Steve is the Associate Vice President for Financial Aid Services & Title IV Compliance for Connecticut State Community College. He has more than 18 years of financial aid experience, including more than 15 years in the community college sector. Steve is a former CAPFAA President and has current and previous service on state and local boards supporting college access and affordability. He is a member of NASFAA’s Publications Editorial Board and has authored various pieces related to financial aid. He is passionate about higher education policy and government relations, supported by volunteer roles within AACRAO, AACC, CAPFAA, EASFAA, and NASFAA. Steve has won numerous awards, including CAPFAA’s Henry L. Miller Emerging Leader Award and P. Jerome Cunningham Distinguished Service Award, AACRAO’s Emerging Leader Award, and NASFAA’s Robert P. Huff Golden Quill Award for authoring “Basic Guide to Financial Aid.” Steve earned his undergraduate degree in Finance from Bentley University and MBA from the University of Hartford; he is one of only three individuals nationwide holding both a FAAC® designation and an endorsement in strategic enrollment management from AACRAO.
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2017 SEM-EP Graduate
Eleven-plus years of higher education financial aid experience across varying levels, which has included system policy development, legislative and regulatory analysis, system and campus financial aid administration, strategic planning, budgeting, enrollment management, institutional research, and state government relations.
Capstone Project - “Connecticut Community College Strategic Enrollment Management Master Plan” was written as a pilot plan to bring strategic enrollment management to the twelve community colleges that reside within the Connecticut State Colleges & Universities system. The contents of the plan seek to develop a new culture based around SEM, with leadership provided at the system level, which is designed to work with system colleges in advancing enrollment, retention, persistence, and progress goals.
SEM-EP Poster Session
McDowell is the author of AACRAO's Basic Guide to Financial Aid book, released in 2022, and Financial Aid Eligibility: Fundamental Concepts for College Administrators, Your Piece of Financial Aid Compliance, and Financial Aid's Role in Strategic Enrollment Management.
Other work:
Review of: On the Basis of Race: How Higher Education Navigates Affirmative Action Policies
Exploring the Impact of Advising Frequency and Free College Scholarships on Community College Student Persistence Rates: A Racial Group Analysis
Review of: How Colleges Set Their Prices: The Need for Federal Oversight of “Cost of Attendance” in Higher Education
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