the Association, except the Annual Conference. Planning includes local arrangements and program content. The Vice-President serves as Chair and will appoint a Co-chair to serve for as a non-voting member of the Board.
E.Conference Committee: The Conference Committee will be responsible for planning all aspects of the Annual Conference. Planning includes local arrangements and program content. The President serves as Chair and will appoint the Conference Committee Co-chair during the President-Elect year to serve as a non-voting member of the Board.
F.Communications Committee: The Communications Committee is responsible for the Association’s internal modes of communication, including the listserv, the “member’s only” pages of the website, and any other mass communication method the Association adopts, such as a newsletter or blog. The Communications Committee is also responsible for appropriately communicating the Association’s image and purpose with external constituency groups, such as vendors/sponsors, high school students and counselors, college students, other associations, etc. The Communications Committee is chaired by the President-Elect, but will work closely with the all other Board and Association members.
G.Legislative Affairs Committee: The Legislative Affairs Committee will analyze both federal and state legislative issues as they arise in order to keep the Association informed. The committee should advise the MASFAA President and Board when the need arises for the Association to respond to federal or state legislative issues. The Legislative Affairs Committee Chair is appointed by the President and serves as a non-voting member of the Board.
H.Vendor-Sponsor Committee: The Vendor/Sponsor Committee is responsible for nurturing mutually beneficial working relationships with association vendors and/or sponsors. The Vendor/Sponsor Committee will update the annual menu of vendor/sponsorship opportunities and serve as the liaison between the association and all vendors and/or sponsors. The President will appoint the Vendor/Sponsor Committee Chair, who will serve as a non-voting member of the Board.
I.State Aid Liaison: The State Aid Liaison is responsible for maintaining an intimate working relationship between the Association and the Mississippi Office of Student Financial Aid. The State Aid Liaison should review proposed legislation/policies and provide feedback on the potential impact of such legislation/policies to the Board of Directors. The State Aid Liaison should also coordinate lobbying efforts in support of or opposition to proposed legislation under the direction and approval of the Board of Directors. The President will appoint the State Aid Liaison, who will serve as a non-voting member of the board.
J.Site Selection Liaison: The Site Selection Liaison will research and recommend future conference and training sites as instructed by the Board of Directors. The President will appoint the Site Selection Liaison, who will serve as a non-voting member of the Board.
Note that the High Schools Relations Committee was eliminated under Article VIII. J.
It was the consensus of the Board to wait for approval on the By-Laws changes first, then begin working on the recommended changes to the P & P.
President adjourned for a short break at 2:24.
President called meeting back to order at 2:36.
Stacey Walker presented report for Electronic Services. Nicole Patrick reported on the MASFAA blog and encouraged all to use. The Vendor Sponsors report was given. A suggestion was made to meet with Vendors and ask them how MASFAA could help them and how schools could help them.
Leigh Ann Hussey presented the Conference Committee report, Megan Smith presented the High School Relations report. She stated that it had become difficult to promote public awareness about financial aid. She made a suggestion about promoting media outreach through MASFAA. April Washington presented a report on Diversity. She stated the Nicholas Lott and C.J. Rhodes were willing to speak to MASFAA or blog.
Brenda McCafferty presented the Site Selection report. She reported that the PR Resort had waived entire bill due to issues during the NASFAA Credential Training in October. The contract for the 2016 conference was also under review.
Bob Walker had no report for State Aid.
New Business: Steven Taranto presented an online credit payment processing proposal to allow members another option for payment. The proposal included information about GoEMerchant and Paypal with information concerning other costs from ATAC and data breach insurance. There were discussions about concerns of data breaches and American Express.Greg Windham made a motion to go forward with GoEMerchant and to include American Express. Alex Washington seconded the motion, Carrie Cooper asked for discussion, there were none and the motion carried for MASFAA to go forward with an online credit system.
Alex Washington asked if there would be interest in a 1 day NASFAA credential option at FA101. NO decision made. Changes to the President’s Package for vendor sponsors were discussed next and a decision was made to wait until the next year to review again. Future conference and training locations were also discussed.
Steven asked about the procedure for invoicing for life-time members because Paula Gordon needed an updated list for the web-site. Stacey said she would take care of it.
There was discussion about the NASFAA Leadership conference and the budget for sending the President-elect and other board members. The P & P only provided for the President-elect and it would need to be changed to allow for others. Carrie made a recommendation to allow Nicole and Steven (Alex waived right to attend) to attend the conference with MASFAA paying the costs and to adjust budget lines as needed. Greg made a motion to remove $700 from Vice-President line item to Treasurer in order to cover conference costs. Laura seconded the motion. There was no discussion and the motion carried. Directors will need to change P & P listing the priority of order to attend this conference if budget allows.
There was a discussion from Brenda McCafferty about bringing financial literacy to MS schools through a tool offered by Inceptia. Carrie noted the benefit to all schools in MASFAA offering outreach to high school students. Nicole mentioned that MASFAA should not co-brand and be supported of all companies that offer this type of outreach to students about financial literacy.
Nicole Patrick discussed the Life-time Membership award vote at fall training the next day. There was a slate of 6 to be voted for with the top 2 winning the vote. Steven moved to present the slate with a brief bio about each candidate and the top 2 being selected. Alex seconded the motion. There was no discussion and the motion carried.
Carrie Cooper adjourned the meeting at 4:26.