today’s news for Monday, December 16, 2013
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NEWS FROM NASFAA
ED Releases Guidance on DOMA Ruling
On Friday afternoon the Department of Education (ED) released guidance related to the Supreme Court ruling on the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and the implications for Title IV student aid. The ruling in the Supreme Court case, United States v. Windsor, struck down the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which prohibited federal recognition of same-sex marriage. Dear Colleague Letter (DCL) GEN-13-25 provides guidance on ED's application of the law, specifically related to how married same-sex couples will be treated in the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) process and expected family contribution (EFC) calculation.
Gainful Employment Negotiators: Significant Progress, But No Consensus
After three negotiated rulemaking sessions on gainful employment, many negotiators agreed that the draft regulation has improved-but not enough for the committee to reach consensus on its approval.
Learn the answer to this question and learn how to instantly find credible and reliable solutions to your most pressing regulatory and compliance questions with NASFAA's AskRegs Knowledgebase. The Knowledgebase guide and video tutorials highlight the many features of this tool.
Self-Study Guides From NASFAA University: Eight Topics Now Available!
From Student Eligibility to Return of Title IV Funds, NASFAA's Self-Study Guides are the answer to your training needs. Written for the independent learner, each Self-Study Guide includes multiple lessons with a variety of exercises to reinforce each lesson. You'll do independent study and take quizzes to learn the subject matter. Then you can qualify to take an examination and earn a professional credential. NASFAA University Self-Study Guides are available for purchase in our online store as downloadable PDFs, including our newly released Campus-Based Programs Self-Study Guide.
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
GEN-13-26: 2014-2015 Financial Aid Shopping Sheet
This letter provides updates, HTML specifications, and the Institutional Metric Data file for the 2014-2015 Financial Aid Shopping Sheet.
This letter provides important information on the use of "marriage" and "spouse" in the Title IV Student Financial Assistance Programs and on completion of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), under the Supreme Court’s decision invalidating Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (United States v. Windsor).
The COD Processing Update provides information related to COD System processing and includes the following sections: COD News and Updates, Current Issues (with a subsection for All Programs, Direct Loans, and Grants), and Reminders.
HEADLINES
National News
NASFAA's Megan McClean Discusses Student Financial Aid On Radio
NASFAA's Director of Policy and Federal Relations Megan McClean discusses student financial aid on America's Web Radio's Education Forum. "We know that we're in a time of great austerity as a country as a whole right now, and so we spend a lot of time trying to protect our programs and making sure folks on the Hill aware of just how important they are and the students they serve," McClean said.
"Most college presidents doubt that President Obama's plan to promote affordable higher education will be effective, or that it will lead students to make better informed choices. Further, they expect that the wealthiest colleges and universities will be most successful in the ratings system Obama has proposed," Inside Higher Ed reports.
Nearly 2,000 Colleges Will Use Aid 'Shopping Sheet'
"The Obama administration on Friday announced that it had convinced nearly 1,956 colleges and universities to adopt its financial aid 'shopping sheet' -- a standardized template aimed at allowing students to easily compare the aid packages they are offered from different institutions," Inside Higher Ed reports.
Unpacking The Proposed Student Loan Borrower Bill Of Rights
"With student debt topping $1.2 trillion, there's increasing focus on what happens to people after they take on loans, particularly borrowers who are struggling to make their payments. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is about to begin overseeing the seven largest student loan servicers," Bloomberg Businessweek reports.
"Colleges and universities that offer distance education are increasingly building their courses to conform with widely accepted best practices for all of higher education, but a study by the WICHE Cooperative for Educational Technologies shows many institutions fail to collect crucial data needed to track the effectiveness of programs," Inside Higher Ed reports.
Report Documents College Completion Rates
"Fifty-six percent of all first-time college students who enrolled in fall 2007 earned a degree or certificate within six years, and that figure rose to 78 percent for those who were enrolled exclusively full time, the National Student Clearinghouse said in a report today," Inside Higher Ed reports.
State News
California: Napolitano, Panelists Call For Change Of Mindset Regarding Funding
"On Friday, UC President Janet Napolitano called for a change in mindset concerning funding for higher education, saying that public colleges and universities need to focus not on what they need but on what they can do with current investment," The Daily Californian reports.
California: Man Pleads Guilty To Financial Aid Fraud In Sacramento
"Michael J. Huddleston, 44, of Sacramento pleaded guilty Thursday in federal court to conspiracy to commit financial aid fraud. Huddleston and Brent W. Wilder, 44, obtained Federal Student Assistant funds by recruiting 50 so-called "straw" students to apply for aid, resulting in $200,000 in fraudulent disbursement of aid, according to a plea agreement," The Sacramento Bee reports.
NJ Assembly Panel OKs Immigrant Tuition Bill
"Lawmakers advanced a bill [last] Thursday that would help New Jersey residents who are in the U.S. illegally pay for college, setting up a potential showdown with the governor, who has said he would not sign the current proposal," The Associated Press reports.
South Carolina: 2 State Bills Could Affect Minimum Wage, Student Loan Debt
One of the bills pre-filed in the state senate "would introduce 'Palmetto Pay Forward, Pay Back Pilot Program', a pilot payback program for graduates dealing with student loan debt. Instead of paying tuition and fees, graduates could strike a deal with the institution, and have the university or state take a percentage of their salary," WMBF News reports.
Opinions
"That college you have your eye on for your teenager? It may be going out of business. Your alma mater, too," Dan Greenstein, director of postsecondary success at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, writes in an Inside Higher Ed opinion piece.
Opinion: Disrupting The Disruptors
"Education is a public good. Those five simple words should stand at the center of all conversations about higher education; participants in such conversations should recite them on a regular basis," James Grossman, executive director of the American Historical Association, writes in an Inside Higher Ed opinion piece.
Blogs and Think Tanks
Schools May Overlook Non-College Bound Students, Study Shows
"From a young age, children are told that they can grow up to be whatever they want to be. While some may harbor dreams of being an astronaut or a politician, others may be drawn to different fields - some of which don't necessarily require a four-year degree," U.S. News and World Report's University Directory reports.
NASFAA CAREER CENTER
- Assistant Director of Financial Aid, Bennington College, Bennington, Vermont
- Director of Student Financial Services, City University of Seattle, Seattle, Washington
- Financial Aid Specialist, Feather River College, Quincy, California
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