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NASFAA Outlines Members' Concerns in Letter to House Education Committee
In anticipation of the House Education and Labor Committee marking up reconciliation legislation in the near future, NASFAA sent a letter to committee members outlining NASFAA members' concerns about the administration's proposal to eliminate the Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP). "Many of our members have serious concerns about the proposal to abruptly move all institutions into the Direct Loan program," NASFAA President and CEO Dr. Phil Day wrote. "Their primary concern is the potential loss of important early awareness, financial literacy, and debt management services provided through the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) program. I'm hoping that you can address some of our concerns during this upcoming legislative process."

Education Department Official Offers Insight into Administration's Proposals
Robert Shireman, deputy under secretary for the U.S. Department of Education, provided insight into several of the Obama Administration's financial aid proposals at recent events. At a press conference on Monday, Shireman suggested that the administration and Congress were looking at alternatives to making Pell grants an entitlement program. At a recent education stakeholders meeting, he outlined the administration's plans to maintain services currently provided through FFELP. He also discussed how the Department is helping schools transfer to Direct Lending and provided some details about how the proposed $2.5 billion College Access and Completion Fund would be used. Shireman will be providing additional insights at NASFAA's Annual Conference in San Antonio.

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    Senate Confirms Top Obama Education and Labor Aides (Inside Higher Ed)
    "Two high-ranking nominees in the Obama administration have been confirmed by the U.S. Senate," Inside Higher Ed reports. "Martha J. Kanter, under secretary of education, and Jane Oates, assistant secretary of labor for employment and training, gained the Senate's stamp of approval on June 19, giving them formal authority to dive into their duties. Kanter, who was chancellor of California's Foothill-De Anza Community College District, was sworn in Wednesday morning."

    As More Colleges Sign Up to Offer Veterans Aid, Some Veterans Criticize Application Process (Chronicle of Higher Education)
    "An updated chart on the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs' Web site indicates that the department has reached more than 2,500 agreements with colleges nationwide under its new Yellow Ribbon Program, but it is unclear how many colleges that number represents because many institutions entered into multiple agreements with the department," Chronicle of Higher Education reports. "Earlier in the week, advocates for student veterans criticized the way some participating colleges plan to distribute the program's benefits, which were created as part of last year's legislation to expand GI Bill aid."

    Finding Debt a Bigger Hurdle Than Bar Exam (New York Times)
    "All his life, Robert Bowman wanted to be a lawyer," New York Times reports. "He put himself through community college, worked and borrowed heavily to help pay for college, graduate school and even law school. He took the New York bar examination not once, not twice, not three times, but four, passing it last year. Finally, he seemed to be on his way. But a group of five state appellate judges decided this spring that his student loans were too big and his efforts to repay them too meager for him to be a lawyer."

    Peer-to-Peer Sites Offer College Loans (FoxBusiness)
    "Within the peer-to-peer lending industry, student loans have become a special niche," FoxBusiness reports. "In peer-to-peer lending, a borrower requests a loan on a lending Web site. Depending on the site, either an individual lender or a group of lenders agrees to loan the money in exchange for an interest payment. Each site has its own method of determining the lending interest rate. Borrowers with good credit records typically get a better rate than they would from a bank."

    The Human Capital Score - New Consumer Rating for Peer to Peer Lending (Examiner)
    "[A new consumer rating] score you should know about is very new - in fact, it's still in public beta - but the company that created it will be launching their site in fall 2009," Examiner reports. "It's the Human Capital Score and it was devised by People Capital primarily as a metric to help investors who want to lend in the P2P college loan space. Essentially, it takes input such as test scores, GPA (high school or undergrad), choice of major and college and reports back 2-year and 8-year projected mean incomes. It can help you decide, as an investor, whether a particular student loan is a reasonable risk and therefore, a good investment for you."

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