New Director Checklist Top Ten Tips for Success

1. New Director ChecklistTop Ten Tips for Success Chuck Knepfle Assistant Provost & Director Student Financial Assistance Mary Lynn Perri Director of Financial Aid & Enrollment Services Stephanie Sutton Director, Financial Aid Services

2. 10. Managing a Budget Know your budget Operating Salaries Scholarships Are you responsible if you go over budget? Do you keep funds that are under budget? Be organized!

3. 9. Customer Service Internal External Training and retraining important Accuracy is important – don’t start a sentence with “here is what I think” – Know the answer! Follow through (even if you pass it on) Put yourself in your customer’s “shoes” If you make a mistake and it costs a student money, how would you feel?

4. 8a. Leadership – What can it do for you? “builds personal and interpersonal skills such as listening, learning, relationship building, comfort around higher management, a drive for results, and decision-making abilities.” Increases self-confidence and integrity Helps you to lead honestly and ethically

5. 8b. Leadership – How to gain these skills Seek opportunities to develop leadership skills Within the college community Local community, church, school Within the financial aid community Find a Mentor Through recommendation from a friend or expert OASFAA Mentor program Personnel Work with staff on developing specific goals that will help develop their leadership skills Provide leadership opportunities for them to grow

6. 7. Systems Know how to perform basic functions in your system (Banner, PeopleSoft, PowerFaids, etc.) Understanding how the system operates will help understand the entire aid process Helps to ask intelligent questions of IT staff Shows a willingness to learn new things

7. 6. Visibility of the FAO at your Institution Make upper administration aware of goals and initiatives Share COE and statistical information (default rates, stats, etc.) with campus community Be prepared and willing to volunteer for presentations on campus Use your web site and current technology Integrating with admissions and payments

8. 5. Position yourself to grow Look for management or leadership workshops that you can attend Through your local community Through professional organizations Conferences Assume informal leadership roles at work Your supervisor will notice your initiative! Suggest process improvements/solutions or new ways to improve services or productivity

9. 4. Time Management and Organization Make sure you run effective meetings Keep on time (beginning and ending) Remain on task Summarize meeting conclusions and remaining to-do items Be an effective presenter Prepare, prepare, prepare Make the subject matter interesting Make it short In general, organization leads to productivity

10. 3. Collaborations & Partnerships Again, both internal and external Consortium Agreements Pell POPs Transfers Shared Services with other institutions Importance of “Birds of a Feather” (example: two year college meetings) Networking List serves (IFAP, software list serves, etc.)

11. 2. Communication Internal Financial Aid Office College offices that work closely with financial aid General college community External Prospective students and parents Current students and parents Financial Aid community

12. 1. Federal Regulations This may be the most critical Severe compliance issues = Update your resume.  You are the campus expert. Upper management will look for your lead, and defer to your expertise Subscribe to IFAP weekly updates Make sure your PPA and ECAR are up to date Be involved in A-133 and all other audits