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At Edfinancial, getting your students to the finish line is what matters most. Whether it’s answering questions about enrollment, explaining financial aid processes or preventing student loan default, we can help your students succeed. Find out how we do it by visiting us at www.edfinancial.com/HES/Casestudies

A bill was introduced into the Senate on July 9 to extend for seven years the exemption of certain packaging practices from antitrust law. The Need-Based Educational Aid Act of 2015, S. 1482, would extend a provision that has been in law since 1994, known as section 568. This provision was enacted soon after the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) successfully challenged a Justice Department investigation into packaging procedures under which MIT and the Ivy League schools shared information to prevent bidding wars for highly desirable admitted students.

In a report released last week, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York presented preliminary findings on the impact of increased student loan funding on tuition between 2008-10. Through a highly technical analysis of detailed student-level financial data and changes in federal student aid programs, the report – Credit Supply and the Rise in College Tuition: Evidence from the Expansions in Federal Student Aid Programs – estimates that higher tuition sticker prices result in a 63 percent of an increase in subsidized loan amounts, 40 percent of an increase in Pell Grants, and 25 percent of an increase in unsubsidized loan amounts.

Is your school facing an upcoming program review, annual audit, or accreditation review? Do you wish that you had more of a peace of mind when it came time for reviews at your institution? Contact NASFAA’s SOE Administrator with questions or join us for a session on “NASFAA’s Peer Review Program,” Tuesday, July 21 from 9:00 am-10:00 am at the National Conference in New Orleans to learn how NASFAA’s Standards of Excellence (SOE) Program can assist you.

The National Training for Counselors and Mentors (NT4CM) will hold its annual Training of Trainers webinar on Thursday, August 13, at 1:30 pm ET. The broadcast will share information about the program, provide a federal update, and review the available training materials. NT4CM is a collaborative effort of NASFAA, the Department of Education, and other higher education associations to make high-quality financial aid training available to high school counselors and other college access professionals. Register now.

NASFAA is here to help you stay up to date on the top policy events occurring throughout the week in Washington, D.C. and, when applicable, across the country. Make sure to check back in to Today's News each morning for coverage of some of the events, and email us at [email protected] if you're aware of upcoming policy events that could be of interest to the financial aid community.

Congress:
The House is in session Monday through Wednesday. The Senate is in session Monday through Friday.

Tuesday:

• Negotiated Rulemaking Committee Meeting for Borrower Defense, 9:00 am to 5:00 pm ET
• State of the Union Address, 9:00 pm ET

Wednesday:

• Negotiated Rulemaking Committee Meeting for Borrower Defense, 9:00 am to 5:00 pm ET

Thursday:

• Negotiated Rulemaking Committee Meeting for Borrower Defense, 9:00 am to 5:00 pm ET

This letter restates the requirements for guaranty agencies regarding charging collection costs to FFELP borrowers who enter into repayment agreements.

On July 9, 2015, the Department published in the Federal Register a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) (80 FR 39607). To implement the President’s directives to the Department, the proposed regulations would create a new income-contingent repayment plan that would allow more Direct Loan borrowers to cap their loan payments at 10 percent of their monthly incomes.

"The U.S. government has agreed to take no near-term legal action against 40,000 former students of the bankrupt Corinthian Colleges Inc who have defaulted on federal loans, according to a lawyer representing students," Reuters reports.

"When President Obama rolled out his free community college proposal earlier this year, the leaders of some historically black colleges weren’t happy about it. ... But as Obama’s free community college proposal was introduced in Congress last week, groups representing historically black colleges were lining up in support of the legislation," Inside Higher Ed reports.

"Student loan debt exceeds other types of consumer debt, like car loans and credit card debt, reaching $1.19 trillion as of the first quarter of 2015. And while lawmakers and student advocates look for solutions to the problem of unsustainable debt, relief for some borrowers may come from an unlikely place: online gamers," Business Insider reports.

"The average amount that college students spend on course materials appears to be declining. But not necessarily because textbooks are cheaper. A growing number of students, surveys show, simply skip buying required course materials," according to The Chronicle of Higher Education.

"Not only is student loan debt a hindrance to individuals, some say it’s holding back an industry — agriculture — and pushing young farmers away from the land. The New York-based National Young Farmers Coalition is out to alleviate some of that pain by pushing to have the profession deemed a public service," the Salina Journal reports.

"The University of Wisconsin Board of Regents approved a $6 billion budget Thursday that incorporates millions of dollars in cuts from the Legislature," the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.

"For-profit colleges in Minnesota have been coming under increasing scrutiny in the past year. The state Office of Higher Education has been sending out "secret shoppers" to see whether colleges are dealing honestly with prospective students," MPR News reports.

"More than 150,000 college students on Long Island who received federal Pell Grants last year risk partly losing that tuition funding next year if a Congressional proposal is approved, a new report has found," according to the Long Island Press.

"State Representative Al Pscholka, chair of the House Appropriations Committee, said he was shocked, shocked to learn that two state universities had raised tuition by more than the 3.2 percent figure the legislature asked them not to exceed," Jack Lessenberry said on Michigan Radio.

"Much has been written lately about the growing partnerships between private and public employers and institutions of higher education. ... Yet some have questioned whether these programs truly benefit employees, especially because many of the educational offerings are limited to one prescribed educational provider," Karen Gross writes for Inside Higher Ed.

"Since he was elected Wisconsin’s governor, in 2010, Scott Walker has been waging war against the status quo in higher education. Now he’s running for the Republican nomination for president in 2016," The Chronicle of Higher Education's The Ticker reports.

"This week, as part of his debt-free college plan, presidential candidate Martin O’Malley called for 'reducing the cost of tuition to no more than 10 percent of state median income at four-year public universities, and to no more than five percent of median income at two-year public colleges.' This type of affordability rule of thumb, tied to macroeconomic factors, offers an appealing way to define how much tuition families should be charged for college," according to New America's EdCentral.

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