We’re proud to announce that John Boylan and Joel Kobylka were recently elected to positions on the Association of Student Awards Personnel (ASAP)! It’s great to see Enrolment Services staff working cross-unit and cross-institution to influence student policy around the province. Here’s a little bit about the Association and what John and Joel hope to accomplish:
The Association
The Association of Student Awards Personnel (ASAP), which was founded in 1975, is a provincial non-profit association representing financial aid offices within public institutions throughout the province of British Columbia.
The purposes of the Association are:
- to encourage and facilitate the professional development of its members.
- to provide a forum for the discussion of matters relating to student awards and financial assistance programs.
- to make recommendations to the appropriate department(s) of government and others regarding student financial awards and assistance programs in British Columbia and Canada.
- to encourage and conduct studies on matters relating to student awards and financial assistance programs.
For 2014/15, the Association will be working closely with the Ministry of Advanced Education on several initiatives, such as Modernizing StudentAid BC (the online portal where students apply for student loans and grants), as well as the three grant programs that are being refocused to align more closely with provincial labour market priorities – the BC Access Grant for Labour Market Priorities, the BC Loan Reduction Program (renamed the BC Completion Grant) and the BC Loan Forgiveness Program. This amendment of these grant programs is a result of the recent launch of the “B.C.’s Skills for Jobs Blueprint: Re-engineering Education and Training” mandate set out by the Government to commit to fund those students enrolled in Trades programs throughout the province. Beginning this fiscal year, $160 million will be specifically allocated to this project alone.
John’s Role
The role of the Chair of the Association is to network with Ministry representatives, and other key stakeholders, and be the collective voice for the membership on all matters relating to student financial assistance. In addition, the Chair is overall responsible for the day-to-day operations of the Association as well as the professional development opportunities of its members.
Joel’s Role
This will be Joel’s first year as a member of the ASAP executive. Throughout the year, agenda items (policy changes, issues/concerns, suggestions, etc.) will be put forth to the committee and then will be discussed at monthly meetings. Each meeting includes an update from the Ministry (SABC) who pass along information that needs to be disseminated to the financial aid community throughout BC.