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This week on “Off The Cuff,” Justin, Megan, Rachel, and Allie dive into President Donald Trump’s fiscal year 2021 budget proposal released earlier in the week, and break down its intentions for setting borrowing limits for graduate students and parents. First, however, Justin discusses some frustrations among the higher education community surrounding the Department of Education’s new website for students to acknowledge their loan debt — formerly known as the Informed Borrower Tool — and broken links on the Information for Financial Aid Professionals (IFAP) website. At 13:35, the group delves into the budget’s cuts to student aid, plans to evaluate a restructure of the Office of Federal Student Aid (FSA), and new borrowing caps on PLUS Loans. At 30:48, Justin discusses a new report about the growing popularity of income-driven repayment plans and their costs over the next decade, and the group wants to know: what have been your best and worst Valentine's Day experiences?

Last week, NASFAA sought feedback on preferred lender lists and asked members to share information on the topic, such as how many lenders their institution's list includes, if their institution doesn't provide a preferred lender list, or whether it refers students to a third-party resource. A total of 194 responses were submitted, with 61% reporting that they do not provide a preferred lender list. Ten percent of the respondents said they include six to seven lenders on the list, 9% said they include eight to nine, 8% said they include four to five, 8% said they include 10 or more, and 4% said they include two to three. Forty-one percent of the respondents said they refer students to a third-party resource, while 25% said they do not.

Schools have until Feb. 18, 2020 to remove the institutional share and reimbursements for service cancellations from their Perkins Revolving Fund, as well as to return the federal share from their Fund to the Department of Education (ED). In an email to the school’s financial aid director and chief financial officer (per FISAP), almost all schools were notified in December 2019 of the amounts to be returned or claimed by the deadline. Some schools that are still completing FISAP corrections, or did not have enough Cash On Hand may not have received emails from ED. If the school has not received this communication or has questions, it should promptly contact the COD School Relations Center. See the Oct. 15, 2019 Electronic Announcement and the 2019 FSA Training Conference session #15. Even though the Electronic Announcement gives a Feb. 17, 2020 deadline, ED has extended it to Feb. 18, 2020 due to the President’s Day holiday. The school can use its institutional share of the funds however it wants, except that those funds cannot be kept in the Revolving Fund and used to make new loans.

NASFAA is looking for a student to fill a 12-week paid internship with NASFAA's Policy and Federal Relations staff. The intern will help develop advocacy materials; attend and report on hearings, events, and meetings; analyze and summarize legislation and regulations; and much more. Those students studying in fields related to higher education, public policy, political science, and history may benefit most from this internship. If you know graduate or undergraduate students who may be interested, please encourage them to apply. This internship is supported by the Dallas Martin Endowment for Public Policy and Student Aid. Applications must be received by 5:00 p.m. ET on Friday, Feb. 28, 2020, to be considered.

Our members across the country are continuing to spread the world about Financial Aid Awareness Month by hosting events and campaigns to engage students. Montgomery County Community College in Pennsylvania, for example, is hosting an information session about smart student loan borrowing and encouraging students to stop by its enrollment offices to ask questions about accessing aid. Plus, Occidental College in California, Crown College in Minnesota, and many other institutions are sharing helpful financial aid tips on social media throughout the month. How is your office spreading awareness about financial aid? Be sure to keep NASFAA in the loop by tagging us in your social media posts and using the hashtag #FinAidFeb.

The Technical Update, GA-2020-01: Updated GA Loan Discharge Spreadsheet Submittal Template, is attached to the full announcement.

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