"The U.S. Department of Education announced Monday that it plans to send federal financial aid personnel to lower-resourced colleges to help smooth the rollout of the new Free Application for Federal Student Aid," Higher Ed Dive reports.

..."The Education Department also plans to distribute $50 million to nonprofits specializing in financial aid support.

They will use those federal funds to recruit financial aid professionals to provide further technical assistance to colleges, such as helping with training their staff, creating aid packages and meeting compliance requirements. 

The Educational Credit Management Corp., a guaranty agency and financial education services provider, will administer the funding to nonprofits. The National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators said it was one of the nonprofits selected, according to a Monday statement. 

'These are some of the biggest changes facing the financial aid profession — not to mention students and families — in decades, and it will take cooperation, clear communication, and mutual trust among all stakeholders to get us over the finish line,' Justin Draeger, NASFAA’s president and CEO, said in a statement. 'We are eager to begin this work and look forward to sharing more details soon.'"

NASFAA's "Notable Headlines" section highlights media coverage of financial aid to help members stay up to date with the latest news. Articles included under the notable headlines section are not written by NASFAA, but rather by external sources. Inclusion in Today's News does not imply endorsement of the material or guarantee the accuracy of information presented.

Publication Date: 2/5/2024