Institute for New Professionals program guide

Table of Contents

Meet Your Presenters ............................................................................3 Webinar Schedule .................................................................................4 Day One - August 2, 2012 .....................................................................6 Day Two - August 3, 2012 .....................................................................8 Registration Information ........................................................................9

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Meet Your Presenters

Russ Gagarin, Director of Financial Aid and Admission (MD) Russ Gagarin has been supervising the financial aid program at Landon School (Bethesda, MD) for many years. He has worked with NAIS to develop a number of professional development offerings including the Fall Workshop Series, the Summer Institute for New Financial Aid Professionals, and webinars. In addition to overseeing Landon’s Financial Aid, Russ also teaches math and coaches in the Middle School.

Mark J. Mitchell, Vice President, SSS By NAIS

Mark J. Mitchell is the vice president for School and Student Services By NAIS. With over 20 years in the financial aid arena, Mark oversees knowledge creation initiatives for SSS, providing support to more than 2,100 K-12 schools and other organizations through workshops, seminars, and the development of web-based resource materials. Mark is a frequent presenter on tuition pricing, affordability, and financial aid policy and practices.

He has also authored several articles and book chapters on education financing and financial aid strategies. Prior to NAIS, Mark worked in higher education financial aid at Northwestern University, Lake Forest College, and Access Group, Inc, a firm specializing in graduate student education financing. He is a graduate of Moorestown Friends School (New Jersey), where he currently serves on the Board of Trustees.

Melvin Rhoden, Sales Manager, SSS By NAIS Melvin Rhoden joined SSS By NAIS By NAIS (SSS) in August of 2005. Rhoden currently conducts professional development workshops and webinars for financial aid professionals. Rhoden recently authored the Admission outlook chapter of the NAIS Trendbook, 2011-2012. Before joining NAIS, Rhoden served numerous years as director of admission and financial aid at an independent secondary school in Michigan.

Mike Szydlowski, Director of Financial Aid, Woodberry Forest School (VA) Mike Szydlowski is the Financial Aid Director at Woodberry Forest School, he also owns and operates Tax Preparation & Planning, an income tax and tax planning business since 1986. Mike works with NAIS to help prepare case studies for fall workshops and annotates Tax*Assist each year and offers various half and full day tax workshops for Financial Aid Professionals.

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Webinar Schedule July 17, 2012 2:00 pm – 3:15 pm Title: Understanding the Financial Aid Process Facilitator: Mike Szydlowski, Woodberry Forest School Session includes: • Mission and Financial Aid Goals • Acronyms • Steps and Processes to Get Started

July 18, 2012 2:00 pm – 3:15 pm Title: Your Role as Financial Aid Professional Facilitator: Mike Szydlowski, Woodberry Forest School Session includes: • Financial Aid Role/Setting up Your Office • Managing activities during FA season • Parents’ Financial Aid Statement (PFS) – What is it?

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July 19, 2012 2:00 pm – 3:15 pm Title: Facilitator:

Overview of Comp*Assist Online Russ Gagarin, Landon School

Session includes: • Introduction to Comp*Assist Online – layout and features • Activities your school and policy want Comp*Assist Online to do routinely • How Comp*Assist Online helps you in your role as the financial aid officer • How Comp*Assist Online will not help you as the financial aid officer

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Day One - August 2, 2012 8:15 am – 4:30 pm

Pre-Work Experience what it feels like to complete a PFS. We will provide you with the basic facts of a family scenario, from which you will complete a PFS online to gain knowledge and empathy of the parent experience. This completed PFS will also serve as the basis of several opening day sessions.

8:15 am

Welcome, Introduction Mark Mitchell, SSS By NAIS

8:45 am

Getting To Know the Parents’ Financial Statement (PFS) Russ Gagarin, Landon School & Mark Mitchell, SSS By NAIS The SSS Parents’ Financial Statement (PFS) is the cornerstone to determining financial need for families seeking assistance. Building off of a pre-institute assignment, this session will help you learn what families experience as they complete the form, what information is gathered on the PFS, and how it is used to analyze financial aid eligibility to find “the right answer.” Having experienced the PFS from two perspectives – that of a parent completing the PFS and that of the financial aid administrator reviewing it – you’ll explore how your own experience completing the Parents’ Financial Statement from a “parent’s” perspective might help you communicate more effectively with them in the process. At the end of the session, you will know how to: • Better assist families in completing the PFS accurately on paper and online.

• Access and compare the information from the PFS to the information presented in Comp*Assist Online.

• Recognize and adjust missing or erroneous information on the PFS using your Comp*Assist Online account.

9:30 am

Trust But Verify: The Role of Tax Forms in Financial Aid Review Mike Szydlowski, Woodberry Forest School & Melvin Rhoden, SSS By NAIS Parents submit many tax forms and other supporting documents during the financial aid process, but not all of them are critical to review for your financial aid decisions. In this segment, you will examine basic tax forms to collect and use to verify data found on the PFS. Additionally, you will review basic tax deductions that impact taxable income and family cash flow. You will learn how revisions made to the PFS leads to reported information in Comp*Assist Online and affects the final Estimated Family Contribution (EFC). At the end of the session, you will know how to: • Match line items from tax forms (such as 1040, W-2s, Schedule C) that can verify information provided by parents for specific PFS questions.

• Revise parent-reported values, based on review of tax documents and recalculate to revise the EFC. • Know where to make the changes in Comp*Assist Online.

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Day One - August 2, 2012 8:15 am – 4:30 pm 10:45 am Break

11:00 am

Custom-Made Aid Decisions: When To Use Your Professional Judgment Russ Gagarin, Landon School & Mark Mitchell, SSS By NAIS In many situations, using the “standard” SSS calculation of family contribution may be inconsistent with the nuances of a particular family’s situation or the preferences reflected in certain school policies. In these situations, exercising sound and deliberate professional judgment to revise the SSS outcome is a key responsibility. In this session, you will discuss the common types of situations where your judgment and school policy come into play, how to use the Comp*Assist Online system efficiently to reflect your judgment, and when it’s most feasible to apply judgment-based revisions on a “case by case” or a “global” basis. At the end of this session, you will know how to: • Use Comp*Assist Online features to make Professional Judgment-based revisions driven by your school policies • Gauge the impact of a handful of Professional Judgment settings on the SSS-calculated family contribution • Determine which professional judgment decisions are best applied for individual student situations versus those applicable for the entire pool of applicants

12:00 pm Lunch

12:45 pm

Finding “The Answer” and Finalizing the Family Contribution Mike Szydlowski, Woodberry Forest School & Melvin Rhoden, SSS By NAIS Work with a case from submission of the PFS to entering a proposed award to recording a family decision on your financial aid award. The financial data of this sample scenario will help you review this case, make needed changes to financial data and apply your knowledge and judgment to finalize the case. At the end of the session, you will know how to: • Determine how much a family should contribute and how much you should/can award in financial aid.

• Use the Financial Aid Screen –to manage your decisions in Comp*Assist Online.

• Consider factors beyond the calculation before you arrive at the final award

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Day One - August 2, 2012 8:15 am – 4:30 pm 1:45 pm

How Much Is Enough? Determining the Award Offer Russ Gagarin, Landon School & Mark Mitchell, SSS By NAIS Once you’ve reached an appropriate family contribution to school costs, the ultimate step in your aid review is determining and tracking what financial aid grant, if any, you’ll offer to the family. This session will overview the considerations and steps to take to establish the financial need of the family, using Comp*Assist Online to help facilitate and manage the steps you’ll take to arrive at an appropriate financial aid offer. You’ll also discuss important tips for communicating your awarding decisions with various people, whether it’s a parent appealing your offer or the head of school wanting to know what your rationale was for your decision. At the end of this session, you will know how to: • Transform your determination of family contribution into a financial aid grant offer • Use the appropriate screens and fields in Comp*Assist Online to determine and record financial aid offers made to a student • Communicate effectively with various stakeholders in the process about rationale of your decision making.

2:45 pm Break

3:00 pm

Basic Case Study Review Mike Szydlowski, Woodberry Forest School & Melvin Rhoden, SSS By NAIS

4:05 pm

Connecting Mid-Career Professionals with New Professionals Facilitator: Patricia Hayden, SSS By NAIS Learn from colleagues who have recently sat in your seat. These professionals have 3 to 5 years of experience and are willing to answer your questions with an ‘insider’s’ perspective designed to better prepare you to anticipate and manage the challenges of your new role after the workshop.

5:00 pm

Networking Reception

6:00 pm

Dinner on own

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Day Two - August 3, 2012 8:30 am – 12:30 pm 8:30 am

Review of Day 1 Melvin Rhoden, SSS By NAIS

8:45 am

Intermediate Case Study review Russ Gagarin, Landon School & Melvin Rhoden, SSS By NAIS

10:30 am Break

10:45 am

Communicating as a Financial Aid Professional Russ Gagarin, Landon School Whether you have been in your role for one year, six months, or zero days, as the financial aid administrator you are required to communicate effectively. In this session, through various methods and role play, we will discuss, share, and learn from each other how to have those conversations with parents, respond to requests from colleagues, and inquiries from heads of school or a board member. Some communication is easy. Other conversations may be more difficult. Communicating effectively adds credibility and transparency to the financial aid process. At the end of the session, you are able to: • Handle and response to uncomfortable, but necessary, questions in order to clarify issues in a family’s financial profile.

• Know what information to provide to other departments and when it is necessary to share this information.

• Respond with confidence when an issue is presented from either the head of school or a board member. Know what to provide without sharing private information.

11:45 am

Share, Connect and Get your Final Questions Answered!

Melvin Rhoden, SSS By NAIS The final session will help you learn from the experiences of your peers and provide opportunities for you to share the highlights of your institute experiences. There will be time to discuss hot topics, re-emphasize major points, and answer any question you have about financial aid. Final exercises will help you connect with colleagues in new ways so that you leave Charleston with an expanded network of professionals

12:30 pm Concludes

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Registration Information Registration fees cover three webinars, 12 hours of hands-on practical application delivered face-toface, as well as meals (breakfasts, lunch, morning and afternoon breaks) and a networking reception.

Payment Information and Deadline: sss.nais.org/go/infap

Early Bird (Register by June 20)

Standard (Register by July 11)

$575

$725

Workshop Cancellation Policy

Cancellation must be sent in writing to hayden@nais.org and received by July 11 to receive a 50% workshop registration fee refund. No refunds will be given after the standard registration deadline of July 11. However, substituting an attendee for another staff member from the same school is acceptable.

Housing Information Francis Marion Hotel 387 King Street Charleston, SC 29403 (877) 756-2121 Rate: $119

Hotel cut-off: July 11, 2012

To reserve your room at the discounted rate, use the link below or contact the hotel directly at (877) 756-2121 and mention code “NAIS�. With limited rooms available at this discounted rate, please make your reservations early as rooms will go quickly. Housing link: sss.nais.org/go/ francismarionhotel

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