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Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign yesterday briefed the Higher Education Community on the former Senator and Secretary of State’s plans to diminish debt burden for students and increase graduation rates. Clinton’s New College Compact promises free tuition at community colleges and debt-free tuition, fees, and books at 4-year public colleges. Families would be expected to make “reasonable” contributions, and students would be asked to contribute earnings from employment based on 10 hours of work per week.

The regulatory addition of a new income‐driven repayment plan, which will co‐exist alongside four other income‐driven plans, is a step in the opposite direction of the momentum in the entire higher education community, NASFAA declared in its comments submitted yesterday on the General Eligibility and FFEL/DL Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM).

In the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS) Update session held at the 2015 NASFAA National Conference in New Orleans, U.S. Department of Education representative Eric Hardy provided information on enrollment reporting, gainful employment; and future enhancements to the NSLDS system. Read on for a list of the key points from the session. For highlights and summaries of events and other sessions that were held at the 2015 National Conference in New Orleans, see our summaries page.

The 2016 National Conference in Washington, DC marked the annual transition in leadership for NASFAA. On Tuesday July 12, 2015-16 National Chair Dan Mann passed the gavel to 2016-17 National Chair Lisa Blazer, who will lead this year's Board of Directors. Check out photos for all members of NASFAA's Board of Directors and read their full bios by clicking on their names.

This announcement is to advise schools that the Department of Education (the Department) sent e-mails to the states and territories regarding their submission of updated lists of low-income schools and educational service agencies for inclusion in the Directory of Designated Low-Income Schools for Teacher Cancellation Benefits.

This Electronic Announcement responds to questions we have received from institutions asking whether institutions must report the data required under 34 CFR 668.411 of the Gainful Employment (GE) regulations for educational programs that were discontinued, or otherwise ceased to be Title IV eligible, prior to the effective date of the GE regulations on July 1, 2015.  The answer depends on when the program was discontinued or ceased to be Title IV eligible.

On Tuesday, August 11, 2015 from 3 until 4 p.m. Eastern Time, Federal Student Aid (FSA) will present a free webinar about the process for creating an FSA ID. This webinar is ideal for students, parents, high school counselors, college access providers, non-profit organizations, and other individuals interested in learning more about creating an FSA ID.

"The pillar of Hillary Clinton’s higher-education proposal that has attracted the most attention could also be a tough sell to state lawmakers," The Chronicle of Higher Education reports.

"Millions of students rely on loans to get them through college. But one group of fraudsters turned the student loan business into a money-making venture for themselves," Fox reports.

"Bet on a Boiler. Income share agreements. Indentured servitude. Call it what you will, but Purdue University is rethinking financial aid after the nation’s class of 2015 was named the most indebted in United States history. Purdue Research Foundation announced last week it would seek a partner firm to establish and manage income share agreements — an alternative to federal loans that rack up student debt," according to The Lafayette Journal & Courier.

"... In the last decade, the superlatives and horror stories around student-loan debt have steadily increased: College tuition costs have significantly outpaced inflation and medical costs. The class of 2015 graduates are the most indebted ever: Student-loan debt, at $1.3 trillion, has surpassed all other consumer debt aside from mortgages. The average cost of a college degree is the highest it’s ever been. A generation of graduates, struggling to find jobs and saddled with student-loan debt, are putting off major life events like buying a home or getting married," according to The Portland Press Herald.

"There's a structural reason that student debt dominates the higher education policy discussion: It affects a broader swath of Americans than those who have concerns about completion. Around 70 percent of students who earn a bachelor's degree take on debt. Even among families making $120,000, about half still borrow. By contrast, just 11 percent of students from families earning $120,000 or more drop out of college, a rate three times lower than their peers from families making $30,000 or less," Ben Miller writes for U.S. News & World Report's Knowledge Bank blog.

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