VANCOUVER, Wash. – Financial aid for higher education has shifted more in the past six years than in the past six decades due to funding cuts and policy changes. Financial aid expert Justin Draeger will discuss the effects of this shift at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 1, in the Firstenburg Student Commons at Washington State University Vancouver.
Draeger, president and CEO of the National Association of Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA), will present the keynote address – “From Public Good to Personal Gain: Shifting Higher Education Funding” – at the campus’ 10th annual Public Affairs Lecture Series. The event is free to registered guests on a first-come, first-served basis. To register, visit http://www.vancouver.wsu.edu/pals.
University enrollment numbers have increased nationwide, but recent cuts have decreased the amount of financial awards available for students. Draeger will discuss how this decrease adversely affects student access, success and persistence in higher education.
As a first-generation university graduate, Draeger has experienced the inner workings of higher education funding on a personal as well as federal level.
Focused on furthering awareness of the issues surrounding financial aid, Draeger has spent more than 14 years helping disadvantaged populations achieve their goals and better their communities. He volunteers with various organizations that promote health and education including the Baker College board of regents and Pueblo-a-Pueblo, a charitable nonprofit that works to promote health and sustainability in Guatemalan communities.
Draeger began his career as a financial aid director at the Douglas J Aveda Institute in Michigan before joining NASFAA in 2006. Prior to his appointment as president, he worked in the communications and public policy department.
As president, Draeger acts as primary liaison between NASFAA and its education community partners, Congress, the White House and the U.S. Department of Education. He has been featured on National Public Radio, CNBC, C-SPAN and the Today Show on NBC.
The lecture series is presented annually by WSU Vancouver with the objective of enlightening students, faculty, staff and guests and provoking them to think by presenting a stimulating, sometimes controversial, topic in public affairs.