An Overview of FAFSA Simplification and Its Impact on the Business Office

Significant changes to federal student aid policy—including simplifying the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form, expanding Pell Grant eligibility to incarcerated students, and making changes to the Cost of Attendance and Professional Judgment—were attached to the FAFSA Simplification Act. This session will outline those changes, implementation dates, and anticipated changes to current practices on campus. Panelists will review changes that will impact college and university business offices and examine the institutional partnerships necessary to navigate those changes. 

Susan Cooper

Assistant Vice President, Data Analytics and Performance, Emory University

Susan Cooper serves as the assistant vice president for data analytics and performance. In her role, she oversees the enterprise data analytics and strategic support team, which is responsible for financial reporting to the board of directors, modeling and projections to support strategic decision-making, campus reporting in the Emory Business Intelligence tool, and ad hoc data requests as needed. Cooper works closely with chief business officers and university leadership to meet reporting and analytics needs.

Prior to her current role, Cooper served in various capacities within the university. She participated in the initial finance implementation of the data warehouse, integrating PeopleSoft Financials data into the warehouse and designing operational reporting to replace the nVision reporting system. She also previously held roles in the Emory College finance office and the department of mathematics and computer science.

Cooper has a degree in business administration from the University of Richmond. She has spent most of her career in higher education, previously serving as the executive administrator of the center for advanced surgical and interventional technology at the University of California, Los Angeles.

Karen McCarthy

Vice President of Public Policy and Federal Affairs, National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA)

Karen McCarthy is the vice president of public policy and federal relations at NASFAA, playing a key role in the development and implementation of NASFAA's strategic advocacy goals and objectives. She began her career in student aid working in the financial aid offices at several large, 4-year institutions, including Boston University, Miami University of Ohio, and The Ohio State University. Prior to her current role at NASFAA, she held positions there in training and regulatory assistance and policy analysis. 

Liz Clark

Vice President, Policy and Research, NACUBO

Liz LaPolt Clark is vice president for policy and research at NACUBO and a member of the NACUBO executive leadership group. She has been widely quoted in the press and is a sought-after speaker on how Washington politics and federal policies impact higher education. Clark got her start on Capitol Hill opening Cornell University's first Washington, DC-based federal relations office. Also in her career, she has led federal affairs for the State University of New York (SUNY) System and for Oregon State University. At NACUBO, she heads the team responsible for analysis of federal regulatory and legislative actions, research, and communications.

Bryan Dickson

Director, Student Financial Services and Educational Programs, NACUBO

Bryan Dickson is the director of student financial services and educational programs for NACUBO. As part of NACUBO’s leadership development team, he is responsible for supporting the advancement of an array of member programs and services, including educational programming for new chief business officers.
In addition, he is a staff liaison to NACUBO’s Student Financial Services Council, working on behalf of the NACUBO membership to assist bursars and student accounts staff on a national level through advocacy with federal agencies and members of Congress. Prior to joining NACUBO in 2007, Dickson was a member of the legal and compliance practice at CEB, Inc., a best practice insight and technology company in Washington, DC. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Edinboro University of Pennsylvania.