If you’ve been in financial aid for more than a year, you know that change is one of the few constants in our field. Regulations shift, guidance is clarified (and sometimes re-clarified), and implementation timelines seem to move as often as the goalposts themselves. For financial aid professionals, this pace can feel overwhelming. But the truth is, we can’t—and shouldn’t— try to chase every new idea, proposal, or rumor. The real key is learning how to conserve our energy, sharpen our focus, and zero in on what matters most. To that end, this article will cover some tried-and-true best-practices to help you and your team stave off the type of burnout that can emerge when you feel the constant stress of having to keep up with ever-changing guidance.

Proposed vs. Finalized Rules: Choosing Where to Focus

For professionals focused primarily on compliance, it is tempting to spend hours thinking through how proposed regulations might affect your office and your students. But unless you are actively engaged in advocacy through submitting comments, working through your association, or lobbying for changes, it is often better to hold back until rules are finalized.

A significant amount of proposed legislation never makes it through the full rulemaking process, and it’s not worth burning precious time and mental energy planning for “what ifs,” especially if that time can be better spent focusing on responding to the immediate needs of your office.

Instead, some professionals have found it more sustainable to continue to monitor discussions, while keeping themselves aware of the landscape, and then diving in deeply once final guidance is published.

Curating Your Information Sources

Oftentimes, the challenge isn’t just keeping up—it’s knowing where to look and what to trust. Thankfully, there are a variety of tried-and-true resources that have continued to help financial aid professionals stay grounded, which include:

• Podcasts: Such as NASFAA’s Off the Cuff, ACE’s DotEDU, or The Key with Inside Higher Ed. These sources provide timely context and expert discourse about what is happening and why it matters, while also demystifying what is currently a requirement and what is still in the proposal stages.
• Webinars: We always encourage attending sessions hosted by your state, regional, or national financial aid associations, or those led by expert advisors such as the ones we offer regularly through Webinars often translate complicated guidance into clear, real-world implications, oftentimes as processed by individuals actively engaged in implementing this information in the field.
• Federal Register & FSA Website: And of course: always go to the Tracking official updates through the Federal Register and the FSA Partner Connect website ensures you’re aligning your policies with the most accurate and current guidance.

Expanding Your Resource Toolkit

Beyond these standard resources, there are many other ways to stay informed and ahead of the curve on regulatory implementation and college accountability measures:

• NASFAA Tools and Summaries: NASFAA’s daily news digest, regulatory summaries, and AskRegs knowledgebase are invaluable for condensing complex information into digestible insights. Their compliance tools, policy trackers, and quick reference guides can save hours of interpretation.
• ACE (American Council on Education): ACE provides higher-level policy analysis and position papers that can be useful when explaining changes to senior administrators or trustees.
• EducationCounsel & Higher Ed Dive: For those who want in-depth policy perspectives, EducationCounsel publishes briefs and analyses that break down federal accountability frameworks, while Higher Ed Dive offers timely reporting on sector-wide
• ED’s Negotiated Rulemaking (Neg Reg) Resources: Following Neg Reg sessions directly—via transcripts, summaries, or participant updates—can give you an early sense of the direction certain proposals may take. Just remember to treat these as a “work in progress” until finalized.
• Professional Listservs and Communities: Participating in your regional association’s listserv (such as MASFAA, EASFAA, or WASFAA) or NASFAA’s discussion communities can give you immediate peer-to-peer guidance on how others are interpreting new rules or implementing compliance strategies.
• Trade Publications: Outlets like Inside Higher Ed and The Chronicle of Higher Education not only report news but also provide commentary on how federal accountability measures, like gainful employment or financial value transparency, might reshape higher education at large.

Lean Into Community, Not Isolation

During times of rapid change, we as professionals can be tempted to put our heads down and grind through the work alone. But this is precisely when we need to lean on each other! As such, continue to share best practices, ask questions, and seek out the wisdom of colleagues who may be tackling the same issues from different angles.

Additionally, consider regularly sending staff to conferences—not just for professional development, but for the connections and shared experiences that can strengthen your entire team. When staff return, for example, have them present back to the group so everyone benefits from the insights gained. Building these knowledge loops helps prevent burnout and ensures that your office is learning collectively, while strengthening and reinforcing the information learned so that it translates to impactful implementation.

Focus, Don’t Flounder

Of course, change is inevitable but being overwhelmed doesn’t have to be. By carefully choosing where to focus our energy, leaning on trusted resources, and staying rooted in community, we can keep ourselves steady even in times of rapid adjustment. And remember that the work we do as financial aid professionals matters deeply, and staying grounded ensures that you can continue serving students with clarity, resilience, and purpose. If you or your team are looking for assistance navigating these matters, don’t hesitate to reach out to our expert advisors at info@heag.us for further support.