Training & Professional Development

NCASFAA webinars, professional development opportunities, and training resources

Upcoming Webinars

SEPTEMBER 2026

Beyond the Sparkle: Finding AI's Real Value at Work

Date & Time: September 15, 2026 | 9:00 AM – 10:30 AM

About the Webinar

AI can do a lot more than write an email or answer a question. In this interactive session, we’ll explore how AI can help us rethink the way work gets done—both personally and professionally.

We’ll break down everyday job responsibilities into smaller tasks, identify opportunities where AI or automation could help, and explore how projects and reusable AI skills can make work easier and more consistent. We’ll also discuss what shouldn’t be automated and where human judgment still matters.

Like a diamond, the real value of AI takes a little work to uncover. We’ll look beyond the sparkle of prompts and shiny new tools to find practical ways AI can help you in your own work.

You’ll leave with a framework for moving from simple AI prompts toward smarter, more efficient ways of working. The goal isn’t to replace your human brilliance—it’s to help it shine a little brighter!

Presenter

Dr. Samantha Hicks
Assistant Vice President of Financial Aid & Scholarships
Coastal Carolina University

Presenter Bio: Dr. Samantha Hicks is a Certified Financial Aid Administrator and currently serves as the Assistant Vice President of Financial Aid & Scholarships at Coastal Carolina University. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education, a Master’s Degree in Business Administration, and a Doctoral Degree in Education with a specialization in Higher Education Leadership.

Dr. Hicks began her financial aid career as a work-study student at CCU in 2007 and joined the university’s financial aid team as a counselor in 2010. Her doctoral research focused on financial stress and literacy among undergraduate students. She has served in various roles with SCASFAA, SASFAA, and NASFAA and is the current President of SCASFAA.

Moderator:
Michelle Gunnin, Higher Education Program Manager, NCSEAA

Registration Information

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NOVEMBER 2026

V1 Verification and What New for the 2027-2028 Academic Year

Date & Time: November 10, 2026 | 2:00 PM – 4:00 PM

About the Webinar

Although simplified by the FUTURE Act Direct Data Exchange and the requirement that all contributors to a FAFSA agree to allow the FA-DDX to match their IRS record to their FAFSA section, V1 verification of some files requires collection and review of specific documentation. And starting with the 2027-2028 FAFSA, some contributors will be required to combine data from two tax returns into the new “Combined Adjusted Gross Income” and “Combined Income Tax Paid” FAFSA Fields. These new fields will certainly be included in the V1 Verification FAFSA data that needs to be verified dataset, and will require familiarity with the tax returns of the territories of the United States..

In this webinar, we will review the changes to the 2027-2028 FAFSA in general, looking at how these changes may impact the outcomes for certain students. We will also do a comprehensive review of V1 verification, with a focus an anything that has changed, and issues that financial aid administrators have found difficult to address.

Presenter

Robert Weinerman
Director of Training
Iron Bridge Resources

Presenter Bio: Since 2014, Robert Weinerman has been offering training to financial aid administrators about everything an FAA needs to know about taxes. including verification, resolving conflicting information, income adjustment professional judgments, splitting an individual's information out of a joint tax return, and for schools that go beyond the federal methodology, how to use person and business tax returns to convert taxable income into available income. Prior to his current role as the Director of Training at Iron Bridge Resources, Robert spend over a decade as a financial aid officer at schools like MIT and Babson College, and another decade working with families as the planned to save for, or pay for, their children's education at College Coach.

Moderator:
Michelle Gunnin, Higher Education Program Manager, NCSEAA

Registration Information

Sign in using your NCASFAA login credentials to register.

Register Here
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Past Training Materials

Explore previous NCASFAA training sessions, presentations, webinars, and professional development resources.

NCASFAA • Professional Development & Training