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Great Lakes. Student loan debt letters are being mandated in a growing number of states. College Cost Meter™ is an affordable and versatile solution to send customizable student debt letters or emails, when it’s required or part of a student success program. Contact your Great Lakes representative or visit mygreatlakes.org/go/ccm for more information.

Along with setting funding levels for many Title IV programs, the FY 2018 spending bill passed on Friday, March 23 includes a provision clarifying that an institution may, with explicit written consent from the student, share FAFSA information with scholarship-granting organizations or tribal organizations.

When it comes to assembling a study body, the top concerns college presidents have aren't about enrolling enough students who don't need financial aid or improving their position on a list of college rankings. College presidents are most concerned about meeting basic enrollment goals, and ensuring those students persist and complete their programs, according to Inside Higher Ed's annual survey of college presidents.

In short, yes. The verification regulations and U.S. Department of Education (ED) guidance do not exempt an incarcerated parent from the requirement to complete verification. Of course, the financial aid administrator could choose to exercise professional judgment (PJ) if he or she believes there are exceptional circumstances. View the full answer to this question, and search for answers to your other pressing regulatory and compliance questions, in NASFAA's AskRegs Knowledgebase.

If you missed the Financial Aid Management for CBE and Other Nontraditional Enrollments webinar, which originally aired March 27, 2018, you can now access the on-demand event. Industry experts, including U. S. Department of Education staff, discussed federal regulations for competency-based education (CBE), strategies for serving CBE students, and best practices for managing financial aid in nontraditional programs. This on-demand webinar is free to both members and non-members, but you must order the on-demand event. Order now.

The Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018, signed into law by President Trump on February 9, 2018, included significant new funding to support disaster relief. The U.S. Department of Education (Department) will award up to $2.7 billion to assist K-12 schools and school districts and institutions of higher education (IHEs) in meeting the educational needs of students affected by Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria and the 2017 California wildfires. This disaster assistance will help schools, school districts and IHEs return to their full capabilities as quickly and effectively as possible.

"The budget bill President Trump signed Friday fixes a technical problem for private scholarship providers that rely on federal student aid data to help students pay for college," Inside Higher Ed reports. "... 'The fix in the omnibus bill will get us back to being able to share information for purposes of awarding financial aid from scholarship providers,' said Justin Draeger, president and chief executive officer of the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators. 'But I don't know if it necessarily gets to allowing financial aid offices to work with departments of social services for food stamps and other public benefit programs.'"

"The Chronicle of Higher Education has produced a new report profiling the growth of adult learners as a critical part of the American college student profile...The report highlights several areas of emphasis for institutions to help adult learners persist and complete degrees. Child care and supporting financial aid programs, the report authors say, is a critical element of helping students to become stable in degree pursuit," Education Dive reports.  

"Amid a torrent of state bills attempting to ease California’s housing crisis, a new proposal aims to help one group that is struggling mightily: college students," according to The Mercury News. "Senate Bill 1227 hopes to spur the construction of affordable housing designed especially for students."

"This year, the Higher Education Act is undergoing one of its periodic reauthorizations. Many ideas kicked around are good, but there are a few proposed changes that need to be dropped," John Tures writes in an opinion article for The Newman-Times Herald.

"I opened my daughters' college funds when they were babies. I've put money into them every month since. I've lived through moves, medical disasters and multiple layoffs. And as my firstborn daughter now approaches her high school graduation, I know that 18 years of saving have not yielded much in the way of college tuition. I also know that the current American student tuition and loan system is a more shocking shell game than I'd even dreamed," Mary Elizabeth Williams writes in an opinion article for Salon. 

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