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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

Nationwide, borrowers have accumulated more than $1 trillion in student loan debt. But the burden of that debt looks much different for an individual living in New Hampshire than someone living in New Mexico, according to a new study from WalletHub.

Most schools are familiar with the major consumer information requirements, such as the Net Price Calculator, Entrance and Exit Counseling, and the Clery Act, to name a few. However, David Bartnicki of the U.S. Department of Education pointed out during the Consumer Information Requirements session at the 2015 NASFAA National Conference that there are a number of less-often-talked-about consumer information requirements that result in compliance problems for schools.

Financial aid administrators know that FAFSA data must be used only for the application, awarding, and administration of financial aid—so requests to share data can present aid office staff with an ethical dilemma. In this case study from December 2014, we examine how to handle intra-institution requests for students' FAFSA data while striving to adhere to NASFAA's Statement of Ethical Principles. NASFAA's Exploring Ethics series presents detailed case studies to open discussion between NASFAA members about how to apply the association's Ethical Principles and Code of Conduct to real life.

Whether you’re the financial aid director or an understudy rehearsing for the leading role, "You’re the Director: A Guide to Leadership in Student Financial Aid (2nd edition)" can help. This book is a must-have for new and aspiring financial aid professionals, as well as for seasoned financial aid directors seeking to improve their leadership skills. Order your copy today.

NASFAA’s Training and Regulatory Assistance (TRA) staff will be out of the office attending a staff retreat August 11 and 12. However, NASFAA's AskRegs Knowledgebase will still be available to help you instantly find credible and reliable solutions to your most pressing regulatory and compliance questions! The AskRegs team will begin answering your new financial aid questions on Thursday, August 13.

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

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.

The Department of Eudcation would like to alert the community to an issue with 2014-2015 Federal Pell Grant (Pell Grant) information that was incorrectly included on some Student Aid Reports (SARs) and Institutional Student Information Records (ISIRs) for the 2015-2016 Award Year.

Eligible participating institutions are required to provide this SRK information to all enrolled students, prospective students prior to their enrolling or entering into a financial obligation with the school as well as to institution's employees.

On August 4, 2015 the U.S. Department of Education published a 30-day comment period notice in the Federal Register Page 46253 Column 3; Page 46254, Column 1 seeking public comment for an information collection Docket ID Number ED-2014-ICCD-0154 entitled, “Evaluation of the Pell Grant Experiments under the Experimental Sites Initiative”. ED is requesting a correction to the Title and OMB Number. The correct title is International Resource Information System (IRIS), and the correct OMB Number is 1840-0759.

"After the dust settles from the Republican debate and before she breaks from the campaign trail for her Hamptons vacation, Hillary Clinton on Monday will roll out what is expected to be the most detailed and costly plank of her campaign: her policy proposals for student loan reform," POLITICO reports.

"$35,051. That’s how much student-loan debt the average class of 2015 graduate carries, according to college-resource site Edvisors," Forbes reports. "... In other words, it’s a hefty burden for a twenty-something living off a starter salary—and no doubt questioning how they’ll ever pay it off."

"Student loan debt can cost you more than principal and interest. It can mean postponing major milestones of adulthood," NBC News reports.

"Lower student debt and increased retention: those are the results the University of Dayton says it’s seeing two years after putting in place an unusual tuition strategy," Inside Higher Ed reports.

"The Obama Administration announced it will begin providing Pell grants to federal prisoners, effectively overturning a 1994 ban on the practice," according to the Daily Sun News. "... While some see the plan as well-intentioned, critics point out that there are millions of students clamoring for tuition aid who did not commit felonies that landed them in a federal penitentiary. They ask, 'Shouldn’t they be the priority for scarce tuition aide?'"

"Start researching aid possibilities sooner rather than later. The competition for aid increases when the economy is weak. Those who plan ahead for the aid process will do much better than those who procrastinate and miss deadlines," according to The Arizona Republic.

"When I was growing up, my father taught community college classes at Folsom State Prison, made famous by Johnny Cash’s 'Folsom Prison Blues,'" Brian Hill writes for The Sacramento Bee. "As a psychology professor, he was fascinated to read inmates’ assigned essays. Some evenings, he would share them with me as bedtime stories – narratives of regret, hopelessness and optimism in changing their lives if given a second chance. Many prisoners were thirsty to learn and, even at 9 years old, I recognized the importance of my father’s work."

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