Those of you that have followed baseball over the years are probably familiar with Yogi-isms — quotes uttered by the irrepressible Yogi Berra.  Some of his quotes were: “It ain’t over ’til it’s over;” “Never answer an anonymous letter;” “When you come to a fork in the road — take it;” “You can observe a lot by watching;” and, “The future ain’t what it used to be.”   However, his most famous quote is probably “It’s déjà vu all over again.”

Oftentimes I feel that way, especially when I saw a Chronicle of Higher Education blog post by Kelly Field that asks what has become of the $13.1 million that New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo received from student loan companies and colleges back in 2008-09.  In my acceptance speech last summer at the Orlando conference, I asked the same question. My predecessor, Mike Bennett, also asked the same question before me.  I challenged Mr. Cuomo to work with NASFAA to develop college access and financial literacy programs with the funds.  After all, no group is in a better position than NASFAA to provide this type of information to our nation’s college students. Unfortunately, I received the same response that the Chronicle received and that that Mr. Bennett received, “déjà vu all over again.” To date, it appears that not much has been done with those funds to assist students and families. It appears that the funds continue to sit dormant (hopefully they were not invested in the stock market).

So, my question to you, the membership of NASFAA, is to give me your ideas.  What is the best way for Mr. Cuomo to be sure his funds are targeted to assist students and families?  How can NASFAA solicit his support in working with us to develop programs?  Should we begin a letter writing campaign to pry these funds loose so that students can benefit?