Student Financial Services Higher Education Academy
Earn Your Digital Credentials with Certification Courses Designed for Student Finance Professionals and Managers
Standardized Curriculum – Seasoned Instructors – Professional Development – Credentialed Achievement
Why Choose the Academy Program?
- Standardized, comprehensive curriculum, prescribed specifically for Student Financial Services
- Courses are taught by industry leaders in your field, in real-time, online, allowing interaction with instructors
- Participants are awarded with digital credentials that accurately represent academic achievements and professional development
- Documented subject matter proficiency demonstrates your leadership in the Higher Education community
What is a Digital Badge?
- A digital badge is a tangible representation of an individual’s competencies and skills
- They are designed to be easily shareable on professional and social media platforms and contain verifiable data such as the criteria met to earn the badge
- The use of metadata to provide detailed information about skills and competencies makes it easier for organizations to verify credibility and understand the true value of an individual’s qualifications and skills
What Others are Saying…
Highly Recommend!
As a collection specialist in higher education, I found the Higher Education Certified Credit Professional Course through Second Alliance to be an invaluable learning experience. The course provided comprehensive and relevant information tailored to the unique challenges of student debt, collections, and credit management within a university setting. I highly recommend this certification to anyone working in student accounts, collections, or financial services within higher education.
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Christina S
The George Washington University
Solid Curriculum!
I highly recommend the HECCP Certification course. It offers a solid curriculum and provides comprehensive up to date information in the ever-changing world of Consumer Law and Compliance.
Each session is taught by a professional with years of experience and knowledge. The format allows for questions and interaction which enhances the learning experience. I came away from the HECCP training with a high level of confidence in the knowledge that I had gained. This training has been invaluable when training our collections teams and providing input with regard to updating collections documents and policies.
Last, but certainly not least, you are reminded that it is possible to create a balance between successful collections campaigns, protecting your school through vigilant adherence to compliance and striving to protect your students’ financial future.
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Francine M
Pima Medical Institute
2025 Course Catalog
Course: HECCP – Higher Education Certified Credit Professional
Professional Designation, Certificate of Completion and Digital Badge
Duration:7.5 hours Next Start Date: TBD
Course: HECCP II – Higher Education Certified Credit Professional II
Professional Designation, Certificate of Completion and Digital Badge
Duration: 8 hours Next Start Date: July 10th, 2025
Course: HECCM – Higher Education Certified Credit Manager
Professional Designation, Certificate of Completion and Digital Badge
Duration: 16 hours Next Start Date: November 6th, 13th and 20th as part of Cruisin’ to Collections
Join Colleagues From Schools Across the Country
Adrian College – Alamo Colleges – Albert Baker Fund – Anderson University – Azusa Pacific University – Baldwin Wallace University – Biola University – Brigham Young University – Cal Poly Pomona – California State University Fullerton – California State University Long Beach – California State University Pomona – Caltech – Centura College – Claremont Graduate University – Coast Community College – College of San Joaquin – Coppin State University – Davenport University – Dunwoody College of Technology – East Stroudsburg University – Fordham University – Gateway Technical College – Geneva College – George Fox University – Georgia Gwinnett College – Georgia State University – Gwynedd Mercy University – Iowa State University – James Madison University – John Carroll University – Johnson County Community College – Keuka College – Lansing Community College – Lesley University – Lone Star College – Los Angeles Pacific University – Loyola University Chicago – Massasoit Community College – Metropolitan Community College – Miami University – Midwestern State University – Midwestern University – Moraine Park Technical College – Morehouse College – National University – North Dakota State University – Northwest Missouri State University – Northwestern University – NUC University – Oregon Health & Science University – Pellissippi State Community College – Pima Medical Institute – Pomona College – Portland Community College – Reed College – Rochester Institute of Technology – Rowan Cabarrus Community College – Schoolcraft College – Southern Methodist University – Southern WV Community & Technical College – St. Olaf College – Stevens Institute of Technology – Taylor University – The George Washington University – The Ohio State University – The University of Texas at San Antonio – The University of Texas at Tyler – The University of the Arts – Touro University of California – Trinity International University – Truman State University – Univ of Washington – University of Nevada Las Vegas – University of Akron – University of California Berkeley – University of California Davis – University of California Irvine – University of California Los Angeles – University of California Merced – University of California San Diego – University of California Sant Cruz – University of Connecticut – University of Dallas – University of Iowa – University of Kentucky – University of La Verne – University of Nebraska-Lincoln – University of North Carolina Wilmington – University of North Dakota – University of Pittsburgh – University of Richmond – University of South Alabama – University of St. Thomas – University Of The Incarnate Word – University of the Pacific – University of Wisconsin Oshkosh – University of Wyoming – Walla Walla University – Wayne State College – Western Governors University – Wichita State University – William Woods University – Wilson College – Yosemite Community College District –
Faculty and Advisory Board
Scott H. Holmquist
President
Second Alliance, Inc.
Scott Holmquist is the President and founder of Second Alliance and the Student Financial Services Higher Education Academy and has worked in the campus based collection industry for over thirty years. He has dedicated his career to building a company dedicated to the service of campus based clients working exclusively on Title IV loan programs, institutional and HPSL loan programs and tuition and fee recovery. Scott has worked in various phases of the campus based third party collection industry and has assembled a team that reflects his dedication to this industry.
Scott’s passion is teaching and training in areas of collections such as effective communication, customer service, financial literacy, policy and compliance and fatigue syndromes. He believes deeply that those involved in the collections industry need the highest level of training and understanding to best deal with, educate and lead students that rely on our assistance and expertise.
Mary Anne Lower
Retired Associate Director of Student Business Services
University of the Pacific
Mary Anne has spent a lifetime working in numerous facets of the credit and collections industry. She recently retired as the Associate Director of Student Business Services at the University of the Pacific and still serves as a consultant for them. Since she joined the University in 2002, she was the Student Loans Collection Manager, and specialized in compliance, bankruptcies, legal issues, lawsuits, credit bureau reporting, contract agreements, and student tuition collections.
Prior to joining the University, she has worked for a governmental unit as the delinquent tax collector, was a senior legal collector for a Federal Credit Union performing international collections, managed an investigative agency and has even done repossessions and field investigations.
Mark Goodman
Associate Bursar, Manager of Credit and Collections
Temple University, Retired
Mark Goodman has been providing Higher Education Consulting services from his base in Las Vegas, Nevada since 2009 when he retired as the Associate Bursar for Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. At Temple (a school of 36,000 students) he managed the Credit and Collections Department responsible for handling Perkins, Health Professions, and Institutional Loans, as well as the collection of tuition and fees. Other duties included the administration of the University’s tuition payment plan, overseeing the administration of the third party scholarship program, and debt management (both the entrance and exit phases). Prior to working at Temple, Mark had 28 years of collection management experience. He has spoken at conferences across the country on many topics relating to Credit and Collection, Customer Service, and Financial Management on the College Campus. He holds both the ACA Professional Collection Specialist and Certified Higher Education Collection Certifications.
Mark earned his Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and Marketing at the College of New Jersey and his Master’s Degree in Human Resources Administration from Temple University. He has been a member of various Higher Education Associations, including EARMA, COHEAO, and NACUBO. In addition, he has authored articles published in business magazines, as well as training and seminar texts.
June Coleman
Attorney at Law
Messer Strickler Burnette, Ltd.
June manages a preeminent litigation law firm that represents creditors and collection professionals in consumer actions across the nation. Ms. Coleman is a defense litigator with more than 20 years of experience. Her areas of emphasis include consumer rights actions involving statutes such as the FDCPA, TCPA, and FCRA, and their California counterparts, as well as call recording cases. She has a deep understanding of permissible debt collection conduct and how best to defend claims and minimize liability in the collection industry. She also defends collection attorneys before the California State Bar. She is an accomplished author and a well-known presenter who speaks frequently. Since 2008, Ms. Coleman has been voted by her peers as one of the top 5% of lawyers practicing in Northern California, earning her a spot on the Law & Politics’ Northern California Super Lawyers list as well as the Sacramento Business Journal’s “Best of the Bar” and Sacramento Magazine’s “Top of the Bar” lists. Ms. Coleman is a Martindale Hubbell AV Preeminent rated attorney.
Erika Ramirez, MSLM
Bursar
Western Governors University
Erika Ramirez received her Bachelor’s in Business from Cal Poly, Pomona and Master’s from the University of La Verne. Her career started in Higher Education at Azusa Pacific University. Having oversight of the Student Account Department, eventually becoming the Director of Student Financial Services. Erika experienced centralizing departments/teams and operations while creating a high performing team. After 10 years at APU, she moved onto Los Angeles Pacific University assisting with the creation of a Student Account Department. Eventually centralizing departments/team and operations with the Financial Aid Department and stepping into the Director of Student Financial Services.
Patrick (Pat) Beirne
Senior Director; Bursar and Student Financial Services
Wayne State University
Patrick Beirne has worked in Student Accounts for 15 years across three university campuses, the last five as the Senior Director; Bursar & Student Financial Services at Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan. Patrick is a student centric, retention focused leader, and is most proud of the collaborative partnerships made across campus that have paved the way to creatively recruit, retain, and graduate university students. Patrick is very driven by recovery metrics and fosters an organizational culture that strives to “retain every student” and “collect every dollar”. In addition to this retention and recovery focus, Patrick focuses on the consistent development of functional and technical expertise and strives to continuously improve in operationalizing and streamlining business processes.
Lily Ball, M.Ed.
Debt Management Counselor
UCLA Student Loan Services & Collections
After earning her Master’s in Teaching from USC, Ms. Ball taught English as a second language for several years in Los Angeles and abroad before moving from faculty at USC and Cal State LA to the administration side of UCLA. Currently, she counsels students on their outstanding debts and loans in the Collections department, and practices Muay Thai and Shinkendo in her spare time.
Geri Landwehr
University Bursar
University of Northern Colorado
Geri Landwehr is the Bursar at the University of Northern Colorado. She has been in higher education for 26 years, 5 years as the State Fund Accountant at the University and the last 21 as the Bursar. Prior to that she worked in the K-12 environment. She has implemented Banner and is now working on moving to the Saas (cloud) environment of Ellucian. Over the years she has implemented eBills, online payment plans, and electronic payment portals for both students and the university in general. She enjoys presenting and has presented at Ellucian, CAASLAR and PDG Bursar and AR/Loans conferences.
Joe Weglarz
Executive Director of Student Financial Services
Marist University
Joe Weglarz began his tenure at Marist College over 30 years ago as Director of Student Accounts. In 1999, he was appointed Director of Financial Aid, and was promoted to Executive Director of Student Financial Services in 2006.
As Executive Director, he implemented a “one stop shop” approach by combining student billing, financial aid, and student employment operations. As Executive Director, he manages these operations for the College.
In 2014, Joe was selected to participate in Negotiated Rulemaking and was engaged in negotiations on the proposed regulatory language for the Department of Education.
He serves on the COHEAO Board of Directors as treasurer. In addition, he served as the Vice President of Finance for the Northeast Association of Student Employment Administrators (NEASEA), and was appointed President in 2014. He also served on the NACUBO Student Financial Services Counsel. He currently serves on NYSFAAA Executive council as treasurer. He has presented at various national and regional conferences on regulatory issues, and student financial services topics; such as college affordability, financial aid and bursar operations
Laurie Beets
Bursar/Director of Student Loans & Debt Management
Oklahoma State University
Laurie has 22+ years of experience in higher education. She is a CPA and has a Master’s Degree in Educational Leadership Studies with a higher education emphasis. Laurie is also a Certified Fraud Examiner.
She has served as a member of the Board of Directors for the Coalition of Higher Education Assistance Organization (COHEAO). Laurie is a graduate of the SACUBO College of Business Management Institute and is a recipient of the OSU Staff Advisory Distinguished Service Award.
Prior to joining OSU in 1994, Laurie worked in the banking industry and with the Resolution Trust Corporation
Aaron Reiter
Managing Partner
InterProse, Vancouver, WA
While pursuing a Bachelor’s Degree in Communication and a minor in Social Psychology, Aaron didn’t realize he was preparing himself for a life in sales. Alas, this is what paid the bills, first in wireless communications, then in surgical devices, and finally in debt recovery software where he now co-owns a debt recovery software company based in Vancouver, WA, managing the organization’s external communications, marketing and sales strategies.
A frequent contributor to ACA International’s content, speaking frequently on topics ranging from technology to sales strategy, Aaron has developed a reputation for his multi-media presentations and engaging style.
When not at work, you can find Aaron hiking and camping with his family in the Pacific Northwest, running or cycling in a race or fundraiser, or covered in sawdust working on his latest woodworking project.
Jo-Anne Clancy
Associate Director for Educational Loans, Student Financial Services
The University of the Arts, Philadelphia, PA
Jo-Anne oversees all aspects of the Federal Direct loan programs, Perkins Loan program and reconciliation of Federal Pell Grant. She maintains the University’s Private Educational loan list, relationships with banks, servicers, collection agencies and guarantors. She keeps all staff apprised of regulatory changes as they relate to student loans and helps to educate students about the importance of financial literacy.
Jo-Anne graduated from Girard Academic Music Program. She has been with the University of the Arts since 1987. Her hobbies include the saxophone and her three children
