Membership and Walking Together

You'll Never Walk Alone

Yes, it is a sports analogy, I know they all seem a bit cliché but, hear me out.  Besides, a little rah-rah pep talk is sometimes needed (especially after our fall rush periods).

Several years ago, I got into watching soccer (or football depending on where you come from), and over time I started to follow the English Premiere League. My favorite quickly became a team from Liverpool, England. “The Reds,” Liverpool Football Club (LFC) has been around since 1892, with a storied history and fans from all corners of the globe.  Besides being one of the most successful clubs in the history of the sport, I was drawn to the team’s sense of family and the comradery between the fans, players, coaches, and owners.  When I first started to watch and follow LFC, they were not the best team in the league. Yet no matter how bad they did, that sense of family was always strong.  Support, Community, Grit, Solidarity … a way of life... We are a Family.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YhqiSO_UFxg

I have travelled quite bit in the past few years; I always seem to find a fellow Liverpool fan.  That brings me to the title of this post. Since 1963, the club’s anthem has been "You'll Never Walk Alone." It was a chart toping hit from Gerry and the Pacemakers and part of the British invasion.  The song has become so engrained in the team it is now on their official crest, and recognized as their official pregame anthem. The song and the abbreviation YNWA have come to personify that the family of LFC fans and its togetherness is what is most important, not their athletic performance the “pitch.”

Just walk around wearing an LFC shirt or hat in almost any place in the world, and I can guarantee you someone will shout out “You’ll Never Walk Alone” or “Go Reds!”  Hearing someone say that, instantly connects you no matter where, or who, you are.  Does any of that sound familiar?

I say this because I was thinking about what connects me so much to, not just higher education, but the financial aid profession specifically.   Sure, first I love the fact that I am helping students achieve their college dreams, much as I was able to achieve mine.  As a first-generation college graduate, I am grateful to financial aid for what it allowed me to accomplish. I feel like I am giving back a little bit to the world.  However, could I not also do similar work in the admissions, advising, and registrar’s offices? (My boss tells me to shake my head “No!”)

We could work in numerous departments within higher education and impact students’ lives. But I think the financial aid profession is special because of the sense of family and connection through shared struggles and success.  Much like fans of “The Reds,” no matter where we are, we will always find some who works in aid and are INSTANTLY CONNECTED.

We are all connected by the same rules and regulations beyond our schools; we do not usually compete over students, per se, like some of our counterparts in other departments.   We often feel somewhat separated from other divisions in our own colleges because of long hours, deadlines, and accountability.  In many cases we are closer to our FA counterparts at other schools than folks in our own school because they “understand” where we are coming from and where we are going.

By and large, Financial Aid professionals want to help all students regardless of where they attend.  We understand the need for post-secondary education and fight for access for all students.  Moreover, that drive and that sense of kinship often set us apart from the rest of higher education.   You can see this at conferences, workshops, webinars, in emails and phone calls between us.  It shows just how selflessly and willingly we help each other out.   I do not see the same level of sharing (information, processes, insights, and support) come as readily from other departments as it does from within financial aid.

So next time things are rough for you, last minute students are in your office and you cannot see your desk for all the papers, remember.  Remember that you are part of the best family/community in higher education, with thousands of others that will never let you walk alone.  Just watch the video of LFC fans and players and imagine that we are like them one voice for our students and each other…. You Never Walk Alone.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uOFMov4RR_Q

Wayne Kruger
SASFAA Membership Chair 2019-20
Kruger.wayne@spcollege.edu





SASFAA: Who are we

Greetings from your 2019-2020 membership chair.  I wanted to give you a brief and positive update on the association and share some data I have been putting together on our membership.

I am confident that you will do me a little favor in return.   As you read about our association, and what makes up the great SASFAA membership, I hope it will spur you all to log in to your account.   Please review your profile fully and ensure that all your data is up to date.  It is very important that you take time to update and complete all data entry fields.  Working in Financial Aid, I am sure you all know the importance of good data.  The more accurately we can understand what makes our membership so diverse and unique, the more we can ensure we are providing the right services for each member to get the most out of SASFAA.

I served as membership chair in 2018-2019 and now have the privilege of serving you again for 2019-2020.  During this time, I am working to make sure that the board and its members know more of what makes up the core of our association.  To that extent, I have started to track the metrics of each year. Critically, how many members we have and a breakdown by state, gender, race, and institution type.

As of this September, we have 742 active members for this year compared to 668 for 2018-2019 and 631 for 2017-2018.   This shows we have an 11.1% increase in membership since same time last year and a 17.6% increase since the same date two years ago.  SASFAA ended 2018-2019 with 1270 active members; a 6.5% increase over the previous year. It’s very exciting to see our association growing. We have more resources to provide to our members, and a more diverse group of Financial Aid professionals serving our institutions and students.

Further, you will see some data about our members for the current year compared to the previous two years (*institution type, gender, and ethnicity were not tracked prior to 2018-2019).   The data shows the diversity of our membership, and I am sure that is part of why SASFAA is such a strong association.

As a final reminder, please take some time to fully review your profile and make sure that all your data elements are up to date so we can better understand our membership and how best to meet your needs.  The most critical data points are your email address, state, institution type, and if you choose to share, ethnicity and gender.   We would also like to know when you started in the profession, and your preferred badge name.

As of September 20	2017-18	2018-19	2019-20	% for current
Membership Type
Active	575	645	719	96.90%
Associate	15	17	15	2.02%
Honorary	40	5	7	0.94%
Retired	1	1	1	0.13%
Total	631	668	742	100.00%
State
Alabama	37	42	45	6.06%
Florida	77	89	102	13.75%
Georgia	69	72	99	13.34%
Kentucky	51	48	57	7.68%
Mississippi	22	30	24	3.23%
North Carolina	85	98	102	13.75%
South Carolina	108	125	130	17.52%
Tennessee	63	73	74	9.97%
Virginia	55	60	71	9.57%
Other	23	31	38	5.12%
Total	590	668	742	100.00%
Institution type
Public (4 Year)	n/a	243	283	38.14%
Private non-profit (4 Year)	n/a	177	188	25.34%
Public (2 Year)	n/a	99	121	16.31%
other	n/a	37	38	5.12%
Graduate/Professional	n/a	28	19	2.56%
Government Agency	n/a	18	13	1.75%
Lender	n/a	13	16	2.16%
Consultant	n/a	9	14	1.89%
Guaranty Agency	n/a	9	9	1.21%
Servicer	n/a	8	9	1.21%
Private non-profit (2 Year)	n/a	7	6	0.81%
Not Specified	n/a	6	6	0.81%
Private for profit (Business School)	n/a	5	5	0.67%
Private for profit (Technical/Trade)	n/a	5	9	1.21%
Secondary Market	n/a	2	2	0.27%
Retired Financial Aid Professional	n/a	2	2	0.27%
Health Related/Nursing	n/a	0	2	0.27%
Total	n/a	668	742	100.00%
Gender
Male	n/a	164	189	25.47%
Female	n/a	479	515	69.41%
Not Specified	n/a	25	38	5.12%
Total	n/a	668	742	100.00%
Ethnicity
White/Caucasian	n/a	445	477	64.29%
Black/African American	n/a	134	163	21.97%
Not Specified	n/a	60	65	8.76%
Hispanic/Chicano/Mexican American	n/a	19	22	2.96%
Asian/Pacific Islander/Filipino	n/a	10	14	1.89%
Native America	n/a	0	1	0.13%
Total	n/a	668	742	100.00%

Thanks for your work in furthering higher education. Thank you for being part of SASFAA.

Wayne Kruger
SASFAA Membership Chair 2019-20
Kruger.wayne@spcollege.edu