National Institute of Certified College Planners

The NICCP Advisory Council

The purpose of The National Institute of Certified College Planners is to provide that recognition and support. The NICCP takes very seriously its role as educator and ongoing resource to college financial planners. The strength of the NICCP is its Advisory Council, composed of dedicated professionals with many years of experience in higher education and the financial services industry. It is the responsibility of the NICCP Advisory Council to ensure that the curriculum, training materials, workshops, products, services, and the CCPS designation itself remain current and of the highest quality.

Don Betterton - CCPS

When it comes to having a wide range of knowledge about the entire college-going process, there are few people with more experience and knowledge than Don Betterton.

Don served as the director of financial aid at Princeton University for 30 years. During that time, he was the architect of Princeton's innovative no loan program and gained recognition as a national leader in his profession. His range of knowledge is extensive, including all aspects of both need-based and merit aid.

Don has written two books (and numerous articles) on financial aid and given many in-person presentations to groups both large and small. Don has been recognized for his accomplishments in various ways. He has been a trustee of the College Board, chaired the policy committee for an association of the country's most selective colleges, and recently was honored by being named to the College Scholarship Service Hall of Fame for outstanding contributions to the aid profession.

As an expert on enrollment management (the interplay of admissions and financial aid), Don has been a consultant to more than 30 colleges. Don also served on Princeton's admission committee and is familiar with college admissions from policy level discussions to the evaluation of student credentials. He has done individual and group counseling sessions on how a student should prepare both inside and outside the classroom for admission to a selective college.

In addition, Don has recently become a Certified College Planning Specialist. As a CCPS, Don is qualified to assist families in three different areas - enrollment (admissions and financial aid), tax incentives for higher education and college funding strategies.

For his leadership of the financial aid office as well as his service to the university as a whole, Betterton has received the Bressler Award for outstanding support of Princeton athletics, the Alumni Council Award Service and has been made an honorary member of the Classes of 1960 and 2005.

Betterton is magna cum laude graduate of Dartmouth where he was a regional All-American in soccer. He received a M.A. from Rutgers in 1974. Before arriving at Princeton, he served on active duty as a Naval Aviator, eventually retiring with the rank of Captain.

Carl Buck - Vice President, Chase Education Finance

Carl Buck, a financial aid expert, has over 30 years experience guiding students, parents and educators on matters related to financial aid. Mr. Buck currently serves as the Vice President of Sales Support and Strategies for Chase Education Finance.

Prior to serving at Chase, Mr. Buck was the VP of Financial Aid Services for Peterson's. Peterson's offers college guides, advice and education information for students and those who support their educational goals. He has held numerous financial aid positions in both the public and private sector. As the Senior Vice President for the New Mexico Educational Assistance Foundation, Mr. Buck was instrumental in setting financial aid policy and educating college bound families on the importance of pursuing financial aid assistance.

As the Director of Student Financial Services at leading U.S. institutions, including Rice University, Rutgers University and the University of Utah, Mr. Buck has worked with thousands of families to explore financial aid options and acquire the money needed to help pay for college.

Mr. Buck has appeared on numerous talk shows and has been extensively quoted on financial aid matters in leading media such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Kiplinger's, and Bloomberg Radio. As the affordability of higher education continues to grow in importance, Mr. Buck is often called upon to answer questions related to scholarships, grants, loan alternatives, and more.

In 2003, Mr. Buck developed an online financial aid resource, Peterson's Best College Deals® a one-of-a-kind resource that provides students and families little known financial aid deals available at leading colleges and universities. These special deals even include schools that meet 100% of financial need. Data collected directly from institutions provides families information on financial aid deals in the following categories: First-Generation, Tuition, GPA/SAT/ACT, National Merit, Valedictorian, Sibling, Minority, Community Service, and other Exceptional Opportunities. Mr. Buck is also the author of The Student Aid Answer Book.

Dr. Lawrence Burt - President, Over the Bridge Services, LLC

Dr. Lawrence Burt served as Associate Vice President - Student Affairs and Director - Office of Student Financial Services at the University of Texas at Austin. Dr. Burt began his career in financial aid at Southern Illinois University - Edwardsville in 1974. Prior to beginning his career in financial aid Larry earned undergraduate degrees in Marketing and Management Science. While developing as a financial aid professional Larry earned his MBA at Southern Illinois University - Edwardsville and his doctorate from Northern Illinois University.

While Director at UCLA Larry won numerous awards and accolades for his public speaking and innovative solutions for the delivery of financial aid. He began his career at the University of Texas in 1994 and became Associate Vice President - Student Affairs in 2003. During his time at U of Texas in Austin, Dr. Burt developed a number of unique scholarship programs and as a result the National Scholarship Providers Association recognized the university as the Scholarship Provider of the Year in 2003. Dr. Burt has been highly sought after to share his expertise on the use of scholarships in a changing legal environment.

In addition to his duties at the university, Dr. Burt has served on a number of commissions, councils and advisory boards. He has served on the U.S. Department of Education's National Advisory Committee on Institutional Quality and Integrity (NACIQI) and the Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance. Dr. Burt served as the founding chair of the Texas Student Services Efficiency Committee and as a member of the Council for the Management of Educational Finance. Larry has presented and authored several articles on a wide array of student support issues, most recently contributing to Get a Jump: The Financial Aid Answer Book and How to Pay for College.

Rick Darvis - CPA, CCPS

Rick is recognized as one of the leading experts in the college funding field. He has written more books, developed more software and trained more financial professionals on the topic of college funding than any other person in the United States. He is a co-founder and director of the National Institute of Certified College Planners. His knowledge has enabled him to be invited to speak on the topic of college funding to his contemporaries at CPA and CFP conferences in over 40 states.

Rick's accomplishments in the college-planning field are:
* Co-author of Paying for College Using Tax Strategies, a guide published by the American Institute of CPAs on college planning for accountants and financial advisors.
* Contributing author of Personal Financial Planning, a Practitioners Publishing Company (PPC) guidebook.
* Co-author of Planning for College Costs, a Practitioners Publishing Company (PPC) guidebook on college financial planning for accountants and financial advisors.
* Author of A Roadmap to College & Retirement - Without Going Broke, a book designed to link college planning to retirement planning.
* Provider of education programs at conferences for financial service companies, such as Manulife, MFS, American Skandia, Franklin Templeton, Eastern Bank, US Bank, Linsco Private Ledger, Securities America, Genworth, Lincoln Financial, UBS, Wachovia, Smith Barney, John Hancock Financial Network, Legg Mason, and Raymond James.

Quoted in: Forbes, CNN-FN, Newsweek, U.S. News and World Report, Money, Business Week, Kiplinger's Personal Finance, NY Times, Smart Money, Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg's Personal Finance, Nation's Business, and Financial Advisor.

Bruce D. Harrington - CCPS

Bruce D. Harrington is a nationally recognized expert on personal finance and financial planning, especially with regard to the use of retirement and 529 plans as effective savings and financial planning tools. He has been widely quoted in such publications as Wall Street Journal, Money, US News & World Report, Advisor Today, Kiplinger's Personal Finance, Financial Planning and more. In addition, Bruce has authored numerous articles about financial planning topics and the financial services industry, targeted to both the advisor community and consumers.

Throughout his career, Bruce has worked diligently with industry trade groups, regulators and the media to make these financial plans, products and tools accessible and understandable to investors and their advisors nationwide.

Bruce recognizes that there exists today among potential retirement and 529 plan purchasers -- and even among many financial advisors -- a level of confusion over how the various plans and products work, and how to best choose from among the many complex options. As a result, he regularly addresses important retirement and 529 plan issues, including estate planning advantages, IRA rollover options, retirement strategies, retirement income planning, and emergence and use of 529 plans.

Bruce is currently managing director of syndicated research at Cogent Research, LLC. Bruce joined Cogent in 2007. Previously, he served for eight years as vice president and director of product development and marketing for MFS Investment Management®. Prior to that, he was with Putnam Investments for 10 years, most recently as vice president of retirement marketing.

Bruce earned a bachelor's degree in political science from Boston College and an M.B.A. from Suffolk University, in addition to numerous NASD certifications. He also earned a Pension Administration certificate from Bentley College and holds the designations of Certified College Planning Specialist and Certified Retirement Counselor.

Sidney Kess - Esq., CPA, JD, LLM

Sidney Kess is a nationally renowned tax expert and author/coauthor of hundreds of tax books on financial and estate planning. Having lectured to more than 700,000 practitioners on tax, financial and estate planning, he is one of the nation's best known lecturers in continuing professional education. Mr. Kess is consulting editor of CCH Incorporated's Financial and Estate Planning Reporter and consultant for the CCH Estate Planning Guide. Mr. Kess is chairman of the advisory board of Tax Hotline and is a member of the PPC Tax Action Panel. He has also written several AICPA tax workshops, audio and video programs, and is the recipient of the AICPA Distinguished Lecturer Award.

Mr. Kess is often quoted in The Wall Street Journal, The NY Times and other national publications. During the last 36 years he has chaired or conducted some of the leading estate, financial planning and income tax conferences Mr. Kess is the recipient of the AICPA's Special Recognition Award for his many years of contributions to the AICPA's Special Education Program. He received his JD from Harvard School of Law and LLM from New York University Graduate School of Law.

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