Brought to you by:

FATV's Artificially Intelligent Penny Chatbot. Your students have questions. Penny has answers 24/7/365 - yes, even when you're sleeping! Penny is up all day and night helping your students get immediate answers to their most pressing questions. Free up your advisers to focus on student success, and make your students and staff happy. Call 888-704-9090 or visit our website to learn more.

Incoming and recently-enrolled college students generally think it’s reasonable to take on some student loan debt to finance a higher education, but expect to borrow more than what they think is an acceptable amount, according to a recently-released survey from New America.

Appropriations from state and local governments for public four-year institutions saw a dramatic decline from 2006-07 to 2012-13, despite simultaneous increases in enrollments of full-time students, according to new data from the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities (APLU).

Join us for the Washington Update Webinar, October 15, 2015 at 2:00 pm ET. NASFAA President Justin Draeger will provide his insights into the news emanating from Congress and the White House. This policy-based webinar will provide you with the latest political happenings in Washington, D.C. This webinar is offered at no charge for NASFAA members and webinar package purchasers, but register today to save your spot.

Wondering if a legal guardian can borrow a Parent PLUS Loan? Have questions about how to resolve student name discrepancies? Curious about whether maximum time frame can be rounded up (or down)? Take a look back at last month's most viewed AskRegs Q&As. If you have a question that's not on the list, you can find a credible and reliable answer on the AskRegs Knowledgebase site by browsing or searching the answers provided by our Training and Regulatory Assistance staff. You may also submit your own question using the Request Support feature.

Updated for the 2015-16 program year, the Application Process Self-Study Guide provides lessons that cover the application process for Title IV aid, FAFSA data processing, differences between corrections, updates, and adjustments, as well as lessons on dependency overrides among others. Completion of this self-study guide qualifies individuals to earn a NASFAA University Professional Credential.

"In the spring of 1990, Scott Walker, then a senior at Marquette University, decided to leave college before finishing his degree. ... 'Certainly, I wanted an education for more than a job,' he has since said, 'but my primary purpose was to get a job,'" according to The Chronicle of Higher Education.

"Seven months ago free community college was the higher ed policy idea with the most buzz, with everyone from President Obama to families with no college experience talking about the appeal of eliminating the cost of tuition," Inside Higher Ed reports.

"As recently as three years ago, it seemed unlikely that the existing system of accreditation would survive the next renewal of the Higher Education Act in anything remotely resembling its current form," Inside Higher Ed reports. "From across the political spectrum (right and left) and from various segments of higher education itself (particularly community colleges in California and elite universities across the country), many asserted that the system of peer-reviewed quality control was irretrievably broken and in need of replacement."

"The rarity of a public-college tuition cut became a reality this year in Washington State, where lawmakers approved a reduction for state residents over the next two years. At some institutions, the price tag will fall by one-fifth for in-state undergraduate students," The Chronicle of Higher Education reports.

"A major battle over the future of the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art appears to be coming to an end, according to statements released on Tuesday by the prestigious Manhattan college’s Board of Trustees and a coalition of professors, alumni, and students who sued in 2014 to block the board’s plan to start charging undergraduate tuition," The Chronicle of Higher Education's The Ticker reports.

"Bard High School Early College will open in Baltimore on Monday, offering students a first-of-its-kind opportunity: to graduate from a city high school with a free two-year degree," The Baltimore Sun reports. "Students graduate with a high school diploma, an associate of arts degree and up to 60 transferable college credits from Bard College, a 150-year-old private, liberal arts college based in upstate New York."

"Student debt is binding many new college grads, keeping them at home with mom and dad as they lick their financial wounds," The Sharon Herald reports. "If staying at home weren't frustrating enough, an increasing number of former students are having trouble recovering at all and are slipping into delinquency and default."

"Although their football program undoubtedly gets more headlines, there’s another squad on Indiana University’s Bloomington campus that has a much more lasting impact on students: the I.U. 'Money Smarts Team' –  specially-trained students who provide one-on-one financial counseling to other students," Fox Business reports.

"Broward College's financial aid department has been plagued by inefficiencies in the past year that resulted in students being frustrated, confused and in some cases overpaid," The Sun Sentinel reports. "The college will have to pay at least $18,000, and possibly much more, after a U.S. Department of Education review released in July cited the college for giving financial aid to students who were ineligible or who took certain classes that couldn't be paid for with federal dollars."

"Let’s admit that the 'college isn’t for everyone' cliché is really a euphemism for those people aren’t smart enough for college," Andre Perry writes for The Hechinger Report. "At historically black fraternity Kappa Alpha Psi’s Grand Chapter Meeting, or Conclave, in New Orleans last month, the phrase again reared its ugly head, when audience members repeatedly embedded it in questions to a panel in black male achievement hosted by the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for African American Students."

"Are you planning financially to help a grandchild  — or niece or nephew — go to college? A common question is whether your gift will hurt the student's chance at financial aid," according to AARP's Money & Investing. NASFAA's Karen McCarthy is quoted.

"Middle class anxiety about the cost of college has brought higher education financing to the fore of the current presidential election. Promises of debt-free college have become near-mandatory components of the Democratic presidential campaigns, and more recently Republicans have even started to fire back," Kim Dancy writes in New America's EdCentral blog. "There is a reason families and candidates are so worried about the cost of college: According the US Department of Education’s best estimate of what students can afford, student need dramatically exceeds available aid. These gaps point to a systemic problem in higher education affordability. While addressing undergraduate debt is a worthy investment, these initiatives should take care to protect access and quality for all students."

"If you’re a parent who recently paid a tuition bill for a college student this fall, you know full well that tuition bills are about as transparent as the pricing of airline tickets," Jeffrey Selingo writes for The Washington Post's Grade Point blog. "Discounting the published tuition price is a widespread practice throughout higher education. Students have no idea how much the classmate sitting next to them is paying. The sticker price is meaningless, and students who pay more don’t get anything extra for their money. At least on an airplane, you might get a better seat, some food, and a free checked bag for a higher fare."

VIEW NEXT ISSUE

Contact us to submit questions, content or to purchase advertisements.