The 5 Things Everyone Will Be Talking About at NASFAA 2025

The annual NASFAA Conference is more than just a gathering of financial aid professionals—it’s a barometer for what’s top of mind across the higher education landscape.

This year in Anaheim, we expect the conversations to reflect a common thread: how to deliver more value to students and donors with fewer resources, tighter regulations, and higher expectations.

From policy shifts to process improvements, here’s what we expect to be front and center at NASFAA 2025—and how scholarship teams can stay ahead.

1. Equity in Awarding: Are Your Rubrics Helping or Hurting?

More institutions are realizing that outdated review rubrics and overreliance on GPA may be undermining their efforts to create equitable scholarship access.

✅ If you haven’t reviewed your scoring system in a few years, it’s time.

📖 Read: 6 Common Scholarship Awarding Mistakes to Avoid Next Cycle

2. Donor Stewardship is Getting a Mid-Cycle Makeover

It’s not enough to send a year-end report. Donors want to be part of the story as it unfolds.

We expect big conversations about real-time engagement and how to deepen donor relationships without burdening small teams.

📖 Read: How to Engage Scholarship Donors in Real Time (Not Just After the Awards)

3. Data Isn’t Just for Compliance—It’s for Growth

Fund-level reporting is becoming a must-have, not a nice-to-have. Scholarship offices that use data to track fund performance, uncover unmet need, and match student stories to donor priorities are the ones building resilient funding pipelines.

📖 Read: Using Data to Identify Scholarship Fund Growth Opportunities

4. Faculty and Staff Partnerships are Key to Visibility

Getting more students to apply starts with getting more people to spread the word. We’re hearing more about the importance of faculty buy-in, cross-campus collaboration, and internal advocacy.

📖 Read: Building Faculty Buy-In: The Missing Piece in Scholarship Visibility

5. Scholarship Programs Can’t Be an Island Anymore

Advancement, financial aid, foundations, and academic departments are aligning more closely than ever. Why? Because that’s what it takes to turn transactional giving into transformational funding.

📖 Read: How to Build Stronger Scholarship Partnerships with Corporate and Community Funders

Where to Find Us at NASFAA

The AwardSpring team will be at Booth #533 all week. Stop by to see how we’re helping institutions simplify scholarship management and drive greater impact for students and donors.