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As 2016 presidential candidates head toward primary elections, questions about college affordability and student loan debt have been hot on the campaign trail. In advance of tomorrow night's GOP presidential primary debate, get a rundown of what the Republican and Democratic candidates have said so far about higher education.

During an interest session held at the National Conference on the Common Origination and Disbursement (COD) System, Department of Education (ED) staff shared that the website has two new tools to help with the administration of federal student loan funds, as well as a new way to help schools get the information and assistance they need. ED staff also shared updates to reject edit codes.

Student eligibility appears straightforward, but the underlying components can be challenging. This webinar focuses on the student eligibility issues related to enrollment, including how to correctly determine a student's enrollment status, the use of census dates, and the new requirements for resolving Unusual Enrollment History (UEH) flags. Members at institutions that have paid their 2015-16 membership dues can order it today at a cost of just $115. It is also offered at a cost of $230 for non-members and at no additional fee for webinar package purchasers who have paid their 2015-16 dues. Remember to watch it before it expires on August 24.

You are cordially invited to participate in NASFAA’s 50th Anniversary Online Trivia Contest, taking you through our history one decade at a time. Thanks to a diligent member, we've uncovered and corrected an incorrect answer - take the quiz now about NASFAA’s history between 1997 and 2006. Do you know where NASFAA's 40th anniversary celebration was held? When did NASFAA begin overseeing the College Goal Sunday program? Find the answers by navigating the NASFAA website and reading Today’s News. To participate, go to the trivia homepage and dive in – and keep an eye on Today’s News to see if you’ve won one of our great prizes.

The Pell Grant Experiments evaluation is a two-part, seven-year demonstration study sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education that focuses on the effects of expanded access to Pell grants on students' educational outcomes, employment and earnings. The primary outcome of interest is (1) educational enrollment and completion, and (2) measures of student debt and financial aid while secondary outcomes include (3) the employment status and earnings of students who participate in the study.

"Concerned that a bill from two United States senators proposing the use of as few as two questions to determine financial eligibility for college will gain traction, a national organization of financial aid professionals has presented an alternative for simplifying the process of applying for financial aid," Campus Technology reports.

"The share of young business owners has declined dramatically in recent years. Mitch Daniels, the President of Purdue University and the former Republican governor of Indiana, says he knows why. In a Wall Street Journal opinion piece, he places the blame on rising levels of student debt," Entrepreneur reports. "But the data suggest that student loans aren’t the only cause."

"For the past few years the state's universities have been working on finding the best pathway for freshmen who require remediation, while also trying to ensure that students will be successful at the four-year institution of their choice," Inside Higher Ed reports.

"In the span of one year, 270 Tennessee health care professionals had their licenses suspended for an offense that had nothing to do with health care: They all failed to pay their student loans," the Times Free Press reports.

"With Hispanics expected to make up 31 percent of the nation’s population by 2060, Christian Brothers University is investing in its growing community by pledging $12.5 million to go toward scholarships for immigrant students whose legal residency status may be in question," the Memphis Daily News reports.

"Utah's college students are leaving free money on the table — to the tune of $45 million last year, according to some estimates," the Salt Lake Tribune reports.

"In a college town like La Crosse, the changing of the seasons means that nearly 3,000 new students will be starting their time at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. But in the midst of their excitement, many of these students and so many like them from all over Wisconsin are facing years of paying off their student loan debt," Wisconsin state Rep. Steve Doyle writes for the LaCross Tribune.

"The U.S. Department of Education’s announcement last week of a pilot program that will allow Pell Grant eligibility for some incarcerated students signaled a welcome change in the way education is viewed in correctional facilities across the nation," John J. Dowdell, director of the Gill Center for Business Economic Education at Ashland University and an editor of the Journal of Correctional Education, writes in an opinion piece for The Chronicle of Higher Education.

"The numbers are big. The nation’s outstanding student loan debt is a whopping $1.2 trillion. Of 2013 graduates, 69% took out loans at an average of $28,400 for each borrower, according to the Institute for College Access & Success," according to NerdWallet. "For a select group of people, there’s a way to introduce big savings: refinancing."

"States rely on their higher education systems to retrain and educate their citizens for jobs in the new economy. But, contrary to this goal, many states create barriers for students who are not attending college straight out of high school to access state financial aid. As a result, adult students who are not attending college directly from high school believe that state grant aid is not for them," according to New America's EdCentral.

"How valuable are IT job training materials developed by a community college in Texas? Or lesson plans developed by the National Audubon Society in New York, designed to integrate computer-based mapping skills with traditional learning objectives? What about English language learning programs administered through American Consulates abroad?" Lindsey Tepe writes in New America's EdCentral.

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