Virtual
Federal Student Aid (FSA) Boot Camp
for Prospective Policymakers
July 6, 2021- July 30, 2021
Registration has closed. Future boot camp information will be posted in the near future.
PNPI’s virtual Federal Student Aid (FSA) Boot Camp is designed to prepare participants to join the ranks of higher education policymakers on Capitol Hill, in federal agencies, and in national associations and think tanks. The course will provide participants with the content needed to assess, create, and impact federal postsecondary policy while providing an opportunity to engage with their peers and current policy professionals. The virtual platform will allow participants to pace their learning each week over four weeks.
Boot camp participants are generally nonprofit, think tank, or national association staff who are relatively new to the field; current professionals considering a career change; and public policy students interested in federal higher education policy. Scholarships are available for a limited number of students to attend (details can be found under the “Scholarships” tab).
The learning objectives for the boot camp are to:
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- Provide participants with an overview of the Federal Pell Grant Program, including how Pell Grants are structured and calculated;
- Review the types of federal student loans, the eligibility requirements for each type of loan, and the demographics of student loan borrowers;
- Provide an overview of student debt, including information on how much students are borrowing, which students are borrowing, and types of institutions borrowers are attending;
- Introduce participants to how a borrower’s debt and default patterns intersect with socioeconomic status, race, type of institution attended, amount borrowed, and post graduation income;
- Increase participants’ understanding of the federal student aid repayment programs, including how many and what types of borrowers participate in each plan; and
- Deepen participants’ understanding of federal student loan servicing.
Participants will engage in asynchronous online learning modules and live Zoom Q&As with experts in the field. In addition, participants will participate in a simulation that will deepen their understanding of how a student’s estimated family contribution (EFC) is calculated and will be given an opportunity to view a modeling of various student loan repayment programs across a variety of borrowers.
Optional sessions including a student panel, a meet and greet with postsecondary policy professionals, and a participant discussion group, will also be offered as part of the boot camp. The complete course schedule can be found under the “Course Outline” tab.
The Federal Student Aid Boot Camp will provide participants with an opportunity to earn a digital badge at no additional cost. Issued through Credly, badges can be added to participants’ LinkedIn profiles, social media platforms, and shared with employers. A digital badge is a web-enabled version of a participant’s credential that can be shared with future or current employers online. More information can be found under the “Digital Badge” tab.
Watch past participants of PNPI Boot Camps share some of their reflections:
Download the Boot Camp One Pager here.
Download the course outline here.
Download expert bios here.
Registration has closed. Future boot camp information will be posted in the near future.
Student Registrant: $119 (Registrant must be a degree-seeking student at a federally accredited institution. Registrants must email a copy of their student ID to pnpi@pnpi.org to verify student status and enrollment.)
Nonprofit/Government Registrant: $279
Regular Registrant: $499
Registration fee includes full access to the online course through August 13, 2021, and access to a class Dropbox filled with all course content.
Registration also includes access to additional optional events offered as part of the Boot Camp.
*Participants who cancel their registration by June 18 will receive a full refund minus a small administrative fee. Participants who cancel their registrations after June 18 will forfeit the entirety of their registration fee.
PNPI will offer a limited number of scholarships for recently graduated or rising undergraduate seniors and graduate students who demonstrate both an interest in federal higher education policy and financial need. The scholarship will cover the cost of registration and provide scholarship recipients an opportunity to network with PNPI staff and other up-and-coming policymakers. Eligibility is limited to students who can demonstrate that they are Pell recipients or Pell-eligible (more below).
Eligibility Requirements:
- All majors/fields of study accepted, but candidates must demonstrate an interest in postsecondary education policy or practice.
- Must be enrolled in at least six credits at an accredited college or university as a rising or recently graduated undergraduate student or as a graduate student at the time of the application deadline. Proof of enrollment required (recent transcript).
- Must demonstrate financial need. Undergraduate students must have received a Pell grant for the spring semester of 2021. Graduate students must have received a Pell grant in their senior year of undergraduate studies and demonstrate Pell-eligibility for the most recent academic year verified by a family contribution of less than $5,100 on their Student Aid Report (SAR) from the U.S. Department of Education.
- Must commit to completing the entire course including live Zoom sessions and the EFC simulation.
- Must commit to attending a networking meeting with PNPI at 12pm ET on Monday, June 28, 2021.
- Must submit application and all required materials no later than 5pm ET on Friday, June 18, 2021.
PNPI is excited to provide our participants with a digital credential for participating in our virtual Federal Student Aid Boot Camp. Offered on the Credly platform, digital badges can be displayed in email signatures, on electronic copies of a resumé, and on social media sites like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. There is no fee for the badge, and acceptance of the badge lies with the participant once it is issued by PNPI.
What are the benefits of PNPI’s digital badge? Participants are provided with:
- A web-enabled version of their credential that can easily be shared online.
- Labor market insights via Credly that relate your skills to jobs.
- A trusted method for real-time credential verification.
The digital badge is ONLY eligible to participants who complete all modules of the boot camp, attend/watch all Zoom sessions, participate in the EFC simulation, and submit a completed boot camp survey at the end of the course.
All badge earners will receive an email inviting them to claim their badge on August 16, 2021 — accepting the badge is optional. You can read more about the badge here.
