Open yourself up to a new way of engaging and learning by attending the Student Financial Services Conference without leaving your campus.
The conference, which addresses the issues impacting student financial operations, will be held March 13–15, at The Peabody Memphis hotel. If you are unable to attend the program in Memphis, the online component will allow attendees to tune in remotely and be an active participant during the question-and-answer segment.
Online attendees will have access to select sessions on Monday, March 14. Topics such as 1098-T, institutional loans, student retention data gathering techniques, and implementing student financial responsibility agreements will be offered. Online participants will also earn CPE credits.
As a bonus, when one person on your campus registers at full price, other staff can register for free. Content from these sessions will be available until Nov. 1, 2016. For more information, visit the “Distance Learning” page at www.nacubo.org.
Registration for the NACUBO 2016 Annual Meeting is now open, and early registration rates are available until March 31. This year’s meeting will be held July 16–19 in Montréal at the Palais des congrés de Montréal.
This event will give attendees the opportunity to learn about the most important issues affecting the business office, initiate impactful discussions, share strategies on how to navigate various institutional challenges, and network with colleagues in the industry.
All persons will need to present a valid passport in order to enter Canada. To register for the conference or for more information, visit www.nacuboannualmeeting.org.
In a recent webcast, How Ratings Agencies Assess Your Institution: An Objective Framework, a panel of campus and industry experts discussed the methodology and influential data points that impact ratings. Attendees also learned about bond pricing and how rating agencies evaluate colleges and universities—major factors often include institution type and overall rating outlook of the institution.
Speakers stressed that business officers can use this information to inform internal and external constituencies about the impact of operational and strategic decisions on their institution’s financial health.
The webcast is now available on-demand. Registrants can access the content for up to one year after the original air date. For further information, visit the “Distance Learning” page at www.nacubo.org.
Regarding the January Business Officer article “Cost Control,” I’d like to note, as a member of the EdHealth inter-institutional team, that we remain indebted to the Davis Educational Foundation. Many New England colleges, universities, and consortia have long been the recipients of its support for both academic and administrative collaborations, as well as cost-control initiatives. The foundation’s willingness to support explorations and experimentations has led to new approaches and innovations.
Systems that once worked are increasingly outdated and stressed. Davis Foundation support allowed EdHealth to be less risk averse in its early development considerations. The several approaches described in the article are evidence that we can find new solutions when freed from the past with enlightened philanthropy.
PHILLIP DICHIARA, managing director, the Boston Consortium for Higher Education, Needham, Mass.
