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On Wednesday, Sen. Boxer (D-CA) and Rep. Scott (D-VA) introduced the Pell Grant Restoration Act of 2015. The bill would provide students who have attended a fraudulent institution to reset their Pell Grant lifetime eligibility under certain circumstances.

As third-party companies promise customers easy fixes to their student debt problems, the Department of Education (ED) continues its efforts to educate borrowers about ways to manage their debt without having to pay for services that the government offers for free.

A new report from the Government Accountability Office – released Thursday by Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) – found that while income-driven student loan repayment plans are still underutilized, the majority of those enrolled are low-income students who may need the most help.

While the increase in data from the recently revamped College Scorecard is welcome, higher education consumers are still likely to struggle with their decisions if that data is not better targeted to their needs, a panel of experts said during an event hosted Thursday by New America.

NASFAA is seeking online focus group participants to provide feedback on a potential new service focused on consumer information. The focus group discussions will take place via conference call in October and November. There may be other assigned tasks that will take place outside of the scheduled calls, but there will be no in-person meetings. If you are interested in participating, please complete the volunteer form by COB today. If selected, you will be notified by October 5. Please direct all questions to Ashley Reich, Standards of Excellence administrator, at [email protected].

Find out how other schools help students re-establish Title IV eligibility during NASFAA’s Satisfactory Academic Progress Appeals webinar, September 30, 2:00-3:30 pm ET. School panelists will share how their schools manage the appeal process and develop academic plans to best help students achieve their academic goals. The webinar is offered at a cost of $120 for members and $240 for non-members. There is no additional cost for webinar package purchasers, however advanced registration is still required. Register today to save your spot.

This is a request to for an extension of the emergency clearance that was granted on this collection on June 5, 2015 to facilitate the continued collection of information from borrowers who believe they have cause to invoke the borrower defenses against repayment of a student loan as noted in regulation.

"Since its launch in 1983, the U.S. News and World Report’s annual college rankings have sought to compare institutions using a series of quantifiable metrics, including acceptance rates and alumni donations, that have increasingly come under scrutiny," according to The Atlantic.

"Do American universities produce too many Ph.D.s? It’s a decades-old question that has intensified in recent years as worries about a stagnant academic-job market, record graduate-student debt, and the often-tough working conditions for doctoral students have grown," The Chronicle of Higher Education reports.

"A report released this week by the Campaign for College Opportunity delved into college attendance and achievement rates among various Asian American groups, highlighting significant contrasts between Asian Americans and other groups, and offering recommendations to amend these differences," NBC News reports.

"At the start of the Congressional Black Caucus’ annual legislative conference, a panel, Access to Opportunity: Propelling Black Students, explored the disparity in college degree attainment between Black students and students of other races," Diverse: Issues in Higher Education reports.

"Student debt isn’t holding back most young professionals from buying a home, according to a report Thursday by Zillow, contradicting warnings from some economists that rising student-debt levels hurt the housing market," The Wall Street Journal reports.

"Michigan was known as the birthplace of the middle class, a place where anyone willing to work hard could not only get by, but prosper. A high-school diploma was enough to get a well-paying job in hundreds of blue-collar workplaces," Bridge Magazine reports. "But the turn of the millennium brought a reckoning. Now, finishing high school is only the beginning. People seeking a solid career, even in manufacturing, need at least some advanced training beyond high school."

"Amongst the dozens of people who crammed into a room at the State House to testify about higher education bills Wednesday, one demographic was noticeably absent — students," Boston.com reports. "Still, Natalie Higgins, executive director of the Public Higher Education Network of Massachusetts, made sure to speak for students, many of whom were unable to attend because they were in class or working."

"Consider two student borrowers: one at the for-profit University of Phoenix, the other at the well-regarded, public University of Minnesota-Twin Cities. Both start repaying their loans in 2009. Five years later, the first has a 45% probability of having defaulted, the second, just 7%," according to The Wall Street Journal. 

"A recent report from Pew Charitable Trusts that examines debt within each generation finds that as you move down the age ladder, consumers are less likely to view debt in positive terms. Members of the Silent Generation (today mainly in their late 70s and 80s), who have accrued so much wealth that their debt is but a blip on the radar, believe debt to be opportunity-enhancing," Neil Howe writes for Forbes. 

"Private education loans are a responsible way to meet the cost of college. The overwhelming majority of private loan customers responsibly manage their loans," Charles Rocha, executive vice president of Sallie Mae, writes in a letter to the editor for The New York Times. "At Sallie Mae, we help families understand all financing options, not just private loans, make sure that applicants borrow only what they need to cover costs of attendance, and work with schools directly to certify and disburse loans."

"America has been investing in public higher education since President Abraham Lincoln signed the Morrill Act of 1862 into law, an act that would forever change the course of postsecondary learning. And from the time that Joliet Junior College became the first public community college to open its doors more than a century ago, community colleges have played a vital role in training our nation’s workforce and building our nation’s economy," Constance M. Carroll, chancellor of the San Diego Community College District, writes for The San Diego Union-Tribune. 

"Students searching for colleges on President Obama’s new College Scorecard can find detailed information on costs, graduation rates, and employment outcomes for thousands of colleges nationwide, from Harvard University to Harcum College. What they won’t find is any mention of Front Range Community College or dozens of other institutions like it," according to The Chronicle of Higher Education's The Ticker.

"Tucked away in a bucolic suburb of Philadelphia, Rosemont College has the kind of close-knit community and intimate academic setting that puts many parents at ease. That is, if they can get past the $44,520 annual sticker price," according to The Washington Post's Grade Point.

"A-not-so-surprising declaration: $1.2 trillion in outstanding education debt, with much of it in default, is a crisis. If a $945 billion loss of assets in the subprime mortgage crisis gets to be called a crisis, then student loan debt should rightfully, also, earn the moniker of 'crisis,'" Michael Restiano writes in The Huffington Post's The Blog.

"The Department of Education is scheduled to publish a request that seems to tip their hand about a borrower defense that could allow lots of students from having to repay their student loans," Steve Rhode writes in The Huffington Post's The Blog.

"... The federal government tries to encourage students to pursue higher education by providing loans —a subject for another day—but it also offers a number of incentives through the tax code via credits and deductions to lower the perceived price of college. But looking at the research on these programs, federal policymakers would do well to rethink them," according to a blog post from Washington Center for Equitable Growth.

"Every day on my campus, I encounter and interact with students who at one time thought, or perhaps were told, that college was not a place for them. Unfortunately, too many students with the ability to succeed in college have the same experience," Karen S. Haynes, president of California State University (CSU) San Marcos, writes in The Huffington Post's The Blog.

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