MEMBERSHIP RENEWALS have gone out and I hope you have renewed your individual or institution membership for 2016. Benefits are substantial for the relatively small fee NAASS charges our members. An email with membership renewal information will follow this newsletter on Monday 22, with all information needed to renew. For a new membership and all other membership inquiries, please contact Austin Roberts  aroberts@naass.org for assistance or call the NAASS office 1.860.586.7530.

 

OPEN AT-LARGE REPRESENTATIVE POSITION FILLED. Due to a resignation, we had an open at-large position on the NAASS Administrative Council, and I have appointed Owen Hooper, to serve out this term. Owen is Assistant Director in Innovative Education at the University of South Florida overseeing summer and intersessions. He has been active with NAASS on various committees and special assignments. Please welcome Owen to your NAASS leadership team hooper@usf.edu. Huge thanks go to Laurel Hogue, past-president and chair of the Nominations and Elections Committee, for her work identifying qualified candidates for this position. Owen will serve in the at-large representative capacity through 2017.

 

The NAASS STRATEGIC PLANNING PROCESS has kicked off and a guided forum will be held at each of the upcoming regional meetings to ask for input. You all know how much higher education is changing, so a strategic outlook for NAASS is important. We expect to have this information compiled and ready for action at the annual conference in Kansas City, November 5 - 9. So, plan to attend one of the regional meetings listed elsewhere in this NAASS FLASH. Remember, you may attend any or all of the regional meetings - you don't have to attend the one in your designated region - and, you do not have to be a current NAASS member.

 

EXPANSION OF PELL GRANTS PROPOSED.  If you read the Chronicle of Higher Education, you know the Obama administration is calling for a significant expansion of the Pell Grant program that would again make the grants available year-round, including in the summer. As we all know, this will help students make quicker progress toward earning their degrees and add flexibility for students that is currently denied to them due to lack of adequate financial aid in the summer. Approval of the President's proposals would mean an additional $2 billion in Pell Grant assistance during the 2017 fiscal year. If you can, reach out to your representatives in Washington to make sure they understand how this expanded availability will benefit your students. You can see the Department of Education's press release by clicking here.

 

NAASS is working hard to help you and your institutions... and provide a better education environment for our students. If you haven't already volunteered but you want to join in this mission, send me an email gsimon@ut.edu or give me a call 1.813.257.1764. I look forward to seeing you at one of the regional meetings.

 

Gary Simon, DBA

NAASS President

The University of Tampa