All Access

Tell Us What You Thought of This Year's Graduate and Professional Financial Aid Conference

Thank you to all who attended the 2011 Access Group Graduate and Professional Financial Aid Conference. We hope you enjoyed yourself, learned a lot and Discovered Your Foundation.

Before the holidays are upon us, we'd like to know what you thought of this year's conference.  If you haven't yet had the time, please take a few minutes to complete our conference evaluation. Your feedback is very important to us and will help us begin to plan next year's conference.

Also, we've posted many of the presentations and handouts from the conference sessions. You can download them from the Conference Materials Library link above.

Our sincere good wishes for a happy holiday season and a wonderful new year.

The Access Group Team

Last Minute Conference Reminders and Updates

As we get closer and closer to the 2011 Access Group Graduate and Professional Financial Aid Conference, here are just a few things to note.

Reminders

• If you plan to attend the Financial Aid 101 session, please make sure you bring a calculator. It might come in handy.
• Be prepared to get a little wet. The Great Water Balloon "Toss-for-the-Cause" is shaping up to be serious competition.
• Don't forget to read blog posts by your colleagues at TheAllAccessBlog.Org. Today's featured post is from Susan A. Bogart, Director of Financial Aid, Penn State Law
• Getting to and from the hotel is simple. To arrange for SuperShuttle service, simply visit www.supershuttle.com and use Group Discount Code 5YDUH; or call 800 BLUE-VAN (258-3826) at least 24 hours prior to your arrival or departure to schedule reservations. Visit the Conference website for more travel details.
• Discipline-specific sessions are back! If there is a topic you think you and your colleagues would like to discuss, send that topic to conf2011@accessgroup.org and we will add it to the list.

Updates

• Of course the weather in Florida will be dreamy with highs in the mid-upper 70s and lows in upper 50s to low 60s.
• We've had a very last minute cancellation from a guest speaker, Frank Luntz. But have no fear; we've got something even better up our sleeve. Ari Fleischer, Former White House Press Secretary/Spokesperson, Political Analyst and Communications Expert will be joining us on Friday morning to give us The Daily Briefing – an in-depth analysis of the latest news coming out of Washington and the hottest controversies of the day.

That's it for now. In the coming days, you can keep up with any new announcements, reminders or updates right here at TheAllAccessBlog.Org.

See you soon!

Follow Along with the 2011 Access Group Conference

Whether you're registered and have already started packing or you'll miss this year's Conference, the All Access blog will keep you up-to-date with conference happenings.  Look for:

• Session recaps
• Reminders and conference details
• Updates and insights

Follow along with Access Group’s staff and conference attendees for posts and comments to help you “Discover Your Foundation”

Check back daily from November 17th through 19th and feel free to join the conversation by sharing and commenting right here at AllAccess. 

Tip: Don't miss a post.  Subscribe to All Access.  Click the "subscribe" tab at the top to have All Access blog posts sent directly to your e-mail inbox.

Write a Blog Post - Win a Scholarship for Your Students

We know that some of our conference attendees have great stories about their 1st, 2nd or 17th Access Group Conference.   We also know that some people come year after year and wouldn’t miss this opportunity to learn, network, and broaden their financial aid horizons.

Now, let’s put those stories and anecdotes to work – write a blog post to win a $1,000 scholarship donation from Access Group for your school.  Here’s how.

1. Pick a topic.

• I attend the Access Group Conference year after year because ...
• The best learning experience I ever had at an Access Group conference was …
• I haven’t attended, but I want to and I’m most interested in and excited about  …

2. Write a blog post.
Write it on your own, with a partner or as a team with your whole department.

3. Make it good. 
Entries will be judged on the following criteria:

• Humor and/or Personality (25 pts)
• Grammar and Spelling (25 pts)
• Effective use of a visual aid (25 pts)
• Inspirational Message (25 pts)

4. Submit your entry.  
E-mail it to Conf2011@AccessGroup.Org by October 28, 2011.

5. Make it Official.
Complete the Online Entry Form.

Winner and runners up will be announced at this year’s conference in Clearwater Beach, Florida. Visit the official Conference website for a complete contest description and the Official Rules for more details.

Note: You do not have to be registered for the 2011 Conference to enter to win … and winners need not be present at the Conference to claim their prize.

2011 Access Group Graduate and Professional Financial Aid Conference

Mark Your Calendars ...

 ... for the only conference focused exclusively on graduate and professional aid.

If you are a professional in higher education - whether your role is in finacial aid, admissions or student services - the 2011 Access Group Graduate and Professional Financial Aid Conference has the resources, insights and solutions you need to help your students achieve success.

• Hear nationally acclaimed speakers
• Learn from experienced industry leaders
• Network with peers who share your passion and understand your challenges

Program details and registration information will be available soon, so look for conference updates here on All Access, on the conference webpage and on Twitter.

Save the Date! 

November 17 - 19, 2011 - Sandpearl Resort Clearwater Beach, Florida.

 

Welcome to "Conference Time" on All Access

From now through November 15th, All Access will be focusing its attention on the 2010 Access Group Graduate and Professional Financial Aid Conference.  Right here on the blog, Access Group’s staff and conference attendees will be bringing you posts and comments to Engage,  Educate and Empower.

Whether you’re already preparing for our conference or you're not able to join your colleagues this year, the All Access blog will keep you up-to-date and informed with:

• Session recaps
• Reminders and conference details
• Updates and insights

We hope you find our conference blog posts both useful and educational (and maybe even a little fun).   New posts will be published daily, so keep checking back or click on “subscribe” above to receive All Access posts as they are published.

Please feel free to post comments and let us know what’s on your mind.  Just click on “comments” below each post and complete the “Post a Comment” form.  It's easy.

Posted by: Libby Rosenberg

Joe Donahue Joins the Ranks of All Access Bloggers

The All Access blog for higher education administrators is pleased to have Joe Donahue as a guest blogger. 

Joe, a financial aid counselor at Loyola University Chicago School of Law, also has a MBA in finance. He is currently studying for the CFP® Certification Exam and he volunteers with The Life After Innocence Project by providing individual financial literacy and education.  His insight, experience, and expertise make him uniquely skilled to counsel students on the big financial picture and the realities of their student loans.

Joe will be regularly sharing his experiences from “the trenches” of counseling financial aid and financial literacy. Look for his posts starting soon!

 Posted by: Libby Rosenberg

Welcome to the New & Improved All Access

Last year, we surveyed higher education administrators about your use of and inclination to use social media.  In response to this survey, we created a blog called “All Access” to document our conference activities. 

It was a HUGE success!

So, based on your participation and positive response to the blog at last year’s conference, we’ve expanded and embellished All Access. 

In addition to bringing you timely information about the 2010 conference, we are expanding this platform to feature thoughtful and relevant topics that are important to you, your colleagues, and your students - year-around! 

What you can look forward to in the All Access blog:

• Professional development – Much like the annual Access Group Graduate and Professional Financial Aid Conference, All Access is a place where we, as a community, can foster professional development and personal growth that can be applied to our work.
• Networking – Use this forum to connect with and engage your colleagues. 
• Sharing ideas – The higher education community is full of smart, insightful people.  Let All Access be a place where the best and brightest ideas and innovations are shared, discussed and celebrated.

This blog is for you, the graduate and professional community, so we want to hear from you. 

• Suggest topics you’d like to know more about and we’ll try to cover them here on the blog.
• Ask for advice from your peers, colleagues or Access Group by submitting a question. 
• Tell us about innovations in your office.  Share a new program you’ve developed or a tip for making your job easier.  

And of course, stay tuned right here for Conference 2010 updates, including:

• Important reminders and conference details from Access Group’s planning team
• Previews into the featured speakers’ discussion topics and session announcements
• Suggestions to help you plan your unscheduled time in Huntington Beach
• Session recaps written by Access Group staff
• Photos  from the conference

We look forward to hearing from you online and seeing you at our fall conference!

Posted by: Vivian Bowden