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Yesterday the Education Finance Council (EFC) convened a panel from the higher education community to discuss proposals surrounding institutional risk-sharing, also commonly referred to as “skin in the game.” The panel centered their thoughts on the potential outcomes of an institutional risk-sharing program, metrics that would be utilized, and how institutions should and would judge prospective students.

A Notice of Proposed Rulemaking posted to the Federal Register yesterday introduces a new income-driven repayment plan and proposes several other regulatory changes, including a new Participation Rate Index challenge and appeals process for cohort default rates. This NPRM is the result of negotiated rulemaking sessions held from February to May 2015. Since the negotiators reached consensus agreement on the entire package of 6 issues, the Department of Education (ED) was obligated to adhere strictly to the regulatory wording agreed upon by all negotiators.

Well, my weekend was definitely one to remember! With the three day weekend, I was able to fully relax and enjoy the Fourth of July here in Washington D.C. This week in the office I worked on finalizing the sessions that I will attend at the national conference and attended a Postsecondary Data Working Group meeting with my supervisor, Charlotte. Read on to learn more about the meetings and events I attended last week and the projects I am working on. And don't forget to check out my Facebook album for pictures I've taken while in D.C.!

Attention NASFAA primary contacts, the deadline for the College Board’s 5-minute survey on institutional loans is today. The survey, previously sent to you by NASFAA via a direct email with a link, is to be published as part of the annual "Trends in Student Aid" report, released each fall. Please complete the survey even if your institution does not offer institutional loans. Data will be published in the aggregate and individual institutions will not be identified.

NASFAA extends a hearty thank you to all of our sponsors who have stepped up to help NASFAA deliver a great conference filled with financial aid training, networking, and professional development opportunities. In particular, we'd like to recognize our Gold level sponsors – Great Lakes, Cegment (formerly Student Aid Services), and Campus Logic - for their financial support and on-site participation, which help to make our conference more valuable for attendees. Please visit the exhibit hall to speak directly with our sponsors and learn how their products and services can help you achieve your goals.

As described in the Electronic Announcement dated September 2, 2011, the Office of Postsecondary Education maintains a website containing Q&As pertaining to the Program Integrity final regulations that were published on October 29, 2010. The Department recently posted new and revised Q&As to the high school diploma and verification portion of this website.

As explained in Dear Colleague Letter (DCL) GEN-15-09, posted on the Information for Financial Aid Professionals (IFAP) Web site on May 22, 2015, one of the changes made by the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act of 2015 was to allow a student who does not have a high school diploma (or its recognized equivalent), or who did not complete a secondary school education in a homeschool setting, but who is enrolled in an eligible career pathway program, to be eligible for Title IV aid through ability to benefit (ATB) alternatives.

"[M]any student aid experts were stunned Wednesday to read how Martin O'Malley... explained his commitment to creating a debt-free college option for students and families," Inside Higher Ed reports. "'Maybe what we should take from Governor O’Malley’s experience is asking whether there should be better safeguards in place to prevent parents from going $335,000 in debt!'" NASFAA President ‎Justin Draeger said.

"The Obama administration has expressed a slew of concerns about the Senate's version of the 2016 spending bill for the Departments of Education, Health and Human Services, and Labor, including that it would redirect funds away from the Pell Grant program and block enforcement of the administration's gainful employment rules," Inside Higher Ed reports.

"Presidential hopeful Martin O’Malley this week unveiled his debt-free college plan, triggering a debate across the ideological divide with Jeb Bush," Inside Higher Ed reports.

"Higher education is failing to meet the needs of both students and employers, and only a fundamental transformation can put it on the right track. These are the findings of a major survey of leaders in industry and academia, which cast doubt on higher education’s ability to fulfil a core role of preparing graduates for the world of work," Forbes reports.

"Michigan’s public universities have complained for years about being underfunded, but there was one hoop that two of them weren’t willing to jump through this year to earn every last dollar of their state appropriations," The Chronicle of Higher Education reports.

"Jeb Bush touted the ability of natural gas to lower carbon emissions, called for gradual social security reform, proposed a new strategy to battle ISIS, and criticized Martin O’Malley’s new proposal to offer debt-free college for Americans, at a last minute campaign stop Wednesday morning in Dover," NH1 reports.

"Nevada officials are one step closer to launching a fresh new advertising blitz to promote saving for college. The Nevada Board of Examiners, which includes Gov. Brian Sandoval, voted Tuesday to approve $800,000 in yearlong public relations contracts to promote Nevada's 529 college savings plans and prepaid tuition program," The Associated Press reports.

"As a professor whose research focuses on higher education finance and accountability policy – and who married an attorney with lots of student loan debt – I look at the student 'debt crisis' differently," Seton Hall University professor Robert Kelchen writes for The Conversation.

"The current funding model for higher education is broken and we can only blame ourselves for creating a norm of bargain basement pricing for those families in the know, opaque business models and unexplained annual increases based more on competitors’ current price tag rather than our actual campus needs. We continue to play a game of chicken as we wait for a so-called peer to do what we need to do," W. Kent Barnds writes for Inside Higher Ed.

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