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TODAY'S NEWS

today’s news for Friday, July 19, 2019

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NEWS FROM NASFAA

 Off the Cuff

This week on "Off The Cuff," Justin, Megan, Stephen, and Allie dive into breaking news this week as more than five dozen colleges and universities were hit by a cyberattack through a vulnerability in enrollment software. Megan gives an update on the latest with foreign gift reporting requirements as institutions and the Department of Education (ED) disagree over what exactly is required. Stephen runs through the details of a new lawsuit in which one of the nation's teachers unions sued ED, claiming the agency arbitrarily rejected its members’ applications for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program. Plus, the team examines several new pieces of legislation introduced this week addressing issues with income-share agreements and institutional risk-sharing. Skip to 8:21 to get right to the policy discussion.

On Tuesday, Sens. Todd Young (R-IN), Marco Rubio, (R-FL), Mark Warner (D-VA), and Chris Coons (D-DE) introduced the ISA Student Protection Act of 2019, legislation that would establish guidelines and add consumer protections to income-share agreements (ISAs), which are gaining attention as alternatives to traditional student loans, but are currently unregulated.

Democratic senators introduced a bill Thursday that would help students understand the implications of taking out private loans, dubbed the Know Before You Owe Private Education Loan Act of 2019. The legislation—introduced by Sens. Dick Durbin (D-IL), Jack Reed (D-RI), Sherrod Brown (D-OH),  Ben Cardin (D-MD), Tina Smith (D-MN), and Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and supported by higher education groups including NASFAA—would require institutions to counsel students and inform them of their options for federal financial aid before they can take out private loans. The bill would also mandate that institutions fully certify private education loans and require that private loan lenders obtain information from institutions before issuing loans, such as a school’s cost of attendance and the amount a potential borrower is eligible to borrow.

NASFAA UPDATES AND ANNOUNCEMENTS

Updated for 2019-20, the Student Aid Reference Sheet lists loan limits as well as the minimum and maximum award amounts for Pell Grants and Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants, and the limits and eligibility requirements for the Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education (TEACH) Grants. Other newly updated reference sheets include a comparison of Direct Subsidized and Unsubsidized Loan terms based on the initial disbursement date for undergraduate students, a Health Professions Loans & Scholarships Reference Sheet, and a Graduate & Professional Reference Sheet. Print out the reference sheets and hang them up at your desk so you can easily check the 2019-20 limits and requirements when needed.

Please join us in congratulating Chantel McMahon, formerly the assistant director of financial aid operations at Western Washington University, who recently stepped into the role of executive director of student financial resources at Bellingham Technical College. In 2017, Chantel was awarded a 50th Anniversary NASFAA Dallas Martin Scholarship. She earned her master's of education in adult and higher education from Western Washington University. Learn more about other colleagues' accomplishments, recognitions, and achievements, and submit your own, on our Movers and Shakers page.

TRENDING IN FINAID NEWS

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

This announcement informs Health Education Assistance Loan (HEAL) Program lenders and lender servicers of new HEAL Program interest rates.

The Office of Management and Budget has approved a revised version of the loan reaffirmation agreement under OMB Control Number 1845-0133. The form is for use by borrowers who have inadvertently received a federal student loan in excess of the applicable annual or aggregate loan limit, but who wish to re-establish eligibility for Title IV aid.

The 2020–2021 CPS Test System User Guide is now posted on the FSAdownload website. This guide provides instructions for using the Central Processing System Test System, which includes two testing environments: a mainframe test environment and a Web Demonstration site. 

This letter announces Federal Student Aid's instructor-led, Fundamentals of Federal Student Aid Administration training workshops scheduled for November 2019 through September 2020.

x - FEDERAL REGISTER

The report from Educational Opportunity Centers Program (EOC) grantees provides the Department of Education with information needed to evaluate a grantee's performance and compliance with program requirements and to award prior experience points in accordance with the program regulations.

x - NOTABLE HEADLINES

NASFAA TRAINING

NASFAA CAREER CENTER


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