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About SCASFAA
Long Range Plan 2003-2008
I.
Mission Statement
The South Carolina Association of Student Financial Aid
Administrators (SCASFAA) is a community of professionals
promoting the advancement of financial assistance programs
as an essential part of student access to and choice in
post-secondary education. In a collaborative effort, SCASFAA
provides personal and professional development opportunities
that embrace sound principals, practices, and ethics of
aid administration. SCASFAA develops future leaders by actively
involving all of its members in an environment of mutual
respect, cooperation, and support.
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II.
Organizational Structure
- By-Laws
- Goal: Ensure that the By-Laws reflect the mission
of the Association and support the viability of the
organization.
- Objective: Review By-Laws at least annually
to confirm that they facilitate the development
of policies and procedures necessary to meet the
Association's mission and administrative responsibilities.
- Policies and Procedures
- Goal: Ensure that the Association's Policies and
Procedures facilitate accomplishing the administrative
responsibilities contained in the By-Laws and the
business of the organization in the most effective
and efficient manner possible.
- Objective: Review the Policies and Procedures
at least annually to confirm that they address
all of the current responsibilities of the Association,
that they reflect current best practices, and
that they provide direction for remaining as fiscally
responsible as possible.
- Objective: Review by the Executive Board of
all proposed policy and/or procedural adjustments
should occur in a timely fashion.
- Objective: Update to the Association Policies
and Procedures Manual should occur in a timely
fashion.
- Objective: Perform, every five years, a review
of the Association's Policies and Procedures that
incorporates a comparison to those of other state
and regional financial aid associations.
- Executive Board
- Goal: Ensure that the Executive Board is structured
appropriately to accomplish the goals of the Association:
to provide leadership, to facilitate further leadership
development, to be fiscally responsible, and to efficiently
and effectively administer the Association.
- Objective: Review the composition of the Executive
Board at least every five years.
- Goal: Ensure that the terms of office of elected
officers are of sufficient length to maintain continuity
and to complete official business while providing
opportunities for new leadership.
- Objective: Review the terms of office of the
Executive Board at least every five years.
- Goal: Ensure that the annual transition of leadership
for the Executive Board as well as Committee Chairpersons
is responsibly facilitated.
- Objective: Review the policies and procedures
associated with the annual transition at least
every five years.
- Objective: Charge each committee (chairperson)
to provide a written annual report that follows
a prescribed format that not only documents accomplishment,
but also provides guidance for the subsequent
year(s).
- Goal: Ensure that each committee's charge and resulting
functions continue to meet current needs of the Association
in a fiscally responsible manner.
- Objective: Assess the purpose and need for
each committee when making committee chair/liaison
appointments each year.
- Objective: Encourage annually the use of alternatives
to on-site committee meetings (conference calls,
e-mail communications, meeting in conjunction
with other meetings where committee members already
plan to be) in order to be fiscally responsible.
- Objective: Keeping in mind the leadership development
value, consideration regarding whether all committee
chairpersons should be invited to each Executive
Board meeting should be on-going.
- Goal: Select an appropriate mix of committee chairpersons
in order to promote continuity in conducting Association
business while fostering the development of new leadership.
- Objective: In meeting this goal, annually appoint
committee chairpersons who, to the extent possible,
represent the gender, ethnic, and sector diversities
of the Association.
- Committees
- Goal: Ensure that committees are of sufficient
size to meet their charge, that they represent the
gender, ethnic, and sector diversities of the Association,
that they promote leadership development among the
members, and that they remain fiscally responsible
in meeting their goals.
- Objective: Each chairperson should annually
select committee members who, to the extent possible,
represent the gender, ethnic, and sector diversity
of the Association. This is particularly significant
for committees with extensive responsibilities.
- Objective: Each chairperson should annually
select a committee that appropriately mixes continuing
and new members, thus maintaining continuity of
committee activities while facilitating the development
of future leadership and new ideas.
- Objective: For committees with lesser charges,
unless otherwise specified in the By-Laws, function
with the most efficient number of members needed
to accomplish its goals for that year.
- Membership
- Goal: Ensure that the membership structure accurately
reflects the Association's mission and goals and that
member constituencies are appropriately designated
and members appropriately assigned.
- Objective: Review membership categories and
sectors for appropriateness at least every five
years.
- Objective: Review the membership structure
at least every five years to determine if individual
membership, rather than institutional or some
other basis, is best for the Association.
- Goal: Ensure membership opportunities are extended
to all members and potential members of the South
Carolina aid community extended.
- Objective: Aggressively seek to increase membership
annually, particularly in under-represented categories
and sectors.
- Objective: Review membership opportunities
at least every five years to consider whether
additional constituencies (students, high school
guidance personnel and/or others) should be considered.
- Goal: Ensure all members actively participate in
Association activities.
- Objective: Provide opportunities for participation
and professional development for the membership
annually and actively encourage participation.
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III.
Communication and Collaboration
- Communication
- Goal: Ensure that Association communications reach
all categories and sectors of the membership in a
timely and cost efficient manner.
- Objective: Seek periodic feedback from the
membership that allows an assessment of the effectiveness
of information dissemination.
- Objective: Develop and maintain a centralized
and readily available master calendar the include
all of planned Association activities, as well
as Executive Board and Committee meetings.
- Collaboration
- Goal: Ensure that all Association publications
and other methods of information dissemination enhance
and/or encourage individual communication and information
sharing among the members.
- Objective: Review the Association's Newsletter
format annually to determine opportunities that
are believed will best encourage contribution
and information sharing among the membership.
- Objective: Actively seek, on an ongoing basis,
participation among all categories of the membership
both in the development of and participation in
Association professional development and training
activities.
- Objective: Actively seek, on an ongoing basis,
to provide service opportunities that address
the needs and the interests of all sectors of
the Association as equitably as possible.
- Objective: Review at least every five years
Association opportunities for providing individualized
professional support and/or mentoring among the
membership and attempt to insure that a viable
communications tool is always available.
- Goal: Ensure that members are apprized of legislative
issues affecting the profession, reminded of the importance
of member's involvement in these issues, and that
the Association advocates positions when reasonable
consensus exists.
- Objective: Continually apprize members of and
encourage involvement with legislative issues
affecting the profession.
- Objective: Continually advocate the Associations
position when a reasonable consensus exists.
- Objective: Provide professional development
opportunities at least every five years that review
effective ways to best affect legislative processes.
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IV.
Professional Development
- Opportunities
- Goal: Ensure that the Association provides for
the professional growth and competency development
of its members by offering workshops, seminars, and
other training and development opportunities that
attempt to meet the needs of the membership.
- Objective: Provide an annual professional development
program for the members that incorporates the
following considerations:
- Attempt to address the perceived and assessed
developmental needs of the members, recognizing
categorical distinctions among members such
as, experience level, institutional type,
and level of administrative responsibility.
- Attempt to enhance Association conferences
and programs on the basis of prior evaluations
and systematic reviews as well as current
needs of the members.
- Attempt to present programs and sessions
(learning opportunities) that possess vitality
and relevance for all of the members.
- Provide a diversity of topics that include
but are not limited to regulatory and technical
knowledge as well as the need for skills in
leadership, management, and human relations.
- Provide open forum opportunities to accommodate
timely topics not considered when program
agendas are planned.
- Recognize and encourage the development
of informal "networking" opportunities
for sharing professional and personal information.
- Encourage worthy and thought provoking
research, publications, and presentations
by members.
- When appropriate, encourage pre and post
conference opportunities for training and
other developmental activities.
- Encourage participation in professional
development activities by experienced Association
members who are capable of motivating and
facilitating learning in others and who represent
the diversity of the membership.
- Provide to experienced aid administrators
opportunities for sharing and growing in areas
such as leadership and management responsibilities
of the financial aid office.
- Give attention to emerging technologies
both as a subject of training and as vehicles
for presentation, communications, and administrative
advancement.
- Goal: Ensure membership participation in all professional
development activities.
- Objective: Actively encourage membership participation
in all professional development activities.
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V.
Finance
- Integrity
- Goal: Ensure fiscal integrity in the operations
of the Association.
- Objective: Review the SCASFAA Guide to Financial
Management at least every other year to ensure
the maintenance and continuity of sound financial
practices in conducting all Association business
and activities.
- Objective: Require a thorough knowledge of
and adherence to the fiscal policies and procedures
of the Association by all who oversee activities
that may have fiscal implications for the organization.
An appropriate review of this information should
be provided as a part of the annual transition
of the Association leadership.
- Stability
- Goal: Ensure the future financial stability of the
Association through careful and regular planning and
evaluation.
- Objective: Assess the appropriate level of charges
to the membership for dues, workshops, conferences,
and ancillary services annually.
- Objective: Review annually the needed financial
support for the Association’s budget from
vendor contributions and create an active plan for
securing these resources.
- Objective: Review the Association reserve fund
annually to determine its adequacy and to consider
its current investment and maintenance activities.
- Objective: Review, during the Association's annual
fiscal audit, any actual or potential issues related
to risks and liabilities with funds management,
contractual obligations, and/or business practices
of the organization and determine the appropriate
avenues to pursue when necessary.
- Objective: Determine the appropriate cash balance
to be carried forward annually.
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VI.
Service
- Outreach
- Goal: Ensure that the Association promotes awareness
of and planning for postsecondary education.
- Objective: Explore opportunities through which
the Association can formally undertake and maintain
an annual outreach effort that enhances and/or
supplements efforts by individual members and
their institutions/organizations.
- Leadership
- Goal: Ensure that the Association is recognized
by educational institutions, foundations, government
agencies, and community organizations as a leader
in promoting, developing, and delivering educational
programs related to student financial aid opportunities
for the South Carolina populace.
- Objective: Explore an opportunity for the Association
to communicate annually with identified organizations
apprizing them of the Association’s mission
and its willingness to provide guidance and assistance
with any such related initiatives.
- Initiatives
- Goal: Ensure that the Association supports every
effort to positively impact the benefits of the students
we serve.
- Objective: Continually support services, programs,
statutes, policies, and regulations that can benefit
students directly or indirectly by benefiting
the members' institutions.
- Objective: Continually encourage among the
members an attitude of customer service that facilitates
a successful experience in higher education toward
students, their families, and others who are serving
students.
- Goal: Ensure that the Association meets, to the
best of its abilities, the needs of the membership.
- Objective: Conduct a survey at least every
five years to determine Association membership
wants and needs.
- Objective: Facilitate continually the development
of new ideas and improvement to existing initiatives
dedicated to the effective and efficient delivery
of financial aid by the Association membership.
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VII.
Association Records Maintenance
- Archival
- Goal: Ensure that the official records of the Association
are maintained.
- Objective: Review annually the processes by
which the records of the Association are archived
to ensure that continuity and order are maintained,
and that the site at which they are located guaranties
responsible maintenance and accessibility as needed.
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