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For over 20 years, ELM Resources has provided open and lender-neutral choice. Our new web interface, ELMOne, converges your interaction with the complete suite of ELM Products (ELMNet, ELM NDN, and ELMSelect). Built with the latest and most secure technologies, ELMOne will become your go-to resource to manage private student loan services.  www.elmone.com.

After President Obama unveiled his community college access plan in January, lawmakers in Congress are now hashing out the details to make that proposal a reality.

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation yesterday released recommendations to simplify the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Focusing on “balancing simplicity and accuracy,” the foundation provided three recommendations to help streamline the application.

Students may seek to have their loans discharged in bankruptcy court, but must prove that repaying the loan poses an “undue hardship.” The Department of Education (ED) published a 23-page Dear Colleague Letter outlining the provisions to which loan holders must adhere when evaluating a borrower’s request. While ED directs this guidance at schools that hold Perkins loans and Federal Family Education Loan holders, it also follows the same process when evaluating loan discharge requests for Direct Loans.

Military student loan borrowers are still struggling to obtain federal benefits, according to a report from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, despite increased attention to the issue by lawmakers and federal agencies.

Most U.S. students experience stress regarding their personal finances and many worry about having enough money to pay for their postsecondary education, according to the recently released National Student Financial Wellness Study (NSFWS).

Volunteers are needed at various times July 19-21 to assist with local arrangement responsibilities at the 2015 National Conference in New Orleans. Volunteering is a wonderful way to meet and greet your colleagues from all over the nation! To select a volunteer opportunity, visit the conference website. Volunteers who work at the registration counter or information desk for 4.5+ hours will receive a complimentary, one-day pass to attend conference sessions on any day of their choosing. The one-day pass does not include meals or evening receptions and is not transferable. Thank you to those of you who have already signed up to volunteer!

This announcement is intended to share the customer service performance results for the third quarter (ending March 31, 2015) with the financial aid community.

"The 'free college' idea is back in the headlines," according to The Chronicle of Higher Education.

"New York University and the University of Phoenix do not have much in common. ... But there’s one characteristic the two do share — they’re national leaders in graduate-student debt," The Chronicle of Higher Education reports.

"Democratic presidential hopeful Martin O’Malley on Wednesday put forward an ambitious five-year goal of allowing students to graduate debt-free from public colleges and universities across the country," The Washington Post reports.

"Republican Tennessee Senator Lamar Alexander calls a 'myth' the idea that higher education is too expensive for many. ... But Alexander's argument that all students and their families can afford college ignores some important facts and twists others, even from the sources he quotes," Erik Sherman writes in an opinion piece for Forbes.

"I recently watched History of the Eagles, the excellent 2013 documentary on the band that, more than any other, encompassed the 1970s. ... Like the messy breakup we’ve seen over the past five years between traditional higher education and for-profit universities, there are two sides to this dispute, and neither comes out smelling like roses," Ryan Craig writes in an opinion piece for Forbes.

"On July 1, the Department of Education’s long awaited 'gainful employment' regulation finally took effect. This rule – which protects students at for-profit colleges from abusive and deceptive practices  – is a welcome improvement to a sector that has routinely preyed on veterans, minorities, and the poor," Rep. Elijah E. Cummings (D-MD) writes in an opinion piece for The Hill.

"For most of the 20th century, higher education wasn’t treated as a cash cow, and students were better off for it," according to Reuters' The Great Debate.

"If a budgeting gimmick worked once, you can count on lawmakers to try it again the following year. Witness what is happening to the Pell Grant program in the pending 2016 House appropriations bill," according to New America's EdCentral.

"Small-business loans are a tough get when you’re drowning in student debt," according to NerdWallet.

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