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For over 20 years, ELM Resources has provided open and lender-neutral choice. Our new web interface, ELMOne, converges your interaction with the complete suite of ELM Products (ELMNet, ELM NDN, and ELMSelect). Built with the latest and most secure technologies, ELMOne will become your go-to resource to manage private student loan services.  www.elmone.com.

In light of the historic flooding in South Carolina, NASFAA would like to remind schools in the affected areas about existing guidance regarding the impact of a "major disaster" on the administration of the Title IV student assistance programs. Dear Colleague Letter GEN-10-16 is intended to help Title IV student financial aid participants affected by a federally declared major disaster.

The Department of Education (ED) last week released a report on ways to strengthen the student loan system and better protect student borrowers. The report stems from the Obama administration’s Student Aid Bill of Rights directive and was developed in consultation with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and the Department of the Treasury (Treasury). The recommendations in the report cover a wide array of statutory, regulatory, and administrative aspects of the student loan system.

Last week a bipartisan group of lawmakers took to the Senate floor to discuss adopting the House-passed Higher Education Extension Act of 2015, a bill that would extend the Federal Perkins Loan Program for an additional year. Though there was significant bipartisan support for the program in the Senate, led by Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), it failed to pass when Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN), chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, objected under a “unanimous consent” procedure, which requires unanimity to move issues forward. With his objection, the program expired at midnight.

Congratulations to the third round of winners for NASFAA's 50th Anniversary Trivia Contest. The winners will each receive a NASFAA baseball cap - check out our list of winners on our conference website. Want a chance to win great prizes? Play NASFAA's 50th Anniversary Trivia Contest - trivia questions about NASFAA from 1987-1996 are ready for you to answer now. And stay tuned to Today's News to see if you're a winner.

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

NASFAA's Board of Directors is here to represent you and is seeking your input. Please email any questions or comments you might have directly to a member of the NASFAA Board by clicking on their name on our Board Member Bios page. Questions or feedback may pertain to NASFAA products and services, membership benefits, policy issues, and advocacy efforts, or any other topic you would like to bring before the Board. The Board will compile feedback and discuss at the June 23-24 Board meeting. We welcome your insight.

This Electronic Announcement provides an update on the acceptable documents for individuals selected for verification who filed a 2014 tax return with the IRS but who are unable to obtain a transcript from the IRS. 

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 purpose of this Electronic Announcement is to inform schools that Congress did not take action to extend the Perkins Loan Program beyond September 30, 2015.

"U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan plans to step down from his cabinet position by the end of the year, leaving the Obama Administration more than a year before the president’s term will end, according to two administration officials and an e-mail he sent to this staff," The Washington Post reports.

"For someone who came into office passionate about K-12 issues, Arne Duncan will leave a big imprint on higher education. After nearly seven years as U.S. Secretary of Education, Mr. Duncan announced last week that he would step down in December," The Chronicle of Higher Education reports.

"States are increasing the financial aid they provide to undergraduates, with need-based aid rising at a much faster pace than non-need-based aid," Inside Higher Ed reports.

"Lawmakers in 11 states are spending more on prisons and jails than their public colleges. That's the bottom line of a new report from the American Academy of Arts and Sciences," CNNMoney reports.

"Puerto Rico’s economic outlook is not rosy at the moment. ­The island is sinking under the accumulated weight of roughly $72 billion in debt and a declining population as inhabitants flee to the mainland in search of better jobs and opportunities," The Atlantic reports. "... some are arguing that the island’s economic circumstances are so severe that the cuts are necessary and that public education cannot be spared."

"Maine could use some ambition and focus when it comes to making needed investments to turn around an economy that underperforms virtually every other state’s," according to the Bangor Daily News.

"...UC Davis has long enjoyed high rankings across the board. ...But there was one recent ranking that filled me with even more pride because it says so much about who we are and what we value at UC Davis. The New York Times, in an article headlined 'California's Upward Mobility Machine,' ranked us number two in the nation when it comes to educating students of diverse economic backgrounds," Linda Katehi, chancellor at UC Davis, writes for The Huffington Post.

"Tim Pawlenty appears to have given a lot of thought to the problem of the high cost of higher education. In a recent Wall Street Journal op-ed, the former governor of Minnesota sets forth a number of cost-cutting recommendations, which he urges the nation’s colleges and universities to adopt posthaste. ...All reasonable, well-intentioned suggestions that are unlikely to move the needle in a meaningful way anytime soon," Mitchell Weiss writes for Credit.com.

"I’m writing to tell you two things. First, what is for me some bittersweet news: after several months of commuting between my family in Chicago and my job here in DC, I have made the decision to step down in December. Second, and very happily, President Obama has asked our delegated Deputy Secretary John King Jr. to step into my role when I leave," Arne Duncan writes in an email to Department of Education (ED) staff, posted on ED's Homeroom blog.

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