Check in at the PDG Registration & Information desk to pick up your name badge and conference materials. Conference staff are here throughout the conference to answer your questions.

Meet exhibitors with creative technology and service solutions in the Exhibit Hall. Don't forget to get your PDG passport stamped at each exhibitor table to be eligible for fun giveaways.

Presenter: Steven Selander - President, Professional Development Group

Presenter: Lori Hartung - ECSI/COHEAO

A briefing on higher education policy developments in Washington, D.C. and their impact on institutions and their third-party service providers.

Enjoy coffee and tea in the ballroom foyer while you network and visit with exhibitors on service/product offerings.

Presenters: Charlotte Wade - University of North Georgia

Is service excellence just another way of saying customer service? No! Customer service is a part of service excellence, but there is much more to it than just using basic customer service skills in your engagements with all institutional stakeholders. This session will be interactive and allow participants to engage with others to consider standards of service excellence for their areas and institutions. Topics to be considered are accessibility and responsiveness, empathy and understanding, efficiency and effectiveness, personalization and customization, knowledge and expertise, and accountability and transparency. Collaboration and breaking down silos across the institution are key to successful service excellence.

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Presenters: Lottia Windham - Austin Community College

Attention, Financial Ninjas!

Ready to take your savings game to the next level? Join us for an interactive session where we’ll reveal advanced strategies that go beyond the basics and explore the art and science of smart saving.

If you're already familiar with budgeting and have mastered the fundamentals of saving, this session is tailor-made for you. We’ll uncover hidden gems of financial literacy that can elevate your personal savings strategies, improve your financial wellness programs, and take everything you do with money to new heights. You’ll leave this session equipped with actionable strategies to implement and build upon, allowing you to create your own customized "Save Your Money" program.

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PDG conference staff are available during this time if you have any questions.

Meet exhibitors with creative technology and service solutions in the Exhibit Hall. Don't forget to get your PDG passport stamped at each exhibitor table to be eligible for fun giveaways.

Enjoy coffee and tea in the ballroom foyer while you network and visit with exhibitors on service/product offerings.

Presenter: David Fawcett - Salt Lake Community College

Learn why a student financial responsibility agreement is important and needed. How does the SFRA support your collection efforts? What are some best practices for collections. Should you use a collection agency? What Federal laws apply to the institution? What is the CFPB and compliance to rules. Plus other compliance areas of concern.

Presenter: Brinda Nirmal - University of Louisville

This presentation explores how data analytics, AI, and machine learning are transforming expense management, enabling smarter financial decisions. It covers the role of analytics in optimizing budgeting and forecasting, and how AI enhances efficiency and accuracy. Real-world case studies, best practices, and tools for successful implementation will also be shared.

Presenters: Laura LaMura - East Stroudsburg University of PA

Do you make every effort to meet students where they are? Discover fresh approaches to connect to students on your campus. Emailing and texting are not the only options! Making appointments with students on hold every semester, giving presentations in classes and at NSO, and working with Financial Aid to reach students where they are on campus with our "Money Matters Crew" have all been successful. Learn the details to get out there and help those students who need your guidance.

Presenters: Anthea Jeffrey - Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

Are you frequently asked to take on more work with an ever-decreasing number of full-time employees? In this session, I'd like you to learn how Rutgers University's Student Accounts Department successfully managed a reduction in staff from 52 employees to just 25 while serving over 70,000 students and maintaining outstanding student service. Anthea will discuss her strategies for achieving high student satisfaction through data analysis, process automation, and departmental restructuring. As a result, the department could provide over 90% of services virtually, achieving customer satisfaction rates exceeding 95%. Attendees will receive a guide to implement similar strategies within their teams.

Presenter: Lottia Windham - Austin Community College

Discover how exceptional customer service can revolutionize collections in higher education! In this dynamic session, we'll explore practical strategies to enhance student and alumni interactions, address common challenges, and drive positive outcomes in the collections process. Learn how to blend empathy with efficiency, leverage technology for better communication, and implement best practices that turn collections into a seamless, supportive experience. Join us to transform your approach and make a lasting impact on your institution's financial health and student satisfaction.

Presenter: Peggy Carey - Texas A&M University

In this session, we will share our journey of implementing Lean continuous improvement processes within the Bursar's Office. We will discuss the reasons we implemented Lean continuous improvement, showcase a process we applied Lean principles to and discuss key successes and measurable improvements identified. Attendees will gain insights into practical applications of Lean principles and how they can drive efficiency and innovation in their own departments.

Enjoy coffee and tea in the ballroom foyer while you network and visit with exhibitors on service/product offerings.

Presenter: Alice Seaton - University of Illinois

Utilizing student resources to tackle challenges while providing benefits for students and staff. Benefits include: preparing students for the real world; opportunities for students to build resume; allows staff to focus on projects and professional development; allows staff to take advantage of proactive outreach opportunities; in-person positive culture. In addition, our customers receive answers to their inquiries much quicker avoiding frustration.

Presenter: Amy Marsh - Touchnet

In this session, you will discover how to empower your business office and other campus departments and staff to better support student success with a one-stop view of the student’s financial footprint. Attendees will hear how integrated student account technology helps institutions deliver on student expectations for payment types, streamline operations, enable informed conversations that resolve issues and identify opportunities to intervene to best ensure student success. We’ll share case studies on how a holistic dashboard enables proactive student support and discuss what features to consider to best empower student success. Don’t miss this opportunity to explore the benefits of a centralized view of the student account.

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PDG conference staff are available during this time if you have any questions.

Meet exhibitors with creative technology and service solutions in the Exhibit Hall. Don't forget to get your PDG passport stamped at each exhibitor table to be eligible for fun giveaways.

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Enjoy coffee and tea in the ballroom foyer while you network and visit with exhibitors on service/product offerings.

Presenter: LeeAnn Pickett - Texas A&M University

Since the formation of the Post 9/11 G.I. Bill, supplemental services, partnerships, development, and

advancements have been necessary to ensure students using federal or state military or veteran benefits understand how those benefits are applied to the student bill, and who they can go to when help is needed.

Texas A&M University has a long history of supporting veterans and active duty students and their families, and has mobilized many departments to think critically and push boundaries to ensure our military-affiliated and veteran students receive top level service and care.

Presenters: Lori Hartung, ECSI/COHEAO - Gina Santoro, ECSI

Seven in ten officers of higher ed institutions (72%) say the dollar volume of their past-due (tuition and fees) receivables portfolio is $1 million or more, with one in three (33%) indicating it exceeds $5 million. What’s more, students who fall behind on payments are also likely to drop out, causing retention rates to dip.

Rather than sending students with past-due accounts to collections, RecoverySelect clients can drop delinquent accounts into a smarter, more student-friendly program that helps bring students back to your institution while increasing revenue and reducing administrative workload.

In this session, we’ll discuss strategies for driving retention and re-enrollment rates, including how institutions can help students with past-due tuition and fees recover their debt and continue their education.

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Join your colleagues for a closing town hall to share and learn from one another in small group round table discussions about the topics most important to us all. Following this session we’ll end with closing remarks from Steven Selander, President - Professional Development Group and drawings for a variety of giveaways.