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Conference > Past Conferences > Thunder Bay 2020 > Call for Proposals > Learn more about Stepping into Success

OASFAA/CASFAA Spring Conference

Stepping into Success

We are looking forward to “Stepping into Success” as a collaborative effort across Canada.

Lakehead University, Northern Ontario School of Medicine, and Confederation College in conjunction with the Ministry, Colleges and Universities is hosting this year’s joint Ontario Association of Financial Aid Administrators (OASFAA) and Canadian Association of Financial Aid Administrators (CASFAA) conferences on May 24 – 27, 2020.

CASFAA/OASFAA 2020, titled “Stepping into Success” is focusing on student’s entry and exit into post-secondary and the journey in between. We invite OASFAA/CASFAA and the financial aid community to share their expertise by submitting a proposal to present on a topic of interest at our conference.

We want to ensure we maximize the expertise and experience of the presenters and the participants attending. We will be offering 50 minute and 60 minute sessions and ask that presenters choose one of the following forums that will best suit the goals of their session.

Choose your forum

  • Round table – facilitate discussions in specific groups

  • Facilitated discussion – larger group discussion on one topic

  • Presentation – present on topic of interest

  • Workshop – present and lead interactive activities

The audience for each session is approximately 25-50 participants.

Content Themes

We aim to offer sessions on the following themes, we are also open to proposals for other related or relevant topics.

Entry

  • Barriers

  • Communicating to students

  • Scholarships, bursaries and awards

  • Outreach

  • Start -up – what do we do besides manage lines

  • Students entering already disadvantaged

  • Keeping staff engaged

  • Dealing with changes to funding policy

  • Customer Service Models – helping or hindering

Technology

  • Systems – round table

  • Are systems helping increase our assistance

  • Keeping the human touch

  • Managing multiple systems

Best practices – why re-invent the wheel

  • BSWD

  • On campus employment

  • Financial Literacy plans

  • Procedures

  • Philanthropy

Exit

  • Exit interviews for early withdrawal

  • Are students falling through the cracks

  • Helping with repayment

  • Managing debt load

  • Students who won’t leave

Other

  • Did we miss something? Did your department just implement something that brought the student experience to the next level? Pitch your idea!

Deadlines and important dates

March 13, 2020 – proposals must be submitted by 11:59 p.m. via our online submission page.

March 27, 2020 – presenters will be notified regarding the status of their submission.

May 24-27, 2020 – conference – presenters please ensure you are available to assist us in scheduling final presentations.

Connect with us

If you have any questions, please connect with us at

CASFAA represents Financial Aid Administrators and Awards Administrators in post-secondary institutions. To find out more about the missions of the associations visit the OASFAA website and CASFAA website.