SWASFAA Update
By Rick Renshaw, SWASFAA Texas Delegate-at-Large

It has been a great honor and privilege to serve on the SWASFAA board this year. As one of my duties as delegate-at-large, I am charged with communicating back to my home state about the news and events within the SWASFAA region. By the time you are reading this, the 2004 Mid-Level Financial Aid Workshop will have already concluded. This workshop, which is targeted at new directors, associate and assistant directors and those financial aid administrators on a career track, is one of the newer services being provided to the SWASFAA membership. The workshop is a result of a partnership with SASFAA and has received very high marks from those who have been able to attend. This next summer the workshop will be held in the SWASFAA region. You will be hearing more about this in the months ahead.

The fall conference and Boot Camp this year will be in New Orleans at the Fairmont Hotel. To reserve your room you can call the hotel at 504-529-7111. The room rate for the conference is $129.00. The conference will meet Wednesday, December 15 through Friday, December 17, preceded by the Boot Camp on December 13-15. The theme for the conference this year is “Fabulous 40+!” to celebrate SWASFAA’s forty-plus years of providing service to the colleges and students of the Southwest. The on-line registration will be up on the web site sometime in late July. For more information on the conference, go to www.swasfaa.org and link to the conferences page.

There is great news for all those TASFAA members whose schools are not allowed to pay for individual memberships in SWASFAA. Starting with the 2005 membership year, SWASFAA is changing to an institutional membership structure. Dues will be based on prior year headcount for member schools. The dues structure will be: Less than 3000 - $50; 3001 to 7000 - $75; 7001 and up - $100. There will be a flat membership fee for associate members of $150. Individual memberships will still be $35 to those who qualify. Later this year, each school will be receiving a SWASFAA membership brochure describing the purpose of SWASFAA and the benefits provided with the school’s membership in the association.

In a few weeks, SWASFAA will be holding its annual elections for the 2005 membership year. Colleagues who did not attend the fall 2003 conference and have not paid their dues for 2004 are reminded that the dues structure for 2004 is still individual. If your membership is not current, you can complete the membership application on-line at the SWASFAA web site and submit current year dues to be eligible for the membership price for the conference registration and to vote in the upcoming elections.