NASFAA Issue Briefs

As Higher Education Act (HEA) Reauthorization inches closer to action, NASFAA launched a new series of issue briefs on timely federal student aid policy issues. Each issue brief provides background and recommendations for lawmakers. 

  • Issue Brief: Origination Fees
    April 19, 2023 - The HEA of 1965, as amended, specifies a loan origination fee of 1% for all Direct Subsidized Loans and Direct Unsubsidized Loans, and a fee of 4% for all Direct PLUS Loans for both parent borrowers & grad/prof student borrowers.
  • Issue Brief: Doubling the Maximum Pell Grant
    August 23, 2022 - The Pell Grant is the cornerstone of the federal student aid programs, providing need-based grant aid to our country's lowest-income postsecondary students. Pell Grants have failed for decades to keep pace with increased college costs and inflation.
  • Issue Brief: Student Loan Repayment
    May 6, 2021 - As of September 2019, approximately $1.5 trillion in outstanding federal student loan debt was held by approximately 43 million borrowers.
  • Issue Brief: Financial Aid Offers
    January 12, 2021 - Financial aid award notifications are the primary tool colleges & universities use to communicate eligibility for federal, state, & institutional financial aid programs to their prospective & current students.
  • Issue Brief: Student Aid Funding
    December 11, 2019 - Given the breadth of students that benefit from student financial aid, it is imperative that these programs receive robust funding to support students in an evolving higher education landscape.
  • Issue Brief: The FAFSA Act
    May 15, 2019 - The bipartisan FAFSA Act would simplify the federal student aid application, verification, and loan repayment processes.
  • Issue Brief: Campus-based Aid Allocation Formula
    January 28, 2019 - Campus-based funds are allocated directly to participating institutions based on an institutional need formula; institutions then determine which of their students receive the funds as well as their award amounts.
  • Issue Brief: Verification
    October 29, 2018 - In order to qualify for federal financial aid, students must complete the FAFSA. Each year, the Department of Education selects millions of applications for further review.
  • Issue Brief: Institutional Risk-Sharing
    May 30, 2018 - In a new issue brief, NASFAA outlines the potential benefits and unintended consequences of so-called “risk-sharing” proposals, and how lawmakers can move forward with both students’ and institutions’ best interests in focus.
  • Issue Brief: Loan Limits
    February 19, 2018 - Current loan limits established in the HEA no longer meet the needs of today’s students. Some structural changes to the design of loan limits would improve the existing loan program.
  • Issue Brief: The PROSPER Act
    January 17, 2018 - Republicans on the House Committee on Education and the Workforce introduced the Promoting Real Opportunity, Success, and Prosperity through Education Reform (PROSPER) Act, the first real step from this Congress in reauthorizing the HEA.
  • Issue Brief: Public Service Loan Forgiveness
    October 16, 2017 - The Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program was created by Congress to provide an incentive for talented individuals to enter and remain in public service positions by forgiving their federal student loans after a certain period of time.
  • Issue Brief: Administrative Cost Allowance
    September 13, 2017 - The Administrative Cost Allowance (ACA) supports the administration of the federal student aid programs by offsetting the cost of compliance with federal law and regulation.
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