National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators

HEADLINES

State and Regional Financial Aid Associations Advocate Lawmakers on Key Student Aid Issues

More than 30 financial aid administrators (FAAs) visited the offices of more than two dozen members of Congress serving on the Senate and House education committees earlier this month to advocate on a number of federal student aid issues. FAAs from the Eastern Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (EASFAA), the Delaware, District of Columbia and Maryland Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (DE-DC-MD ASFAA) and the Southern Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (SASFAA) visited the offices of lawmakers on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee and the House Education and the Workforce Committee. 

Register Now: Federal 2013 Budget Update Webinar

This webinar will provide an overview of President Obama’s fiscal year (FY) 2013 budget request, including proposals and funding levels for the major student aid programs. Presenters will also discuss predictions about how the budget may move through the political process during this election year. This webinar will take place Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2012 at 1 p.m. EST, and is available and free to NASFAA members only. Registration for this event will close Friday, Feb. 24 at 3 p.m. EST.

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

02-21: Calculating the 2011-12 and 2012-13 Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grant Award

This Electronic Announcement provides information on calculating the Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grant award for the 2011-12 and 2012-13 award years. The Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grant is awarded to a student whose parent or guardian died as a result of performing military service in Iraq or Afghanistan and the student is not receiving a Federal Pell Grant only because of that program's need requirement.

FEDERAL REGISTER

Comment Request: Federal Direct Loan Program/FFEL Program Deferment Request Forms

These forms serve as the means by which borrowers in the Federal Direct Loan and Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Programs may requires deferment of repayment on their loans if they meet certain statutory and regulatory criteria. The Department of Education uses the information collected on these forms to determine whether a borrower meets the eligibility requirements for the specific deferment type that the borrower has requested.

Comment Request: Federal Direct Loan and FFEL Program Mandatory Forbearance Requests.

These forms serve as the means by which a borrower may request forbearance of repayment on his or her Federal Direct Loan or Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program loans based on participation in an eligible internship/residency program, national guard duty, receiving benefits under the Department of Defense's Student Loan Repayment Program, or having a federal education loan debt burden that equals or exceeds 20 percent of the borrower's monthly gross income.

Comment Request: Income Contingent Repayment Plan and Income-Based Repayment Plan Alternative Documentation of Income

The Income-Contingent Repayment (ICR) Plan and Income-Based Repayment (IBR) Plan Alternative Documentation of Income form serves as the means by which a borrower who is repaying Direct Loan Program loans under the ICR or IBR plans provides the Department of Education with alternative documentation of the borrower's income if the borrower's adjusted gross income (AGI) is not available from the IRS, or if the Department believes that the borrower's most recently reported AGI does not accurately reflect the borrower's current income.

FINANCIAL AID IN THE NEWS

The 'Bennett Hypothesis,' on Why College Prices Rise, Is Alive and Well

"William J. Bennett was probably too simplistic when he famously proclaimed 25 years ago that increased student aid makes it easier for colleges to raise their tuition, says a new policy paper from the Center for College Affordability and Productivity, but he wasn't necessarily wrong," the Chronicle of Higher Education reports. "The assertion by the former secretary of education, which has come to be known as the Bennett hypothesis, has been widely debated over the years, with some academics arguing that it was unfounded and others that it was dead-on."

Report Tracks Differential Tuition at Public Colleges

"Some form of differential tuition, or tuition that varies by academic program, is charged at 143 public colleges, according to a new report from the Cornell Higher Education Research Institute," the Chronicle of Higher Education reports. "The proportion of colleges offering differential tuition is highest - 41 percent - among doctoral institutions, the report says, and the majors most likely to assess differential charges are nursing, business, and engineering."

Community Colleges Work to Keep Low-Income Students in School

"Community colleges in five states have partnered with Single Stop USA, a nonprofit that helps low-income students and their families apply for public aid, as well as legal and financial counseling and free tax preparation," according to U.S. News and World Report. "Every year, $65 billion in benefits go unclaimed, the group estimates."

Justices Take Up Race as a Factor in College Entry

"In a 2003 decision that the majority said it expected would last for 25 years, the Supreme Court allowed public colleges and universities to take account of race in admission decisions," the New York Times reports. "On Tuesday, the court signaled that it might end such affirmative action much sooner than that."

Maximizing Next Year's Financial Aid for College

"Since most folks need financial aid for college costs each year, it can also pay to think about financial planning now: Doing so can increase financial aid when you complete and file the FAFSA, or federal financial aid application, in future years," CBS MoneyWatch reports. "Concepts here are simple enough: use financial strategies that can reduce your base year income and reduce includable assets."

State News

California: Community Colleges Hit by $149-Million Shortfall

"In the latest fallout from California's ongoing fiscal crisis, the state's 112 community colleges reported that revenues from students' fees are $107 million below projections for the current fiscal year as more economically strapped students seek and receive fee waivers," the Los Angeles Times reports. "Community colleges had expected to obtain about $456 million in fee revenues this year, but have collected only about $350 million to this point, said Dan Troy, vice chancellor for finance."

New Jersey: Public Colleges Welcome First State Aid Increase in Years in Gov. Chris Christie's Budget Proposal

"For the state's public colleges, the first state aid increase in years could mean a smaller or possibly even zero tuition increase for the 2012-13 academic year, though college presidents were cautious about promising too much before they know more details," the Press of Atlantic City reports. "The budget also includes funding for financial aid and scholarship programs."

Opinion

Opinion: A Better Approach to 'Gainful Employment'

"On February 9, Senator Ron Wyden, Democrat of Oregon, introduced a bill on the Senate floor entitled the 'Student Right to Know Before You Go Act,'" American Institutes for Research Vice President for New Education Initiatives Mark Schneider writes for Inside Higher Ed. "While its chances of passage are likely low, it is a smart piece of legislation that could help transform our expensive and inefficient system of postsecondary education."

Opinion: To Fix Student Lending, Rethink the Concept

"This past fall, Occupy Wall Street protesters around the country called for far-reaching changes in our society, including forgiveness of student-loan debt," Center for College Affordability and Productivity Research Director Andrew Gillen and American Enterprise Institute scholar Richard Vedder write in the Chronicle of Higher Education. "While we believe loan forgiveness is a bad idea for a variety of reasons, we also think the protesters are right in calling attention to the nation's Byzantine and inefficient system of student lending."

Opinion: Can We Keep Colleges Affordable?

"The big story in public university finance has not been, as many people would like to believe, lavish spending," Spencer Foundation President Michael McPherson and George Washington University Senior Fellow Sandy Baum write for the Chicago Tribune. "It has been the shift in who pays the bills."

Blogs and Think Tanks

College Aid Recipients Donate Less as Alumni

"Does getting beget giving? Not when it comes to college alumni donations, a new study suggests," Catherine Rampell writes for the New York Times Economix blog. "A working paper by Jonathan Meer at Texas A&M and Harvey Rosen at Princeton followed a group of about 13,000 alumni who graduated from an unnamed, selective research university between 1993 and 2005."

CONSTITUENT NEWS

• Iowa Financial Literacy Program Reaches 100 School Milestone  
• 26 Wisconsin Programs Receive Great Lakes Grants To Prepare Disadvantaged Students for College 
• USA Funds Borrower Connect Helps Colleges Improve Loan Default Rates 
• Sallie Mae Encourages Saving For College In Celebration Of America Saves Week 

• Enrollment Finance Manager, Graceland University, Lamoni, Iowa 
• Director of Financial Aid, Fitchburg State University, Massachusetts