News

How to Make Our Institutions More Accessible
August 8, 2018 - "While higher education is abuzz with goals of cultivating greater access and success for historically underrepresented groups, many institutions still engage in practices that work against these goals," Angel Perez, vice president for enrollment and student success at Trinity College, writes.  "If we are truly going to open our doors wider, we can’t do so without transforming our own policies and practices."

MCCC Success Coach and Adjunct Professor Victoria Bowman Selected for Forward50, National Committee to Help Guide Higher Ed Policy
July 16, 2018 - Victoria Onori Bowman, M.A., a success coach and adjunct professor of English at Mercer County Community College (MCCC), has been selected by the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA) to participate on the Higher Education Committee of 50.

Commentary: How Concerns About ‘Undermatching’ Perpetuate Higher Ed’s Caste System
July 5, 2018 - "Undermatching theory — the idea that smart but disadvantaged students pass up important opportunities by attending less-selective colleges — is well intentioned," Patricia McGuire, president of Trinity Washington University, writes. "... Unfortunately, undermatching theory is also pernicious in its not-so-subtle disparagement of the non-elite institutions that serve significant numbers of low-income African-American and Latino students."

Tackling Higher Ed’s Biggest Challenges With 50-Forward Thinking Institutional Leaders
June 25, 2018 - With the many challenges facing higher education today, it’s important to ensure different perspectives are all brought to the table to look for solutions. 

Amid Funding Crunch, CT Colleges Look to Diversify Revenue Streams
April 16, 2018 - "The cost of our physical plant and operations goes up every single year," said Angel Perez, Trinity College's vice president, noting that the school's costs — from housing and feeding students to providing health care and compensating a highly educated workforce — adds up. "It's like running a small city, 24-hours a day."

Commentary: Want More College Students to Graduate? Fix the High Schools
April 12, 2018 - "...Too many public high schools are failing, especially those serving low-income students of color," Patricia McGuire, president of Trinity Washington University, writes. "These are the very students who, if they enroll in college, are most likely to drop out before completing degrees." 

NASFAA's "Off The Cuff" Podcast: Episode 66
March 23, 2018 - At about the 00:32:22 mark, the "Off The Cuff" team gives a rundown of the recent in-person convening for the Higher Education Committee of 50 and where the group's work will be moving in the coming months.

Thought Leaders Gather to Launch Higher Education Committee of 50 Policy Discussions
March 21, 2018 - Individuals from all corners of college and university campuses received a crash course on the most pressing issues facing higher education today as they gathered in Washington, DC on Tuesday for the first in-person convening of the Higher Education Committee of 50.

UNK Chancellor Doug Kristensen Receives NSAA’s Distinguished Service Award
March 12, 2018 - University of Nebraska at Kearney Chancellor Doug Kristensen has been recognized by the Nebraska School Activities Association with one of its most prestigious awards.

Tuition Topping $70k, How To Ease The Burden Of Student Debt?
February 23, 2018 - Angel Perez engages in a discussion with a Washington Post reporter, a U.S. Congressman, and a certified financial planner about what Congress and the Trump administration are doing for students, and about who might benefit the most.

Admissions and Access: Auburn Native Part of National Education Policy Committee
February 21, 2018 - A Cayuga County native will soon have a hand in shaping policy for universities throughout the country. Jon Westover, who is from Auburn, is the senior associate director of admissions for University of Massachusetts Amherst.

NASFAA Appoints Lackawanna College Staff Member to the Forward50
January 31, 2018 - The National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA) has selected Lackawanna College Compliance Analyst Kayla Guilford to sit on the Forward50, a group tasked with delivering innovative recommendations related to college access, affordability, accountability, and transparency.

SGA President Rice On NASFAA’s ‘Forward50’
January 31, 2018 - Louisiana Tech has a strong student voice (Benjamin Rice) on a national committee of mostly administrators charged with making the financial aid process more transparent and efficient in order to get more students into college.

SC’s Clark Appointed to The Forward50
January 30, 2018 - The National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA) appointed Dean Clark, executive vice president at Southwestern College, to the Higher Education Committee of 50.

Two Clemson Officials to Serve on National Board for Higher Education
January 30, 2018 - Two representatives from Clemson University (Chuck Knepfle and Amber Lange) will serve on the new Higher Education Committee of 50, which represents the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA).

National Committee Will Tackle Tough Issues in Higher Ed
January 25, 2018 - The National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators created a 50-member national committee—which includes college presidents, admissions staff, and financial aid leaders—to spend the year solving some of higher education’s most pressing problems.

Chancellor Kristensen Selected as National Forward50 Member; Will Address Higher Education Policy
January 24, 2018 - University of Nebraska at Kearney Chancellor Doug Kristensen is one of the inaugural... Higher Education Committee of 50 – announced Monday by the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators.

UMass Amherst Admissions Official Named to National Panel on Higher Education Act
January 23, 2018 - Jon Westover, a senior associate director of admissions at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, has been named to a national committee of 50 higher education administrators and supporters that was created to inform and influence the next reauthorization of the federal Higher Education Act (HEA).

#Bonas Seastedt named to innovative #Forward50 committee tasked with identifying emerging policy issues that impact students in higher education
January 22, 2018 - St. Bonaventure University’s director of human resources (Erik Seastedt) has been named to an innovative institute that is tasked with developing policy solutions that will help surmount obstacles preventing students from enrolling in, paying for, and graduating from college.

UM-Flint Chancellor Susan E. Borrego Named to National Higher Education Committee
January 22, 2018 - The National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA) named University of Michigan-Flint Chancellor Susan E. Borrego to its Higher Education Committee of 50 or “Forward50”—a group of forward-thinking campus leaders from around the U.S. tasked with developing policy solutions that will address issues preventing students from enrolling in, paying for, and graduating from college. 

Introducing the Higher Education Committee of 50
January 22, 2018 - The National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA) is pleased to announce the formation of  50 members from all different institutional areas to serve on the newly formed Higher Education Committee of 50.

NASFAA Awarded Grant to Elevate the Voices of Innovative Institutional Leaders
November 13, 2017 - The National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA) has been awarded a grant to convene a group of forward-thinking campus leaders tasked with developing policy solutions that will help surmount obstacles preventing students from enrolling, paying for, and graduating from college.